SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

November 20, 2017 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

November 20, 2017 by Betsy Bird   3 comments

WhyMosquitoesBuzzShe’s no household name, though Verna Aardema has been behind some of the most memorable books in the field of children’s literature. And yet, we could easily have a lot of debate about authenticity and appropriation as it relates to her books. Her best known to this day, I would argue, would have to be Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, notable for a number of reasons. As Barbara Bader wrote in Horn Book back in 2006:

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, published in 1975, brought instant renown to author and illustrators, and handily won the Caldecott. The color is luscious; the filmy air-brushed surfaces are seductive; the composition, in the abstract, is striking. But to my mind the events of the story are obscured, rather than illuminated, by the complex, monumental pictures — a pile-up of motifs clamoring for attention. Except — KPAO! — for the last page.

If Aardema’s narrative nonetheless holds its own, that’s at least partly because she discovered African ideophones — in Richard Dorson’s African Folklore, proffered by a helpful librarian — just in time to insert a dozen strategically into the text, starting with wasu wusu for the python. And they registered: when I proposed writing about Aardema to Roger Sutton, children’s librarian emeritus, he e-mailed back: “right — krik, krik, krik — Aardema — swish, swish, swish.”

Of course one of the reasons the book is best known today is that it helped to make Leo Dillon the first African-American Caldecott Award winner. Now the era of the folktale has passed. I wrote a blog post in 2015 discussing the death of the African folktale in the American market. And yet for all that, this book endures. Why? Kate and I decide to get to the bottom of the matter.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your preferred method of podcast selection.

Show Notes:

Voila. Sassy, grumpy iguana.

WhyMosquitoes4

I said this book had nothing to do with Thanksgiving but look! A mention of yams!!

– Technically the name of the song is “The Green Grass Grew All Around” and not “There Was a Hole”. Ah well.

The Scariest Picture:

WhyMosquitoes1

The Funniest Picture:

WhyMosquitoes6

This isn’t an aberration. Every single time that antelope appears he has that same crazed grin on his face. Kate can claim the iguana as her avatar all she wants. This antelope is my guy 100%.

One of the many instances of proverbial owl corpse:

WhyMosquitoes3

 

Next up, sad mama owl. Look at how they indicate the baby owl is dead. Just the slightest change to the eyelids.

WhyMosquitoes5

Best. Sound. Effect. Ever.

WhyMosquitoes2

– For the record I highly HIGHLY recommend the CDs of LuAnn Adams, who is a truly magnificent storyteller.

– In case you’re curious, here’s the link to NYPL’s 100 Great Books, 100 Years.

– If any of you can find a video of the Dillons doing their art together, please please send it to me.

– Out of curiosity I wondered what books this one beat for a Caldecott. The honors that year? The Desert is Theirs , illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Byrd Baylor, and Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola.

– Here’s the creature on the cover that Kate fears is a koala:

WhyMosquitoes8

– And yeah. She wasn’t wrong. Koalas can give you chlamydia.  Ugh.

– For the record, here’s what CNN had to say about The Polar Express: “The mouth action is also less than overwhelming, since the characters’ tongues look like slabs of meat when they speak their lines.”

– Kate confirmed for me that yes, it was a ferret and not a marmot, in the bathtub in The Big Lebowski. I may not know much, but I know my weasels.

– And for those of you who are curious, here’s The Awkward Yeti.

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Diane DillonFuse 8 n' KateLeo DillonVerna AardemaWhy Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

March 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Gerald McBoing Boing by Dr. Seuss

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Curious George Goes to the Hospital by Margaret & H.A. Rey

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: The Mitten by Jan Brett

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: A Valentine for Norman Noggs by Valiska Gregory, ill. Marsha Winborn

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Books from Pura Belpré Winners

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Newbery / Caldecott 2024: Spring Prediction Edition

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Pardalita | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Why Teens Should Read Hard History, a guest post by Lesley Younge

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Carole Lindstrom Turns Family History into a Song of Hope

Greenwillow’s Virginia Duncan on Working with 'Stars' Erin Entrada Kelly, Kevin Henkes, and Others

Ellen Oh, Linda Sue Park, and Ami Polonsky Speak Out Against Censorship at Florida School Board Meeting

Star Journey: The Intense Collaboration Behind 'Ain’t Burned All the Bright' by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

SLJ and Penguin Random House Create Poster Supporting the Freedom to Read

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. C Baker says

    November 20, 2017 at 1:38 pm

    Yams in Africa are not at all related to sweet potatoes in America. When Africans were kidnapped and brought to America, they used a familiar word (yam) to refer to a new vegetable. But they’re not the same, and you can hardly find yams over here.

  2. DanB says

    November 20, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    If you’re looking for scientific inaccuracies in the book to object to, there’s a really big one: iguanas are not an African species. They’re from the Americas.

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      November 20, 2017 at 10:50 pm

      We’re two for two inaccuracies! Thanks for this, folks. No yams. No iguanas. Ta.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023