"The Secret Garden meets Donnie Darko".

Kate would like to warn you that Betsy is a bit of a "Debby Downer" in this episode. This may have something to do with the fact that her immediate family came down with COVID and she had to cancel their trip to DisneyWorld. Of course, you can't keep a good talk about odd picture books of the past down! In the episode the sisters discuss everything from whether or not the bunny in Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present betrays Maurice Sendak's love of Mickey Mouse (and suggests he was more of a Bugs Bunny fan)to his pack-a-day voice.

Show Notes:

Good old Slap Happy Larry takes a real deep deep dive into Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present discussing everything from whether or not Mr. Rabbit is a Pooka or owes anything to that great big invisible rabbit Harvey: https://www.slaphappylarry.com/mr-rabbit-lovely-present-sendak-zolotow/

Betsy Recommends: The podcast Sawbones - https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/sawbones/

Kate Recommends: Fear City on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80218338

And The Mob Museum in Vegas: https://themobmuseum.org/

For the Full Show Notes please visit: https://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2021/12/27/fuse-8-n-kate-mr-rabbit-and-the-lovely-present-by-charlotte-zolotow-ill-maurice-sendak/

Episode 210 - Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present

It's officially the 25th anniversary of No, David! by David Shannon and in celebration Betsy decided to do the second "David" book in the series. Having previously done No, David! before, Betsy figured that the sequel was the right way to go with today's episode. Kate, for her part, experiences a curious form of amnesia, capable of remembering the recording of Shannon's A Bad Case of Stripes, but not the first David book. In that sense she's the perfect person to read this book, unencumbered by memories of its predecessor. 

For the full Show Notes, please visit here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/02/12/fuse-8-n-kate-david-goes-to-school-by-david-shannon/

Episode 303 - David Goes to School

Deep in the heart of February, it's not uncommon for folks to start yearning for warmer days and summer nights. While shivering in Illinois, Kate and Betsy dip into some early award-winning Udry and Sendak. Why did Sendak win a Caldecott Honor for this title? We deign to find out. There are ghosts and giants and a cat with a face Kate would tattoo on her arm tomorrow, if she could. There are also long discussions of how precisely these four children of approximately the same age are all related to one another. Enjoy!

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/02/19/fuse-8-n-kate-the-moon-jumpers-by-janice-may-udry-ill-maurice-sendak/

Episode 304 - The Moon Jumpers

Originally released in 2003, Skippyjon Jones is a fascinating study of a picture book that was controversial prior to the rise of We Need Diverse Books. When first it came out, the book received loads of praise and awards ... and then loads of controversy. While still in print today, we identify the probable reasons why this book doesn't have a Netflix show, a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a live-action film, etc. Let's just say there may be a reason why the last book in this series came out in 2014. We discuss what may be one of the oddest Kirkus Reviews ever written, the name "Siamese cats", and why the book is trying to keep the hero "out of the closet". 

You can find the full Show Notes for the episode here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/02/26/fuse-8-n-kate-skippyjon-jones-by-judy-schachner/

Episode 305 - Skippyjon Jones

No stranger to controversy, we dive deep into one of Tomi Ungerer's more peculiar picture books. It's all about the consumption of children, but that's not why we get icked out by this particular title. Turns out, it has an ending grosser than anything involving the consumption of kids. Sadly, Betsy was not able to give Kate the blood and guts in a picture book that she so desperately required. In Betsy's defense, she remembered a lot more bloody knives than we see on these pages. Certainly Ungerer was happy to place blood in some of his other stories, but this particular time the violence was more implied than anything else. In this episode we discuss food, food, and more food (guess we were hungry). 

Show Notes:

For the full show notes to this episode please go here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/03/04/fuse-8-n-kate-zeraldas-ogre-by-tomi-ungerer/

Episode 306 - Zeralda's Ogre

If you want something Irish, this book fulfills that desire tenfold. Now, for those of you who listen to the Fuse 8 n' Kate podcast regularly, you'll know that Kate likes three particular things in her picture books: 1. Ireland. 2. Strong women. 3. Lotsa details in the art. With that in mind, is it surprising that she adored this? In this episode we discuss Little Shop of Horrors, the fact that single men have a hard time determining the ages of small children, and why this should really have been called Oona MacCoul and Her Baby Man. 

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/03/11/fuse-8-n-kate-finn-maccoul-and-his-fearless-wife-by-robert-byrd/

Episode 307 - Finn MacCoul and his Fearless Wife

It's the Year of the Dragon and yet so far we've done precisely ZERO dragon books so far. That ends today with our first consideration of Jack Kent. The cartoonist turned picture book author/illustrator may have come to the form late in life, but he cast some indelible images in his time. Surprisingly, this turns out to be one of our more divisive books. We ask what the "Children's Book Clinic" once was, discuss songs stuck in our heads, and talk musical bread. 

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/03/18/fuse-8-n-kate-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-dragon-by-jack-kent/

Episode 308 - There's No Such Thing as a Dragon

Spring has sprungeth! Not that you'd know it looking at Illinois right now, of course, but we're getting close to sunnier days. To celebrate, we've decided to equinox the heck out of this latest podcast episode (I still say it can be a verb). Somehow we've never done this particular Caldecott Honor winner before, so we're going to right a great wrong. We talk epistolary picture books, how clean 1936 New York City alleyways were (we'd love to hear your opinions on needles), Groucho Marx, and more.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/03/25/fuse-8-n-kate-the-gardener-by-sarah-stewart-ill-david-small/

Episode 309 - The Gardener

What makes an appropriate April Fool's post? How about a book that FOOLED its own art directors, editors, publicists, etc. by including copulation? I'd say that counts! In fact, you might say that Trina Schart Hyman was the ultimate April Fool's picture book creator! She snuck insults of book reviewers onto gravestones. She managed to get the missionary position into a Howard Pyle book. She even made her ex-girlfriend the evil queen in her version of Snow White (while she made herself one of the seven dwarfs). But going back to that case where doing the wild thing made an appearance of the margins of a table in a picture book, Betsy has been hoping to do King Stork with Kate for years. And let us say, it doesn't disappoint. It's just as weird, sexist, strange, and funny as you'd expect. Think The Twelve Dancing Princesses meet Tam Lin.

For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/04/01/fuse-8-n-kate-king-stork-by-howard-pyle-ill-trina-schart-hyman

Episode 310 - King Stork

April is National Autism Acceptance Month, so Kate asked Betsy to bring her an appropriate book. Our usual rule is that we only consider books that are 20+ years old. The trouble is that most of the best books on the topic of the autistic spectrum were created within the last two decades. So we're cheating a bit this week and going with something produced in 2005 (a whole year too early, by our usual standards). And rather than go the direct route, we are selecting a book that has been embraced by autistic child readers as containing an autistic character, even if she was not originally conceived of in that matter. In this episode we celebrate the rare four-alphabet-combo (most picture books are lucky to get just one), discuss what kind of grocery story provides (amongst other things) opossum, and Betsy's undying love and affection for Uncle Murray.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/04/08/fuse-8-n-kate-bad-kitty-by-nick-bruel/

Episode 311 - Bad Kitty

What's that? You've never heard of this particular Dr. Seuss book? Well, you're definitely not alone. If one were to rank Seuss titles from best known to least, there is no doubt in my mind that Solla Sollew would be right there at the bottom. But is there any chance that this 1965 publication might have something to say about the baby boomer generation, Vietnam, escapism, and even stories like Pippin and Candide? This week our special guest is none other than Betsy's very own husband Matt Bird. You may be familiar with his podcast with author James Kennedy the Secrets of Story podcast OR his podcast with his brother Steve Bird the Marvel Reread Club OR from his books The Secrets of Story and The Secrets of Character. He's unafraid to make a whole slew of claims about this book, so buckle up for a mighty strange ride. 

For the full Show Notes: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/04/15/fuse-8-n-kate-i-had-trouble-getting-to-solla-sollew/

Episode 312 - I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

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.

Profile image by Andrea Tsurumi

Episode 210 - Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present

Fuse 8 n' Kate

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