Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston, ill. Barbara Cooney
Hiccups or no hiccups, the podcast must go on! We strive to once again provide a holiday-related picture book on our podcast. Now Barbara Cooney was much on our minds since I premiered the cover of an upcoming Barbara Cooney picture book bio coming out in 2024. Today’s little book is actually still in print (not always a given) and it’s an interesting consideration of the effect of WWI on small town Christmas celebrations. We quote So I Married an Axe Murderer, Christmas Spite (which I still say would be a great name for a book), what a “treat poke” might be, and discuss how often it is that women are doing ALL the work and getting none of the credit.
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:
This is the power of spite at work. This woman has spent all night cutting down a tree, and all day sewing a dress and angel tree topper for her daughter. And why? Just to spite that jerkwad preacher, THAT’s why.
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That is one chill sheep, y’all.
I’m not alone in thinking St. Nick looks like a beaver in this shot, right?
Kate Recommends: The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask]
Betsy Recommends: The Manuel Cinema Christmas Carol
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 believe “poke” has some regional/historic use as a synonym for bag, like in the idiom “a pig in a poke.” (Not that I can remember what that means, ha!)
I purchased a copy of this book this fall since a surprising number of patrons had it on hold last December. It’s circulating well this year too, and I suspect it might be on a list of Christmas books for a homeschooling curriculum.