Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
We return to the wordless and spare once more. Lehman’s Caldecott Honor winning title is an exercise in restraint. And since Kate is extra tired these days with her baby, I figured getting her a book with as few words possible was a smart way to go. We discuss super grippy mittens, how to “pull-a-Curious-George”, and we divide on the ending. Where do you fall?
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:
Hey hey hey! Check this out! The Children’s Book Council Kids Favorite lists were released and POP! Goes the Nursery Rhyme is #3 out of ALL the other picture books! You can see the full list here.
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As I mention in the podcast, Barbara Lehman gives a really nice rundown of her artistic process on her website, which I appreciated.
New York or New York-adjacent, you’d think there’d be yellow lines on the streets. Ah well.
As Kate put it so succinctly, you know you’ve been reading to your baby a LOT when you look at this outfit:
And it makes you think of this outfit:
There are a couple elements in this story that may or may not date it. These chairs in school? Maybe.
This advertisement for a flip phone? Definitely.
We like how this book has a kind of Flotsam feel with its infinite breaking of the fourth wall.
Kate is perturbed that the kid on the right has the book closed when it looks open on the other kid’s page.
We call this pulling-a-Curious-George. Kate can’t get over the fact that the kid is doing this in mittens. Maybe they’re supper grippy mittens?
So here’s the problem. Kate looked at this image and saw this as a middle aged man biking away with the book.
But I’ve seen the sequel and I can tell that this is supposed to be the same person, and this is clearly a kid:
Kate Recommends: The documentary Ice Guardians on Netflix
Betsy Recommends: Pluribus on AppleTV
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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Not gonna lie, I literally gasped with joy when I saw this week’s pick. This one IS on my top ten (top 5? Top 1 even?) list of wordless picture books, but it feels oddly personal. When I first saw this book I felt like Barbara Lehman and I must be looking at each other through it. Barbara Lehman must be a kindred spirit! She’s drawing my soul! This is exactly the sort of story I have always written– magical connections that help people make friends!– but in drawn form!
Which in response to two of Kate’s objections:
I feel like “why are they so happy to see each other when they just met?” misses the point of them having connected through a magical book. That is an unbelievable experience that only they share! They are instantly important to each other because of this unique experience. And yes, as a kid who had a hard time making friends, my biggest fantasy (hence why all the stories I wrote had this same basic plot thread) was that some magical adventure might happen that would connect me to someone else in a way that could overcome my nerdy (now I know autistic) shyness. Maybe I was just projecting, but I got the sense that the protagonist of The Red Book is also a quiet daydreamer, and maybe she had the same longing, and ta-da, this magic book comes along to give her a much-needed friend.
(and when you said you’d met Barbara Lehman and that she seemed shy, that made me think even more strongly that maybe she’s always had this same fantasy!)
As for the guy at the end– I also think he looks like a kid,* not a grown man, but even if he WAS a grown man, why jump to the conclusion that he’s going to be spying on kids with this book? Maybe HE’S in need of a friend, and the book’s purpose is simply to connect new friends? (I’ve only read the sequel once and forget whether this is true or not). Why can’t a grown man have the opportunity to find a magical friendship? I mean, I’ve done a lot better at making friends since I’ve grown up, but I wouldn’t scoff at magically making a new friend now, either.** I read this as an adult after all, and I wouldn’t have reacted so strongly to it if that childhood wish hadn’t still been lodged deep inside me!
*and yes, what’s with the adolescent allergy to coats? My son has only started wearing coats again in this past year since he graduated from high school. My 11th grader still refuses, although at least wears layers– I spotted a girl in the school parking lot on the coldest day of this year (that school wasn’t cancelled) in just a short-sleeved spring blouse, and felt marginally better about my own kid!
**You know, the internet is kind of like the Red Book. It DOES let you connect to someone in a completely different part of the world that you never would have met otherwise but who turns out to be the perfect friend for you! I HAVE made friends online I’ve thought “where were these people when I was a lonely little kid?” about!
(On a completely different topic, ie Grownup Things We Like, Betsy I am another Weird Show lover and hope the one you describe shows up in a format I have access to eventually! And I am compelled to ask if you ever watched ‘Legion’ on FX, which is my personal favorite Weird Show that I’m one of very few people active in online fandom over– it’s also full of sometimes infuriating problematic bits but it’s also just amazing at other points. And definitely weird all over)
It’s a classic! It’s mind-bending. I love it.
Congratulations on the CBC announcement!