Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier, ill. Sheldon Cohen, translated by Sheila Fischman
With the thrall of the Olympics in the air, Kate and I decided to do a sportsy picture book this week. And what we ended up with is arguably the most famous picture book in Canada. How famous is it? It’s SO famous that a line from it has appeared on Canadian currency. It’s SO famous that it has its own musical. We dodge around topics like Canada’s Quiet Revolution (?), books with titles like La Guerre, Yes Sir!, Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, and I mispronounce Tupac. Cause I can.
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:
Kate’s not wrong. The hero of this book, Maurice Richard, really did get a biopic film of his own:
There’s nothing quite like going to the Post Office to blackmail your local Fidel Castro:
Whatever this woman is saying, this man is not digging it.
We were very sad not to see poutine on this menu. Boo! We insist on more gravy-soaked fries!
Curious? Here’s a glimpse of the musical they made of the book. I highly suspect it had a different resolution from that of the original tale:
Betsy Recommends: The podcasts The Plot Thickens from TCM (season 2!) and Still Buffering.
Kate Recommends: Schmigadoon on Apple Plus
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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Heard your podcast; can’t say I enjoyed it, unfortunately. You really have to have grown up in Quebec to really understand why the story is so popular in Canada. It also helps if you know that Maurice Richard was one of the greatest hockey players of all time – he even started a riot! Maybe you’ll like the animated short film instead: https://www.nfb.ca/film/sweater/
Excellent! There’s that fighting Canadian spirit I was hoping for! I SHALL check out that short film and report accordingly before our next podcast. Thank you!
https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=6529 😊