A Quick Note: At the beginning of this week's podcast Kate's microphone went out and only recorded Betsy instead. So Kate starts off strong, then she's gone, then she comes back after the background information section. As a result, you'll hear a slightly off recording just in the first five minutes this week, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

This is a particular pity since this week's book is one of Betsy's absolute favorites. It was one of her reliable storytime regulars. She was convinced that we'd done this book already, but as it turns out, she was completely misremembering our having done it. It's our fourth David Shannon book we've covered on this podcast so far.  Today, we talk demonic eyeballs, insufficient branding, and abandoned cars.

For the full show notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/07/21/fuse-8-n-kate-duck-on-a-bike-by-david-shannon/

Episode 372 - Duck on a Bike

This week Kate challenged Betsy to come up with a summer book to do on the podcast. And sadly, the book Betsy initially came up with was originally published in 2006 (and we have a 20-year rule on the books we can consider). Betsy found an alternative title instead, and it involves the combo of a Newbery Award winner (Hesse) with a Caldecott Award winner (Muth) (though we don't think either had won those respective awards when this book originally came out in 1999). It has been used in classrooms for years and years and years... but does it deserve to be called a classic? We discuss representation without firsthand personal experience and how well this book would fly with a publisher today.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/07/28/fuse-8-n-kate-come-on-rain-by-karen-hesse-ill-jon-j-muth/

Episode 373 - Come On, Rain!

As American-born sisters, neither Kate nor Betsy grew up knowing who Action Man was or what his life entailed. None of that has stopped us from truly appreciating Mini Grey's lovely ode to a kid, his toy, and their various adventures. Did it come out after Toy Story? It did. Was it derivative? It was not (though there are some Buzz Lightyear similarities). British to its core, Mini Grey was in the ZONE when she wrote this one!! We've not done a Mini Grey title since Ginger Bear, so clearly we're due. We also don't want to give too much away but this title entirely charmed Kate, and for good reason. It appeared on Betsy's Top 100 Picture Books polls TWICE. And truly? It's just a fun book for one and all. Remember it all over again. Look for the full Show Notes about the book here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/08/04/fuse-8-n-kate-traction-man-is-here-by-mini-grey/

Episode 374 - Traction Man is Here!

Dear lord. If Betsy thought she was about to give Kate a lovely birthday present with today's recording, then she was SORELY disabused of that notion from the start. She never expected Frances to fall into Kate's obliterating list of "brats", but them's the breaks in this, one of our more contentious episodes. Listen in as we tackle our second Frances book (after Bread and Jam for Frances). Along the way we discuss Chompo Bar theme songs, party favors for 2-year-olds, and why Mother might have a grudge against innocent little party guest, Ida.

For the full Show Notes, please go to: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/08/18/fuse-8-n-kate-a-birthday-for-frances-by-russell-hoban-ill-lillian-hoban/

Episode 376 - A Birthday for Frances

This is going to strike you as a little strange. Lord knows it wasn't something we noticed. So... you know how we've done 376 episodes of this podcast until now? That's 376 different books. Of those books, we have done books both written and illustrated by creator Eric Carle precisely one, singular, solitary time. That book? The Very Hungry Caterpillar (duh). Listener Megan recently pointed out this odd aberration and we have to admit that we were a little embarrassed. We recorded our Very Hungry Caterpillar episode in July of 2017. Almost precisely 8 years later, we're ready to look at Book #2. Let's see how it fares!

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/08/25/fuse-8-n-kate-papa-please-get-the-moon-for-me-by-eric-carle/

Episode 377 - Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me

Betsy doesn't know why people don't talk more about this book. While John Steptoe is well-known for Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters and, to a lesser extent, Stevie, today's book is rarely discussed. Yet can you even think of another case where a picture book creator wrote something as autobiographical AND as problematic ABOUT THEMSELVES as this? John Steptoe was working on another level with this title and we intend to break it down as much as possible on the podcast. We discuss picture books that talk about spankings vs. those that show them, whatever the opposite of gentle parenting is, and how Raggedy Anne occupies the Uncanny Clown Valley.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/09/08/fuse-8-n-kate-daddy-is-a-monster-sometimes-by-john-steptoe/ 

Episode 378 - Daddy is a Monster...Sometimes

This is our 379th episode. We've done 378 until now and not one, not one SINGLE title, has been a Rosemary Wells book. Strange? You bet. Well, today that strangeness ends. Not only are we doing a Rosemary Wells book, but we're doing a MAX AND RUBY Rosemary Wells book! Howdja like them apples, eh? Of course, once we decided upon this course of action we were faced with the inevitable question of which Max and Ruby book to do. The early ones were board books, for all intents and purposes. But the later ones vary greatly in quality. In the end, it was the suggestion of listener Dan that alerted us to an ideal candidate. Today we're talking dragon shirts, polite toddlers, and what the HECK Ruby and Max's mother is up to in all these books. For the full show notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/09/15/fuse-8-n-kate-maxs-dragon-shirt-by-rosemary-wells/

Episode 379 - Max's Dragon Shirt

Wait, you use children's picture books in the music classroom? How does that help them learn music? Jamie, Jasmine, and Sasha talk about this very thing! They share their perspective on how it stimulates the learner to become better musicians. What are your favorite children's books? How do you use them in the class? Come join us and share!

Our Social Media: @CHClassroom
Email us: chaoticharmonyclassroom@gmail.com
Find Us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/CHClassroom
Jamie: ms.fun.jun@gmail.com
Jasmine: @jasminericeflour
Sasha Stone: sasha.stone@smusd.org

Spiccato: Daily Poetry Book - "Sing a Song of Seasons"

Crystal Pridmore is a co-host of Chaotic Harmony Classroom. To see more of what she is doing, visit Crystal Pridmore's home page at www.crystalpridmore.com

Jonathan Seligman is a co-host of Chaotic Harmony. To see his happenings and all he's doing, go check his website at www.jonseligman.com

Bryan Pridmore is a financial advisor at Mission Trails Financial.
Mission Trails Financial provides awareness, education, and implementation for individuals and businesses looking to navigate their financial pathways.
As a Fiduciary, the financial advisor is required to act within the best interest of the client.
Please set up an appointment by calling (619) 419-0238 or by visiting missiontrailsfinancial.com

124: Live, Laugh, Literature - Children's Books in the Music Room - Chaotic Harmony Podcast

Going into this episode,Betsy had a lot on her mind. Fancy Nancy is one of those rare 21st century characters with a legitimate shot at picture book classicdom. That said, would Kate find her bratty? One can never predict which literary children show up on Kate's brat-o-meter (Madeline? Really really?), so this was going to be a real question. And if you want to know the answer... yeah. You're going to have to listen to the episode. But don't worry, along the way you'll also hear us talking about the fact that Nancy turns 20 this year, how this is the first time we've done a book with spot glitter on the cover, Sublime references, and font hate.

See the full episode show notes here. https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/09/22/fuse-8-n-kate-fancy-nancy-by-jane-oconnor-ill-robin-preiss-glasser/

Episode 380 - Fancy Nancy

In the news recently were news articles about the diseases that Canadian picture book creator Robert Munsch is facing at the moment. Inspired, we thought we owed the man a third episode (after the marvelous Paper Bag Princess and the unfortunate Love You Forever). Much like our recent foray into Max's Dragon Shirt, we return to the 90s in picture book form. The scrunchies! the clothing! The fact that there used to be kids named Stephanie! It's all there. We consider the book, its humor, its lesson, and the fact that this is one fun little book. 

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/09/28/fuse-8-n-kate-stephanies-ponytail-by-robert-munsch/

Episode 381 - Stephanie's Ponytail

Two sisters, one in L.A. and one in NYC, both move to the Chicago area and start a podcast. The premise? Picture books and are they really that great?  Join Kate and Fuse 8 (Betsy Bird) as they track down a picture book "classic" each episode and try to determine if it deserves to remain in the canon of children's literature.

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Led by Crystal Pridmore and Jonathan Seligman, conversations between elementary music teachers who explore the joys and struggles of teaching music in public schools.

New tracks tagged #Children&#x27;s Literature

New tracks tagged #Children's Literature