Fuse 8 n’ Kate: When Everybody Wore a Hat by William Steig
Recently I created a post of picture books that belie the idea that all picture book “classics” are by white people. Amongst these were books with Jewish content. They were:
- Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Episode 24)
- The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming (Episode 68)
- Tell Me a Mitzi (Episode 89)
- Hanukkah Bear / The Chanukkah Guest (Episode 117)
- It Could Always Be Worse (Episode 154)
- Latkes and Applesauce (Episode 164)
- Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Episode 208)
- Laughing Latkes (Episode 252)
What I noticed from this list is that most of these are just Hanukkah-related titles. So at the suggestion of Lisa Brown we’re doing the very last William Steig picture book that was ever published. This book was released in spring of 2003 and he died in the fall of 2003. Not too shabby. The man was a genius but how does this very last book hold up? We discuss it at length.
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Show Notes:
Here, you may see, the frog purse that Kate got me from the Philippines. It. Is. Awesome. Any name suggestions for it come to mind?
Grown up Bert from Sesame Street. Only now he’s gained a bit of roundness in his middle section and apparently he’s puffing cigars these days. Still rocks that unibrow, tho.
“Mom’s best friend.” This woman is my personal hero. Kate thinks she looks like Lily Von Schtupp from Blazing Saddles. She is also, strangely, the first person in this book we’ve seen before who is actually wearing a hat.
We discover now that women have hooves. Though, in the case of the second woman here, I’d say her bigger problem is a complete and utter lack of a nose!
Here’s a question. Is this truly the first picture book we’ve done on our podcast that actually shows blood? I’m blanking. Can anyone name another?
Mrs. Kingman confused us for a little while here. The string connecting her glasses to her fur is a new one on us.
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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I recently read the picture book “How Dinosaurs went Extinct: A Safety Guide” by Dyckman. I loved the idea of dad using the question to encourage his child to obey safety maxims, but some adults will object to the occasional bloody limb dropping off. Kids will get the “over-the-top” aspect, but yeah, blood in picture books is pretty rare.
Oh, I LOVE that book! I have it on my list as one of the funniest of 2023, actually. What a good comparison!
The ‘Cat Lady’ bears a strong resemblance to ‘Sid the Science Kid” 🙂