Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

It’s been a day or two since we did a Mo Willems book on the podcast (and you can believe I’m counting down the days until one of those Elephant & Piggie books turns 20). What absolutely kills me is that we did today’s title in complete ignorance of the fact that it was recently adapted into an incredible looking stage production in D.C. with a Chicago-based theater company…. which just closed. Doggone it. This book is interesting for a number of reasons. First off, Mo Willems had already done a Pigeon book (square) and a Knuffle Bunny book (horizontal), but this marked his first vertical book. We discuss our future picture book “Steampunk Monster”, how Sam’s got sass, baby Wild Things, and more.

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Show Notes:

The sequel to this book is, of course, Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World.

Since you cannot see the Manuel Cinema production of this book as a play anymore, why not enjoy this video in lieu of the fact?

Kate’s assessment of Leonardo is interesting. She says he’s the clear child of one of the monster’s from Where the Wild Things Are, but more along the lines of an anemic toddler.

I suspect that this is Mo. It looks like the Dad from Knuffle Bunny, right? I love how she’s looking at the man, like she’s saying, “You’re getting how cute this guy is, right?”

Well. Yes. Kate did count the teeth. Only 148 are shown, so we have to assume rows upon rows upon rows are inside these mouths *shudder*. And we both love that one of these is a gold tooth.

Kate says that this ankle bracelet is “so 2005”. I like the fact that Eleanor here not only paints her regular front-facing claws, but the ones on the backs of her ankles as well.

Okay, so let’s figure this one out. What research books are Leonardo using to figure out who, precisely, is the most scaredy-cat kid in the world? Please note the Nokia on the ground too.

We took a great deal of interest in “BLAGGGLE BLAGGLE!!” Is this a reference at all to the “aagle blaagle” of Knuffle Bunny?

This two-page spread is fascinating. Not simply the use of typography to have such a big impact, but also the color choice. Yellow on pink, eh?

Kate Recommends: The board game Box Two.

Betsy Recommends: The recent Radiolab episodes Everybody’s Got One and Growth.

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate