Episode 258 - Will Spring Be Early? Or Will Spring Be Late?

Considering the fact that (A) Groundhog Day is this week and yet (B) we have never done a Groundhog Day episode, that gave us the impetus to tackle a groundhogian classic. But which one? With all the choices we decided to pluck out this title by the guy who brought us Harold and the Purple Crayon. Like that book it indulges in a limited color palette and Johnson's characteristic drawing style. As such, prepare for long discussions on precisely what the Groundhog Day rule actually means, larger talks on the role of reality versus positivity in the real world, what makes a good holiday picture book, and why the moral of this story is, "Eat more bacon." Show Notes: Briefly alluded to in the episode, Philip Nel is our resident American scholar and specialist on all things Crockett Johnson. Check him out at his website here: https://philnel.com/ In the course of my research I became fascinated by the 100 mathematical paintings inspired by geometrical principles and mathematical equations by Crockett Johnson. You can see a bunch of them here: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/mathematical-paintings-of-crockett-johnson Do groundhogs hop? Dunno. But they're pretty cute running: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94YGSnCUszs For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/01/30/fuse-8-n-kate-will-spring-be-early-or-will-spring-be-late-by-crockett-johnson/