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

August 12, 2019 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Dinosaurs Divorce by Laurene Krasny Brown, ill. Marc Brown

August 12, 2019 by Betsy Bird   1 comments

This week’s challenge from Kate: Deliver unto her a “classic picture book about divorce”. So I conferred with my fellow librarians and we all agreed that there is really only one that would fit the bill: A little number from 1986. There’s a number of reasons for this selection. The book remains popular to this day. This book is still in print (have they updated the terms since its original publication? This is unclear). And, as Kate points out, this is clearly more a guide than something you might read cover-to-cover. So how has it aged over the years?

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

Show Notes:

  • Here is the website of Ms. Laurene Krasny Brown. And here are her current and upcoming shows. Check one out if you have a chance:

Fine and Applied Paper Art

Open Studio

August 24 & 25, 2019
Reception: 4–7pm each day

Pilot Hill Farm
180 Pilot Hill Farm Road
Tisbury, Massachusetts 02568
+1(508) 696-9212
studio@laurenekrasnybrown.com

Extremes and In-Betweens

NAWA MA Members Juried Exhibition

August 1–September 1, 2019
Opening Reception 3 August, 4–6pm

Rocky Neck Art Colony
6 Wonson Street
Gloucester, MA 01930
+1(617) 699-2736

Solo Exhibition

Summer 2019

The Creamery
Stonover Farm
169 Under Mountain Road
Lenox, MA 01240
+1(413) 637-3344

  • And now it’s time for our favorite show, Out-of-Date “Divorce Words and What They Mean”. Let us review the more problematic terms and definitions.
  • Apparently there are only two ways for parents not to get along. You’re hot or you’re cold.
  • For the record, we don’t mention this on the podcast, but can anyone figure out what this book might be referencing?
  • Precisely what you expect to find when perusing a picture book: Momma mixing her pills with her booze! As Kate rightly points out, the next panel should really be an image of Mama going on an ambulance stat.
  • Kate liked this page. She appreciated how the book could show a wide range of emotions associated with divorce.
  • However, she was less enamored of how super busy pages were, and the sheer variety in terms of patterns and colors.
  • Time for another appearance of an old timey phone. So I asked my 8-year-old daughter about this image and she was dismissive of the idea that a kid wouldn’t know what a rotary phone is. When pressed, however, she said that so many older children’s picture books contain these very phones that a lot of kids would be familiar with them already. That’s a fair point. We assume our children won’t recognize old technology, but if you’re reading them picture book “classics” then they’re often steeped in them anyway.
  • It’s Christmas VS Hanukkah! Who! Will! Win?
  • To answer the question of whether or not divorce is up or down since 1986, I found this article from TIME Magazine, published last year. It says:

“Have you heard that statistic that half of all marriages will end in divorce? It’s wrong. Even if that many marriages ever did disintegrate at one point, they don’t now. Divorce is on the decline and has been since the 1980s in America (when that 50% divorce statistic took hold). Experts now put your chances of uncoupling at about 39% in the U.S.”

  • Augh! What is this teacher doing?!? Lady, I know you’re trying to be open with the classroom and show kids that they’re not along, but I don’t think that this is the best way to go about it.
  • And finally, the greatest mystery of them all: Why is this not a dinosaur witch?

Here is a list of Recommended Divorce Picture Books, for those of you interested in books that are slightly more recent:

  • Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy, ill. Carolyn Fisher.
  • Fred Stays With Me by Nancy Coffelt, ill. Tricia Tusa
  • Here and There by Tamara Ellis Smith, ill. Evelyn Daviddi
  • Why Do Families Change by Jillian Roberts, ill. Cindy Revell
  • Living With Mom and Living With Dad by Melanie Walsh

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Fuse 8 n' KateLaurene Krasny BrownMarc Brown

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

June 2022

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Black Misery by Langston Hughes, ill. Arouni

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Special Guest Ursula Murray Husted (!!) Presents Lulu and the Flying Babies by Posy Simmonds

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka

by Betsy Bird

May 2022

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Harlem by Walter Dean Myers, ill. Christopher Myers

by Betsy Bird

May 2022

Fuse 8 n' Kate: There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Notes on June 2022

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: Listen to the Language of the Trees by Tera Kelley, ill. Marie Hermansson

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Banana Fox and The Gummy Monster Mess | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Mock Newbery Update – Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

by

The Classroom Bookshelf

by

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Best Middle Grade Books 2019 | SLJ Best Books

Sneak Peek: SLJ Best Books 2020

Sessions on Teaching the Truth, Facing Challenges to Antiracist Books, Mobile Services, and More Planned for SLJ Summit

Best Chapter Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books

SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Quotes from 2021 Best Books

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. Kathy S says

    August 14, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    I’ve always liked “My Parents Are Divorced, My Elbows Have Nicknames, and Other Facts About Me” by Bill Cochran

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 © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022