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 23, 2020 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin

November 23, 2020 by Betsy Bird   2 comments

I don’t care what any of you say. Sweet potatoes shall never cross this Thanksgiving plate o’ mine. To celebrate the season (though we all know it’s pared down terribly this year) Kate requested a Thanksgiving picture book classic. We got some great suggestions from our readers all of which I am placing on the back burner for next year. That’s because this year, I’m doing a book circa 1971. One that I remember pulling out every year when I was a children’s librarian in NYC. In the course of things, Kate creates a shocking backstory worthy of V.C. Andrews while I deep dive into Agatha Christie territory and start speculating about how the incipient murder would take place. In other words, Thanksgiving fun for the whole family!

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:

I’m … I’m so very pleased. After mentioning on the podcast that I suspected that as a child I saw a film based on Wendy and Harry Devlin’s book about a witch, I looked it up on YouTube, found it, and in the show notes it says “The life of a witch is disrupted by the arrival of a boy and his mother. The intruders’ presence makes her struggle to adjust to the modern world, and to change from bad to good witch. Based on the book “Old Black Witch” by Wende and Harry Devlin.” Apparently it was playing in elementary schools in the 70s as well as the 80s. One wonders when it was finally retired.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Aw, heck. It’s almost Thanksgiving. Here’s a little treat. The Thanksgiving Song I asked Kate to sing (and I MIGHT point out that on the spot she was able to sing this song verbatim, which is remarkable):

I wasn’t kidding about The National covering this song, by the way:

And you can see the Addams Family version of a Thanksgiving song here, which Kate alludes to.

Where is that girl’s grandmother? It is November in New England and she’s just wearing this thin thin shirt? Put on a coat, girl!

“All I’m saying is, if this was an Agatha Christie mystery, I know how this old lady would die.” As you can see, she’s hiding her highly desirable cranberry bread recipe behind a brick. That means I’ve already identified the murder weapon!

Kate’s theory that Grandma is actually Maggie’s mother is backed up, to my mind, by the fact that her face is shockingly smooth and supple. This is all a complex masquerade on Grandma’s part.

I love the Scooby-Doo-esque backgrounds going on in scenes like this.

This only comes up briefly in the course of our conversation but I just love how the artists do this shift to silhouettes. I don’t recall many older picture books going this route unless it was the whole book and not just a double page spread.

Picture books with recipes in the back are a dime a dozen today, but this was the oldest we’ve ever found on this show. Love the “Get Mother to help.” Sorry, Pops.

Here is Christine Taylor-Butler’s piece on Gender Inequity: Caldecott by the Numbers. #KidlitWomen. And a big thank you to Sarah Brannen for pointing out the disparity in the sex of the creators we feature on our podcast.

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Cranberry ThanksgivingFuse 8 n' KateThanksgivingWende and Harry Devlin

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

Shark Week and Earl Grey Tea: Bob Shea and Brian Won on The Yarn Podcast

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Have You Seen the Darkness? A Richard Fairgray, Black Sand Beach Interview

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, vol. 1 | Review

by Renee Scott

Heavy Medal

Mock Newbery Update – Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Wild Mustangs Made Me a Writer, a guest post by author Jennifer Adam

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

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

Done with 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? Read These 8 Books Next

Summertime Stories: 8 YA Rom-Coms, Thrillers, and Other Beach Reads

Survival of the Fittest: 7 Eye-Opening Books to Shelve Alongside 'Lord of the Flies'

15 Middle Grade & YA History Books That Highlight Marginalized Voices

14 Nonfiction Titles for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages

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 Smargiassi says

    December 2, 2020 at 2:32 pm

    One positive about this book that you didn’t mention, is that the story doesn’t drag in the racist origin myth for Thanksgiving. It’s just about gathering people together and eating. There aren’t that many Thanksgiving books like that, and these days we’re all on the lookout for such.

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      December 2, 2020 at 4:22 pm

      That was actually a key factor in my selecting it. It’s actually quite notable how the book avoids any mention of that myth whatsoever. I should have brought that up. Excellent point.

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