About this episode
The episode discusses the significance of the book 'Doña Flor' and its place in children's literature, particularly focusing on folktales and tall tales.
As it turns out, this is the second time we've done a Pat Mora/Raul Colón collaboration. With this book, though, we delve into a moment in children's book publishing history when multi-ethnic tall tales were the name of the game. It's been a while since we've done a legitimate honest-to-goodness folktale on this podcast. They were once the lifeblood of children's libraries, and these days they're rare gems. This book came out during a rise of legitimately tall "tall tales" in picture books. I'm talking everything from Big Jabe to Swamp Angel (both of which we need to get to). We discuss the fact that this 2005 publication came out when books still italicized their Spanish language text. We also discuss the fact that this book can't decide whether or not the potential antagonist of the piece is a puma or a mountain lion. For the full Show Notes please go here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/04/fuse-8-n-kate-dona-flor-by-pat-mora-ill-raul-colon/
People in this episode
Hosts: Betsy Bird, Kate Atienza
Topics covered
- children's literature
- folktales
- multi-ethnic stories
- picture books
- tall tales
Keywords
- Doña Flor
- Pat Mora
- Raul Colón
- children's books
- folktales
- tall tales
- picture books
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Doña Flor, Big Jabe, Swamp Angel
More episodes of Fuse 8 n' Kate
- Episode 412 - Sheep in a Jeep and Sheep in a Shop · June 8, 2026 · 23 min
- Episode 411 - Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy · June 1, 2026 · 24 min
- Episode 410 - The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll & the Broom Handle and Who Was in It · May 25, 2026 · 30 min
- Episode 409 - Princess Smartypants · May 18, 2026 · 29 min
- Episode 408 - Uncle Andy's · May 11, 2026 · 30 min
- Episode 406 - Possum Magic · April 20, 2026 · 29 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Fuse 8 n' Kate podcast page.