Episodes

  • Episode 347 - Caldecott Contenders

    Episode 347 - Caldecott Contenders
    Jan 12 2025
    Hooray! With the ALA Youth Media Awards on the near horizon (Monday, January 27th at 8 a.m. MT to be precise) it's never been a better time to debate some possible winners of the Caldecott Award. Today, I hand over to Kate an unprecedented FOUR possible contenders (rather than my usual three)! Will she opt for the vibrant father-daughter vibes of My Daddy Is a Cowboy, the rainbow wry-wit of Touch the Sky, the luminous family-centric storytelling of Joyful Song, or the heartfelt sincerity of Home in a Lunchbox? Only this podcast can say for sure. For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/01/12/fuse-8-n-kate-the-caldecott-contenders-of-2025/
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    38 mins
  • Episode 346 - Black and White

    Episode 346 - Black and White
    Jan 5 2025
    A Caldecott Award winner! It's been a minute, hasn't it? When Betsy thinks of today's book she thinks of something David Wiesner said about it during one of his own Caldecott acceptance speeches. "Structurally unlike any medal winner before it — or since — Black and White...redefined the way stories could be told in picture books. And, just as importantly, it did this while being very, very funny." That's our bag, baby. As such, Betsy introduce Kate to this metafictional picture book and the legacy it engendered. Today we discuss newspapers, abstract cows, how the book occasionally hurts Kate's brain, and why it reminds her of the testing she took for her own autism. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/01/06/fuse-8-n-kate-black-and-white-by-david-macaulay/
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    31 mins
  • Episode 345 - Where Is the Green Sheep_

    Episode 345 - Where Is the Green Sheep_
    Dec 29 2024
    Betsy has been waiting YEARS to finally get to do today's book. Literally! She read this book over and over and over and over to her small children, and she has every intention of doing the same to Kate's incipient child. Today we get to talk about sheep! Sheep of every type and stripe! We also discuss, for some reason, Australian armor-clad bushrangers, which of these sheep is the most impressive skill-wise, and whether or not this is just Hippos Go Bezerk with sheep! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/30/fuse-8-n-kate-where-is-the-green-sheep-by-mem-fox-ill-judy-horacek/
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    28 mins
  • Episode 344 - Carol of the Brown King

    Episode 344 - Carol of the Brown King
    Dec 22 2024
    Just in time for Christmas! So Betsy was on the lookout for Christmas books we hadn't done before and you know who we've never presented on this podcast? Langston Hughes! Heck, we've done James Baldwin, but we've never done Langston Hughes. Oddly, we've done shockingly few picture books over the years around Christmastime that involve baby Jesus. Today we consider an author who was blacklisted in his day and turned to writing books for children to make ends meet. This particular book was also never really intended to be a children's book. It's a series of poems that were adapted into a book format instead. How well does it hold up over time aside from the goodness of its mere existence? We intend to find out. For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/23/fuse-8-n-kate-carol-of-the-brown-king-by-langston-hughes-ill-ashley-bryan/
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    28 mins
  • Episode 343 - Moishe's Miracle

    Episode 343 - Moishe's Miracle
    Dec 14 2024
    Since Christmas and Hanukkah fall on the same day this year, Kate and Betsy had a difficult decision ahead: Do we do a Christmas first book or a Hanukkah book. And, if a Hanukkah book, which one? The answer came to us when Betsy discovered the incredible and incredibly weird Moishe's Miracle. Unfamiliar with it? Maybe it deserves classic status as an undiscovered gem. Today we discuss Gremlins, hidden gems, and so much more. For the complete Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/16/fuse-8-n-kate-moishes-miracle-a-hanukkah-story-by-laura-krauss-melmed-ill-david-slonim/
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    33 mins
  • Episode 342 - The Giant Jam Sandwich

    Episode 342 - The Giant Jam Sandwich
    Dec 9 2024
    You may have recollections of this book so vague you almost wondered if it was a fever dream you had a child. Well, wonder no longer! Today we're taking a trip to Itching Down where four million wasps cause all kinds of trouble. Like a surreal combination of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and maybe Who Needs Donuts?, join us as we determine whether or not it truly deserves to be remembered as a classic or not. Today we discuss the long forgotten Good Witch of the North, the location of this story, and how, for my generation, this book was "a whole thing." Please see the full Show Notes here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/10/fuse-8-n-kate-the-giant-jam-sandwich-by-john-vernon-lord-and-janet-burroway/
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    30 mins
  • Episode 341 - Hard Scrabble Harvest

    Episode 341 - Hard Scrabble Harvest
    Nov 24 2024
    Turkey day approacheth and, let me tell you, it can be just a tiny bit difficult finding Thanksgiving Day picture books from 20+ years ago that aren't offensive in some way. Today's title came out originally in 1976, though you wouldn't know it from the lead male's shirt which is VERY 1985. We learn a bit about Dahlov Ipcar and consider a book where every single problem in this book could be solved if the farmer just installed, oh I dunno, A FENCE!! This is, to our mind, the story about a guy who went off the grid without doing any research. Enjoy it as we try to determine its place in the Gobble Day pantheon. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/11/25/fuse-8-n-kate-hard-scrabble-harvest-by-dahlov-ipcar/
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    28 mins
  • Episode 340 - My Friend Rabbit

    Episode 340 - My Friend Rabbit
    Nov 17 2024
    Betsy got all kinds of addicted to doing Caldecott winners after we recorded an episode on Kitten's First Full Moon. Afterwards, she looked back over our recent books, and somehow we missed doing this book when it hit the 20 year mark. Bonus, it's our first Eric Rohmann title! We don't want to spoil anything, but this is the kind of book that rewards a closer read. Today we're talking tattoos, lapine workout routines, and the likelihood that someone drugged this dang hippo. To put it simply, this is The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions... The Book! You can find the full Show Notes at https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/11/18/fuse-8-n-kate-my-friend-rabbit-by-eric-rohmann/
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    27 mins