Board Book Breakdown

This week KC and Eric review Eric Carle’s 1969 classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. After The Bagunda summarizes the plot—an egg hatches, the caterpillar eats increasing amounts of fruit, then a chaotic Saturday spread of treats (including the aptly renamed "flat cheese"), gets a stomachache, eats a leaf, forms a cocoon, and emerges a butterfly—they debate whether the story fits a hero’...

This week, KC and Eric review the 1968 picture book Tikki Tikki Tembo (retold by Arlene Mosel, illustrated by Blair Lent), a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner they call their most controversial pick yet. With help from Little Eric’s recap, they outline the plot: two brothers in a village, one with a long honored name and one called Chang; both fall into a well, and the long name delays rescue an...

In this episode of Board Book Breakdown , KC and Eric break down Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. A cap peddler can’t sell his hats, naps under a tree, wakes to find monkeys wearing his caps, and finally gets them back by mimicking their gestures and throwing his own cap down. They test whether the story fits Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey and conclude the peddler is not changed and carries o...

In this episode of Board Book Breakdown , KC and Eric break down The Runaway Bunny , where mother bunny chases her offspring to the theoretical end of the earth in a runaway thought experiment. They map the story’s hero's journey and dive into the author’s unconventional (for the period) relationships, her lover “Rabbit”, and her untimely demise.  Their favorite “WTF moments” include helicopt...

In this episode of Board Book Breakdown , KC and Eric break down Grandpa’s tall-tale bedtime story about Chew and Swallow, where meals fall from the sky until the weather turns into giant, dangerous food that forces the townspeople to escape using food as a boat. They highlight the sanitation crew’s role, the town’s elite meteorologists, and why is there no dad in the story?  Their favorite scenes...

In this episode of the Board Book Breakdown, KC and Eric delve into the 1991 children's book 'The Frog Prince, Continued' by Jon Scieszka. They discuss the genesis for the Board Book Break down, the origin of OG Fairy Tales, new age gentle parenting fairy tales, and flipping the script on both. “Happily ever after” takes intention, compromise, and working together. Timestamps: 00:25...

In this episode of the Board Book Breakdown, KC and Eric delve into the 2018 children's book 'Love, Z' by Jessie Sima. A young robot named Z seeks to understand the concept of love and embarks on an epic hero's journey. Z encounters various characters who offer their own definitions of love, ultimately realizing it's a felt experience closer than they thought. Happy Valent...

In this episode of the Board Book Breakdown , KC and Eric discuss the beloved children's book 'Rainbow Fish' by Marcus Pfister. They analyze its themes, the graphic design choices, and the psychological wisdom of Dr. Lady Octopus that's shaped generations since 1992.  Timestamps:  00:41 Welcome to the Board Book Breakdown 01:06 The Rainbow Fish 02:21 Coffee Talk (HEB Cafe Ole-...

Meet Board Book Breakdown : the hilarious, slightly-not-suitable-for-work podcast where two overstimulated parents dissect the children’s books our toddlers demand on repeat and ask the question we’re all thinking: why is this a thing?  In this trailer, you’ll get a taste of our weekly chaos: quick author rabbit holes, “what the—” moments, and Alternate Endings (because kids never stop asking “wha...