Fuse 8 n' Kate

While this may not be the first time we've ever covered an illustrator that I've collaborated with (remember when we discussed Dan Santat and After the Fall?) this is one of the few cases where we've done a collaborator of mine who has an honest-to-goodness classicky classic. We discuss the strength of Imogene's neck muscles, you get to hear an impromptu jingle for the Emergency Hat Service, I manage to work in a tiny reference to Gregor Samsa, and we marvel at Imogene's good nature. As I say on the show, "Imogene's most defining quality is her lack of freaking out over pretty much anything. This is a real go-with-the-flow kind of kid." Show Notes: The blog Don't Read This to My Kids has many thoughts on the book and they're worth reading here: http://www.drttmk.com/books/imogenes-antlers This Imogene Halloween costume is brilliant. Two thumbs up! And it comes from the post Five Super Simple Halloween Costumes from the blog This Picture Book Life: http://thispicturebooklife.com/super-simple-picture-book-halloween-costumes/ For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/08/10/fuse-8-n-kate-imogenes-antlers-by-david-small/

When we consider classic Latinx picture books that would qualify as #ownvoices, only a few have been covered on this show. I mean, sure we did Pura Belpre's Perez and Martina a while ago, but let's get a little more contemporary, eh? Today's book premiered in 2000, which means it just barely squeezes in under the 20 year rule for inclusion. Now, granted, we probably should have started with the first book in the series, Chato's Kitchen. The only problem with that is (A) It's not as good and (B) Betsy couldn't find it on the library shelf and grabbed this instead. Eh. That's okay. Show Notes: Susan Guevara's vision for this book goes far and beyond anything Soto could have included in the text. Her interpretation covers a wide swath of influences and references, making it one of the most interesting picture book reads out there. Read the transcript of her interview or listen to it on Teachingbooks.net here: https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=11932&a=1 If you'd like to read Gary Soto's essay "Why I Don't Write Children's Literature", you can find it here: https://muse.jhu.edu/book/38019 If you'd like to see the Spanish version of the Weston Woods video of this book, you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vix5GUph2JY For the full Show Notes, please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/08/03/fuse-8-n-kate-chato-and-the-party-animals-by-gary-soto-ill-susan-guevara/

A lot of this show consists of Betsy thinking up an author (say, Patricia Polacco) then saying to herself "What's their most famous book?" In the case of Ms. Polacco, she was a bit stumped. This book was definitely in the top five, and she figured it would make for an interesting choice. Particularly since its shiny Sydney Taylor Award on the cover was intriguing. With its 1988 pub date, there's still a lot to really enjoy about this title. It's aged nicely, and ties in well with stories like Jacqueline Woodson's Show Way or Papa Had a Little Overcoat, even. Show Notes: I'm not kidding about the fact that Polacco went to school with Frank Oz and babysat Tom Hanks. Read all about it here: https://lifechums.wordpress.com/tag/tom-hanks/ If you would like to see the additional pages that Patricia Polacco made for the 25th anniversary edition of this book, take a gander at this video by the Mazza Museum. Our sole objection to this vid is that you never get a good close look at the quilt itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIHG0vLoyjk Want to see the full Show Notes? Then join us at : http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/07/27/fuse-8-n-kate-the-keeping-quilt-by-patricia-polacco/

If you had to pick all the Peggy Rathmann books that exist, you probably wouldn't begin with her title The Day the Babies Crawled Away (which Kate and Betsy did do on a previous episode). Instead, you'd probably want to do today's book! Is it her most famous? Dunno. Probably a toss up between this and Office Buckle and Gloria. Today Kate and Betsy dig deep into a title that certainly contains the world's most short-sighted escape plan. The Great Escape, this is not. Show Notes: - Here is the New York Times article that talks about Peggy Rathmann's new life and grand good life is Can Dirt Save the Earth: Agriculture Could Pull Carbon Out of the Air Into the Soil: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjlhueW79rqAhWCBc0KHSyDDM0QFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2018%2F04%2F18%2Fmagazine%2Fdirt-save-earth-carbon-farming-climate-change.html&usg=AOvVaw0JURB7VQVvxWEtlVnZXr8O This book came in at #40 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/06/01/top-100-picture-books-40-good-night-gorilla-by-peggy-rathmann/ It also came in at #12 on the Top 100 Board Books Poll: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/08/09/the-top-100-board-books-poll-countdown-15-11/ And if you'd like to check out the podcast ArtCurious, try it here: http://www.artcuriouspodcast.com/artcuriouspodcast For the full Show Notes, please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/07/20/fuse-8-n-kate-good-night-gorilla-by-peggy-rathmann/

"Bring me a bad book. Like, a really good bad book." So Kate asked Betsy. Well, we don't want to give anything away but Betsy may have hit on something. If you were born in the late 70s or early 80s, the odds are good that somebody you know read it to you. And this all ties in quite closely to current discussions of picture books with racist elements that sit blithely on shelves in children's rooms anywhere. Show Notes: In case you've ever wondered what this show's recording set-up looks like, Drew, the resident Penguinologist, put together this quickie video on a whim. It's haphazard but fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP3f_UtbXK0 While we appreciate that The Book Hound took the time to draw a connection between the Dionne quintuplets and the publication of this book, the assertion that, "While it is possible to conclude the illustrations in The Five Chinese Brothers are ethnic stereotypes, although not everyone agrees with that, it is impossible to make a case that the text contains or implies a racist premise, unless one misreads the first sentence," is an idea that holds no water: https://thebookhound.com/2018/07/31/when-looking-alike-is-not-racism-the-five-chinese-brothers-the-dionne-quintuplets/ It is not difficult to find the Weston Woods/Scholastic Teacher's Guide for this book. Note what it says at the end: "Other book based films and videos about Chinese culture are available from Weston Woods. These include: THE STORY ABOUT PING by Marjorie Flack TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO written by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent". Just . . . . wow. http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/the_five_chinese_brothers.pdf Finally, Betsy was able to track down the video of the boy reading Owl Babies to actual baby owls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i33i2VDsRU For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/07/13/fuse-8-n-kate-the-five-chinese-brothers-by-claire-huchet-bishop-and-kurt-wiese/