Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch, ill. Michael Martchenko

In the news recently were articles about the diseases that Canadian picture book creator Robert Munsch is facing at the moment. Inspired, we thought we owed the man a third episode (after the marvelous Paper Bag Princess and the unfortunate Love You Forever). Much like our recent foray into Max’s Dragon Shirt, we return to the 90s in picture book form. The scrunchies! The clothing! The fact that there used to be kids named Stephanie! It’s all there. We consider the book, its humor, its lesson, and the fact that this is one fun little title.

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:

If you’d like to read the New York Times article When Dementia Steals the Imagination of a Children’s Book Writer, you may do so. You can also read this recent CBC article about him here.

We like the kid in the back of the crowd here who is looking at Stephanie’s ponytail like he has never seen something quite so shocking and horrid.

We had high hopes for the child we dubbed Fruit Kid. Alas, he also opts to follow the crowd as the book goes on. Still, it’s fascinating to watch the sheer variety of fruits he eats.

Betsy Recommends: Kate McKinnon on an episode of Smartless and she does a VERY lovely explanation of the difference between middle grade books and young adult.

Kate Recommends: Practical Magic

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