Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Hard Scrabble Harvest by Dahlov Ipcar
Turkey day approacheth and, let me tell you, it can be just a tiny bit difficult finding Thanksgiving Day picture books from 20+ years ago that aren’t offensive in some way. Today’s title came out originally in 1976, though you wouldn’t know it from the lead male’s shirt which is VERY 1985. We learn a bit about Dahlov Ipcar and consider a book where every single problem in this book could be solved if the farmer just installed, oh I dunno, A FENCE!! This is, to our mind, the story about a guy who went off the grid without doing any research. Enjoy it as we try to determine its place in the Gobble Day pantheon.
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:
Buddy, what are you wearing? What we have here is a man out of time. And honestly, he should NOT be farming. This is a guy who is terrible at his job.
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Why on earth is the scarecrow waving a white flag of truce at the crows? We can’t help but think that this is a farm fail.
When we look at the fanciness of these chickens, we immediately think of the book Going Down Home With Daddy. Whose chickens did it better?
Even when this doofus farmer does put up a fence, we suspect he just put it up for aesthetics, not practicality.
Ever seen a beagle crossed with a greyhound? Now you have!
We don’t think we want to eat any of the food from this man’s farm.
From 80s nightclub to… lumberjack! Or 90s grunge, if we’re feeling kind.
The all-pink and green cellar is quite a flex.
And suddenly we understand why the lady on this farm is with this terrible farmer. The man? he has some madass junk in his trunk. So much so that he’s literally splitting his pants on the sides!
We are enjoying this shirt. That said, what is going on with this outfit?
Kate Recommends: Further knowledge about black plastic and foods.
Betsy Recommends: Stand By Me
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 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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I believe the scarecrow has a flappy thing to provide motion to help scare the crows, who will rapidly stop being scared of a totally stationary object.
They won’t be scared of a stationary object with a flappy thing for very long either, of course, but.