Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, ill. Anita Jeram
There is a certain type of picture book that can be best described as a Love It or Loathe It title. These are books that some people adore with their whole heart and without irony. And there are books that some people loathe deep down to their very souls without apology. It had been a long time since I’d handed Kate a Giving Tree or Rainbow Fish. So how would she react to this particular old chestnut? Published in 1994 in Great Britain and 1995 in the States, I doubt that few would contest that this book became an instant hit when it debuted and hasn’t lost love of the public since. We delve into the deep psychological compunctions of male nutbrown hares including their latent daddy issues.
Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, or your preferred method of podcast selection.
Show Notes:
Interested in the sequel? It was released in the fall of 2020 and here it is:
Here’s the pop-up book, which actually worked remarkably well.
You can find the text from Bad British Accent Reader’s Theater here.
If you’ve big feelings to get out after seeing this cover, perhaps the piece Can You Guess How Much I Want to Punch You in the Crotch Right Now Big Nutbrown Hare? from Medium can bring you some peace.
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The podcasts I’ve recommended are This Is Love, Ologies, and Completely Arbortrary.
Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate
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.
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Was really curious what you’d say and yup you said everything I thought. Shared it with my grandkids and they were ‘meh’ but my mom was adamant that the father nut brown hare HAD to win the contest.
I think it’s popular because he tapped into the idea all kids have done, stretching their arms out, loving their parents. I remember my little sister did that.
My favorite Sam McBratney book is “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs”. The text is excellent for memorizing and telling!