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Fuse 8 n' Kate

Fuse 8 n' Kate

By: Betsy Bird and Kate Ramsey
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About this listen

 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 TsurumiAll rights reserved
Episodes
  • Episode 385 - The Hallo-Wiener

    Episode 385 - The Hallo-Wiener
    Oct 27 2025
    What is the most loathed trope in picturebookdom to date? Some might say it's the everyone-forgot-my-birthday plot but we have something even worse in mind. For us, it's the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer topic of everyone being mean until you save their butts in some way and now they like you. Little did we suspect that beloved children's author Dav Pilkey, he of Captain Underpants and Dog Man fame, once capitulated to that very idea in one of his books. Behold! Our first Dav Pilkey title on the podcast! And the last? That remains to be seen. Join us then as we discuss rotary phones, trick-or-treating etiquette, and bad puns (that don't even really work, doggone it). You can find the full Show Notes of the episode here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/10/27/fuse-8-n-kate-the-hallo-wiener-by-dav-pilkey/
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    31 mins
  • Episode 384 - What Was I Scared Of_

    Episode 384 - What Was I Scared Of_
    Oct 20 2025
    Anyone who has ever picked up a copy of The Sneetches for their children has probably discovered that The Sneetches does not stand alone. Indeed, it appears in a collection called The Sneetches and Other Stories. Now we've never done The Sneetches on our podcast. That would be an episode for another day. Today, we look at the far lesser-known (possibly for good reason) title What Was I Scared Of? Previously published under the title Pale Green Pants (and I think we can all agree that this title change was a move in the right direction) it follows a pair of disembodied pants straight out of the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Today, Kate I consider it as a possible Halloween contender and, in the course of things, discuss the 1977 animated Halloween television special Halloween is Grinch Night, the difficulty of saying the term "anapestic tetrameter" aloud, why the true star of this book should be named "Torselus Todd", and (I won't lie) we may use the term "badonkadonk" more than once. For the Show Notes to this episode please go to: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/10/20/fuse-8-n-kate-what-was-i-cared-of-by-dr-seuss/
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    28 mins
  • Episode 383 - Big Pumpkin

    Episode 383 - Big Pumpkin
    Oct 13 2025
    As Halloween creeps ever closer (and the weather begins to resemble something somewhat autumnal) we continue to seek out potential seasonal classics from the many books that have come before. Today's suggestion comes to us via Ramarie B. and it's a text based on an old Russian fairy tale. Mind you, in the original, this story featured a turnip (and it says a lot about a culture if a gigantic turnip is someone's idea of a food you'd want in abundance). Today, in spite of the fact that Kate and I have failed MULTIPLE times to successfully grow pumpkins (I have one going right now, but it's green and I don't think it's going to orange up in time for Halloween), we examine this book. Be prepared for discussions of pumpkin sex, vampire fashion wear, and why one might want to garden in their socks. You can find the full Show Notes at https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/10/13/fuse-8-n-kate-big-pumpkin-by-erica-silverman-ill-s-d-schindler/
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    30 mins
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