Special Introduction of Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity

$Look Before You Eat! with Bil Lepp: We've got a delicious story seed on deck for this week's episode as 11 year old Keshav collaborates with author and professional storyteller Bil Lepp (he's a five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Competition and author of the 2014 PEN award-winning picture book, THE KING OF LITTLE THINGS). Together, they stir up an inspired cast of characters —three animals and a big bad wolf!—mix in some sweet treats and a few red hot chili peppers and give us a fractured fairytale titled "Not by the Hare in My Chili Pepper Den!" Join host Betsy Bird as she follows Keshav and Bil on their field trip to Jacques Torres Chocolates, one of NYC’s finest chocolate shops, where they spend a morning “researching” chocolates and chilis, getting to know each other, and growing Keshav's treat of a story idea.$

Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Bil Lepp: On this bonus episode, host Betsy Bird chats with Bil Lepp (five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Competition and author of the 2014 PEN award-winning picture book, THE KING OF LITTLE THINGS) about his collaboration with 11 year old Keshav in last week’s episode, “Look Before You Eat.” They talk about the ins and outs of performing as a professional storyteller, his former life as a pastor, and Bil shares a handful of neat tips for telling a good story, both out loud and on paper. by The Story Seeds Podcast

38 min listen

Encore Presentation: A Worm's Worth with Jason Reynolds: We're honored. Our episode "A Worm's Worth" with author Jason Reynolds is in the spotlight on CBC Podcast Playlist, a bi-weekly podcast from Canada's Radio One which samples "fresh, new, provocative, and the most intriguing" programs from the podcasting world. This episode is featured on their June 3rd episode titled "Feel good stories for when you need them most." This week, we give it the good old encore treatment because we agree that it will brighten your day. (If you've already heard it, trust us, it's worthy of a re-listen because there’s always something new to discover in Jason Reynold's stories!) by The Story Seeds Podcast

38 min listen

A Girl Who Looks Like Me with Susan Muaddi Darraj: On this week’s episode, we bring you a whodunnit shaped story seed! 12 year old Sulaf collaborates with author Susan Muaddi Darraj (author of the debut middle grade series FARAH ROCKS) on a story starring a young Arab-American girl, who looks like Sulaf, and who finds herself at the center of a mystery at the theatre where she works. Join our host Betsy Bird as she follows Sulaf and Susan on their all-access backstage tour of the Riverside Theatre at the landmark Riverside Church in NYC where they discover all its nooks and crannies that can inspire a mystery story. They also talk about their great love of Agatha Christie mysteries and how meaningful it is— as Arab Americans—to read a story about a character that you can relate to and that looks like you. by The Story Seeds Podcast

32 min listen

Barking up the Right Tree with Tracey Baptiste: Things are a little different this week. On this special quarantine episode of our podcast, Story Seeds creator, Sandhya Nankani, sits in for our regular host Betsy Bird to facilitate a virtual field trip between creative rockstar Amalia (age 12) and New York Times best-selling author, Tracey Baptiste. Listen along to their video chat collaboration as Tracey helps Amalia grow a story seed about an athletic girl named Joy and her magical relationship with the oak tree in her backyard. Then, sit back for story-time as Tracey reads aloud "Joy's Challenge," the original story she wrote, inspired by their conversation. Like most people who have had to shelter in place or socially distance this spring to stop the spread of COVID-19, Amalia and Tracey, though homebound, show us that creativity can continue to bloom, even while in quarantine—and that collaboration can be successful, whether it is in-person or virtually! by The Story Seeds Podcast

31 min listen

Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Susan Muaddi Darraj: On this bonus episode, host Betsy Bird chats with Susan Muaddi Darraj (author of the debut middle grade series Farah Rocks) about her collaboration on a mystery story seed with 12 year old Sulaf in last week’s episode, “A Girl Who Looks Like Me.” They talk about why representing Arab-American girls like Sulaf matters in children's books and about being inspired by the works of Agatha Christie and Edgar Allen Poe. Plus, Susan shares her tip for getting through writer’s block—reading! *Spoiler Alert* Susan also reveals who’s behind the disappearing objects in her story, "Mystery at the Theatre." by The Story Seeds Podcast

23 min listen

A Worm's Worth with Jason Reynolds: On this week’s episode, 12 year old Brooklynite, Irthan joins forces with the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds, to grow his story seed about an earthworm that turns into a human every 28 days, on the night of a full moon. Join Irthan and Jason as they meet up at the Youth Wing of the central branch of Brooklyn Public Library where they get to know each other and plant the seeds for their collaboration which explores music, social justice, and being seen. Then, sit back and listen to the lyrical and timely short story, "Hoo and Wut," that Jason grew out of Irthan’s idea. Before You Listen: You should know that Jason and Irthan talk about police violence during their meeting (15:10). If you haven't already talked to your child about this subject, they may have some questions for you after hearing this episode. by The Story Seeds Podcast

39 min listen