Fuse 8 n’ Kate: CROSSOVER EPISODE: The Yarn Presents Travis Jonker with Thirteen by Remy Charlip and Jerry Joyner
“If you’re looking for a typical story with words and a plot, this ain’t it. Go somewhere else.”
It’s the podcast we’ve wanted to do for months. The ultimate crossover. For the first time, TWO School Library Journal podcasts have come together to consider the classical status of a picture book of the past. You know him. You love him. You cannot help but be aware of his blog (100 Scope Notes), his picture books (The Ship in the Window, Just One Flake, etc.), or his podcast (The Yarn). His co-host Colby Sharp was unavailable but we did get… Travis Jonker! Woohoo! Yay! As per usual, when we have a guest on the podcast we ask them to select a picture book to discuss. Travis’s choice is none other than that Remy Charlip delight, Thirteen. A 1975 release, it was re-released in 2018 and remains in print to this day. Amongst its many fans are Brian Selznick, who modeled his character of Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès on the face of Remy Charlip. Today we discuss how this book “rewards repeat rereading” and how it reminds us of Black and White by David Macaulay (though that was only four stories. Not thirteen!) It’s a dream for fans of tiny details. Discover it for yourself.
Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, Audible, Amazon Music, or your preferred method of podcast selection.
Show Notes:
Here is the photo of the model ship in the window of The Bookstall that accompanied the display of Travis Jonker’s new picture book.
One does not usually expect a table of contents of this sort in a relatively short picture book.
The original Kirkus review of this book is WELL worth reading. Travis cites it and with great fondness. It is, as he says, the most New York review of all time.
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Yeah, it’s hard to top the picture-within-a-picture aspects of this book:
Personally, I love the leaf that appears at the beginning of the book and, in its way, becomes a butterfly by the end.
What was the first meta picture book, Travis asks. I suggest the books of Peter Newell like The Slant Book but would you call his titles meta?
This author photo is pretty good but . . .
.. while Shel Silverstein is the king of the author photo, this image of Remy Charlip is a close second. Thank you, Travis, for telling us about it!
Betsy Recommends: The podcast Shortwave, particularly the episode Evolution keeps making crabs. We asked a scientist why.
Kate Recommends: The Costco box of Ghirardelli brownie mix
Travis Recommends: The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate, Uncategorized
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 Kirkus, 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 BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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So fun to hear the two greats together! When you (both?) get around to doing the author photo thing, reserve a section for Daniel Pinkwater. The Big Orange Splot has him levitating several inches into the air, and the second Snarkout Boys book has him transforming into a werewolf.
Looking at the title of today’s Fuse 8 n’ Kate I thought of several books with this title . . . Thirteen Reasons Why; All Thirteen; 13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen, etc. Amazon had this THIRTEEN by Remi Charlie and Jerry Joyner for sale and I ordered a copy for the library I sponsor. I think the youngsters will enjoy it.
This one reminds me a lot of the Mamoko books from Poland. They also have a number of different stories happening throughout the book, which are updated on every page. They get compared to the Where’s Waldo books, but I like them better because of the stories. It’s a shame they are too recent for the podcast. You should definitely check them out if you haven’t seen them.