After promising Kate that we’d do a book by a lady, I had to determine the best possible choice. My idea was to look on my old Top 100 Picture Books Poll and see who the top women on there were. #1? Margaret Wise Brown. #2 was Judith Viorst and this book. You know, you never know which books are going to provide you with a plethora of information. This book? Kate had to edit every “um” and “uh” out of the recording to winnow our yammering down to a mere 45 minutes.

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Show Notes:

– I couldn’t conjure up the name on the spot, but the Boxtrolls movie was based on Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow.

– Here’s the Viorst bio on Wikipedia. I still find it oddly charming.

– Koala or not a koala? You be the judge.

– I dunno. Does this count as a toy in a cereal box?

– The dentist art just cracks me up.

– Kate’s dead right about this one. The wedding ring is on the right hand. I like her theory as to why this is.

– “Kid Power”. With a raised fist. I mean, really.

– Is Ray Cruz dead? No, but it was difficult to find that information online. If you look at the webpage dedicated to his papers at the de Grummond collection, they state that “Cruz lived in New York City until his death.”

– I still say this is one of the greatest titles of all time.

– The Trina Schart Hyman book about lima beans was this: