We don't play this up much, but this actually marks the first appearance of Chris Raschka on our podcast. And WHATTA debut! This taps into my love of all picture books in which the protagonist gets eaten. But for Kate, she hyperfixates on the very semantics of the word "sardine". How can you hope to become the thing that you already are? That little delve into the philosophical underpinnings of edible tiny fish is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to today's discussion. Suffice to say, we diverge WIDELY on our interpretation of this book. In face, we may be as different on our votes for this book as we have ever been.
For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/02/fuse-8-n-kate-arlene-sardine-by-chris-raschka/
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We don't play this up much, but this actually marks the first appearance of Chris Raschka on our podcast. And WHATTA debut! This taps into my love of all picture books in which the protagonist gets eaten. But for Kate, she hyperfixates on the very semantics of the word "sardine". How can you hope to become the thing that you already are? That little delve into the philosophical underpinnings of edible tiny fish is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to today's discussion. Suffice to say, we diverge WIDELY on our interpretation of this book. In face, we may be as different on our votes for this book as we have ever been.
For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/02/fuse-8-n-kate-arlene-sardine-by-chris-raschka/
Betsy doesn't know why people don't talk more about this book. While John Steptoe is well-known for Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters and, to a lesser extent, Stevie, today's book is rarely discussed. Yet can you even think of another case where a picture book creator wrote something as autobiographical AND as problematic ABOUT THEMSELVES as this? John Steptoe was working on another level with this title and we intend to break it down as much as possible on the podcast. We discuss picture books that talk about spankings vs. those that show them, whatever the opposite of gentle parenting is, and how Raggedy Anne occupies the Uncanny Clown Valley.
For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/09/08/fuse-8-n-kate-daddy-is-a-monster-sometimes-by-john-steptoe/
Fuse 8 n' Kate
We don't play this up much, but this actually marks the first appearance of Chris Raschka on our podcast. And WHATTA debut! This taps into my love of all picture books in which the protagonist gets eaten. But for Kate, she hyperfixates on the very semantics of the word "sardine". How can you hope to become the thing that you already are? That little delve into the philosophical underpinnings of edible tiny fish is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to today's discussion. Suffice to say, we diverge WIDELY on our interpretation of this book. In face, we may be as different on our votes for this book as we have ever been.
For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/02/fuse-8-n-kate-arlene-sardine-by-chris-raschka/
