The art of picture books based on animated properties has a long and storied history within the oeuvre of children's literature. We've eschewed doing much in the way of Seuss lately, but due to the fact that we've been doing multiple books where child or child-like characters are approached by members of the medical association, we felt we'd cap everything off with this tale of a boy doing his own thing in the early 50s. That's BOUND to go over well! Along the way we talk about picture books in which kids don't adhere to the norm and are therefore considered ill in some way (Imogene's Antlers comes to mind), as well as teachers that call 2-year-olds in first grade classes "hopeless", packing kids full of pills, and why Gerald needs to keep an eye on his own paychecks.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/03/27/fuse-8-n-kate-gerald-mcboing-boing-by-dr-seuss/

Episode 264 - Gerald McBoing Boing

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

"Crime and murder!"

Do you want unspeakable violence on the picture book page? Well, folks, Kate sure did. And thanks to the suggestion of listener Rachelle, and her daughter Sarah, Betsy finally had a book that would give her just what she required. Is there blood? There is not, though honestly she got her fill of blood when we talked about King Stork (remember the heads on stakes?). Enjoy our discussion of what may well be the MOST disgusting sequence in a picture book of all time, as well as Betsy failing to correctly pronounce "dragees" (stay tuned for the very rare extra after the credits). And be prepared to get some serious Stinky Cheese Man and Arnie the Donut vibes from this book.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/04/22/fuse-8-n-kate-ginger-bear-by-mini-grey/

Episode 313 - Ginger Bear

Recently LeVar Burton suggested today's picture book on an episode of The Sporkful ("Reheat: LeVar Burton Even Reads Recipes Dramatically") and in spite of the fact that Kate was dead-on about the fact that we should have done this book for a Thanksgiving episode, we're doing it, baby! Enemy Pie was a Reading Rainbow Book back in the day, how does it hold up now? We talk about How to Eat Fried Worms, how boomerangs were the drones of the 80s (and I will stand by that statement), and the joy of eating a pie small enough to fit between your eyebrows. 

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/04/29/fuse-8-n-kate-enemy-pie-by-derek-munson-ill-tara-calahan-king/(opens in a new tab)

Episode 314 - Enemy Pie

Today we dive right in to a good spring picture book that somehow we've never done before. Even better, a Caldecott Honor title at that! We haven't discussed Janet Stevens since we did Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock a little more than a year ago. Consider this the book that made vertical picture books cool (Mel Fell owes this title a hat tip of thanks). In this episode we discuss whether Bear is on Ambien, where this takes place (since the growing seasons is so long), and Kate's theory about adirondack chairs.

Show Notes: For the full show notes please visit https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/05/06/fuse-8-n-kate-tops-bottoms-by-janet-stevens/

Episode 315 - Tops and Bottoms

Today, we do our second David Wiesner book (after Tuesday). Along the way we discuss the philosophy behind Wiesner's void ("Is this just the space between the stories we tell?") and how this is (spoiler alert) our 200th classic on the podcast! Woohoo!

Show Notes:

For the full show notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/05/13/fuse-8-n-kate-the-three-pigs-by-david-wiesner

Episode 316 - The Three Pigs

As mentioned on this podcast episode, Kate and Betsy truly will be in San Diego at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference to record an episode WITH a special secret guest. Many thanks to the very kind Travis Jonker (alumni of Kate's college) for sharing his recording booth with us. Today's book was a Reading Rainbow book back in the day. We detect some similarities to The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg, we talk Gertie the Dinosaur, and try to understand why members of a baseball team would look at an animal and instantly think, "Shortstop!"

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/05/20/fuse-8-n-kate-dinosaur-bob-and-his-adventures-with-the-family-lazardo-by-william-joyce/

Episode 317 - Dinosaur Bob and his Adventures with the Family Lazardo

Here in Illinois the cicadas are truly beginning to emerge en masse. As such, Betsy was kind of hoping she might be able to find a book that speaks to this. Alas, Cicada Symphony by Sue Fleiss (illustrated by Gareth Lucas) is just barely a year old. So what's the next best course of action? Locate some other red-eyed creature found in trees, of course! Now finding old nonfiction picture books with the potential to be called "classic" are few and far between, thanks to our twenty year rule. Fortunately, the farther into the future we tread, the more possibilities there are to choose between. And what better 1999 informational title could one choose today than good old Red-Eyed Tree Frog? Written by an author who has had a HECK of a life (you gotta check out her Wikipedia page sometime). We discuss which came first with this book, the photos or the text, and why sometimes you just gotta get a second moth shot (as opposed to a shot of Malört).

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/03/fuse-8-n-kate-red-eyed-tree-frog-by-joy-cowley-ill-nic-bishop/

Episode 318 - Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Oh ho! We haven't done a Steven Kellogg re-illustration title since Pinkereton, Behave! back in 2021! This is particularly strange as The Mysterious Tadpole was always, without a doubt, a favorite Kellogg picture book of Betsy's when she was a child. For various reasons we were never able to discuss it on Fuse 8 n' Kate... until today! We consider the original 1977 edition of this book versus the 2004 update. Now I must warn you that this episode sort of jumps into Betsy and Kate talking about cicadas (again), partly because they're awesome, and partly because the first part of this episode acquired some odd sound issues, so we had to cut out the very first part. Apologies! In this episode we discuss whether or not Alphonse became less cute in the new edition, why the parenting in this new edition is so angry, and why Kellogg felt it necessary to enroll his tadpole in obedience school.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/10/fuse-8-n-kate-the-mysterious-tadpole-by-steven-kellogg/(opens in a new tab)

Episode 319 - The Mysterious Tadpole

Kate's crie de coeur for more blood and guts in children's picture books once again finds its mark. Usually you might associate a book of this sort with titles of a more European bent, but Asch and son are 100% 'merican, baby. With enough weirdness to choke a cat, this one's just so very strange. Not to give anything away but we are exceedingly pleased to state that this book is still in print in paperback form today. We discuss houndstooth suits, Itchy and Scratchy, the sinking of the Titanic, and more.

For the show's full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/17/fuse-8-n-kate-mr-maxwells-mouse-by-frank-asch-ill-devin-asch

Episode 320 - Mr. Maxwell's Mouse

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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Episode 264 - Gerald McBoing Boing

Fuse 8 n' Kate

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