Show Notes
The Story Seeds Podcast kicks off Season One with a collaboration between our 11 year old creative rockstar Hannah and Dan Gutman, best-selling author of the My Weird School series! On this episode, Dan Gutman helps Hannah grow her story seed: A girl and boy find a magic seed that grows into a plant that sparks whatever they want on command. They wish for small things. They're not greedy. One day, an evil person steals the plant and uses it for bad things. The girl and the boy learn that there's a twin seed that stops the evil from spreading. They have to travel all over to find the seed. Follow Dan and Hannah's Story Seeds adventure with our host Betsy Bird as they: Meet up in person and take a field trip to Dear Mama Coffee on the Columbia University science campus (Jerome L. Greene Science Center) in New York City Drink yummy hot chocolate Brain dump their writing ideas (should the story be set in Alaska?) on index cards Meet a money tree named Jude. The episode concludes with a storytime segment (14:26) where our featured author reads the story they grew together: The Magic Seed! Books mentioned in this episode: My Weird School series, The Kid Who Ran For President, My Weird Writing Tips, and Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman. Calls to Action Bonus Episode: Check back next week to hear Betsy's interview with Dan Gutman. You’ll hear more about how he decided to become an author and get a few Dan-approved writing tips. Who knows? You could become really famous if you use them :) Get our Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity activity book! It pairs perfectly with the podcast and features tons of episode-inspired prompts and projects! Order your copy here! Kids: How would you continue "The Magic Seed?" Call The Story Seeds Hotline with your ideas at 646-389-5153 and let us know. You can also leave us a message with your own story seed (idea) for a chance to be featured on a future episode. Grownups: Join our mailing list at www.storyseedspodcast.com for news and updates. You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia and on Facebook @literarysafari. This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. Show credits Produced and written by Sandhya Nankani and Anjali Sakhrani. Kayla Fedeson is our Associate Producer. Scoring, mixing, and sound design is by Ania Grzesik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. Our field audio was recorded by James Boo. And thank you to our very special child handler, Amrita! Love our theme song? We do too! It's by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. The Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari www.literarysafari.com.
More from The Story Seeds Podcast
Since 1996, The Webby Awards have honored the best of the Internet, so it is kind of a big deal that our small and independently produced podcast is nominated for one this year! The episode we are nominated for is Episode 11: "A Nose that Knows" which brought together nine-year old leukemia survivor Jocelyn and Katherine Applegate, the Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan, to grow a real-life inspired story about a super dog named Sally who helps a girl with cancer feel better. This episode is not only about the power of imagination, but also about resilience and friendship! We're thrilled it's been recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Listen along as host Betsy Bird and Newbery Award-winning Katherine Applegate have a fun and heartwarming conversation about what it was like working with 9 year old Jocelyn in a special presentation of The Story Seeds Podcast which raises awareness of childhood cancer. In the interview, Betsy and Katherine: Talk about what it was like working with Jocelyn and learning about her cancer journey [04:19] Discuss how Jane Goodall and Greta Thunberg inspired Katherine’s new eco-fable Willodeen [12:37] Get witty and silly in a fun rapid fire q&a! [17:01] This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. Additional Information Books mentioned in this episode: the Animorphs series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Willodeen, the Endling series, and The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Calls to Action Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com to download a companion printable activity kit for this episode. You can also order a copy of our NYTimes Wirecutter-approved Imagination Lab activity book! Follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. Show credits The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. This episode was produced by her and Anjali Sakhrani. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ultraviolet Audio. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. This episode is sponsored by Macmillan Children's Publishing. Special thanks to Joseph Tisdall for post-production support.
This special Story Seeds collaboration brings together nine-year old Jocelyn and Newbery Award-winning Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan and Willodeen. Katherine helps Jocelyn grow this story idea: My story seed is about a super service dog (based off of my own dog Sally) who helps kids with cancer feel better. Join our host Betsy Bird as she guides you through this collaboration full of hope and resilience. Featured segments include: Katherine and Jocelyn's meeting over video chat where they get to know each other, meet each other's dogs, and brainstorm how to grow Jocelyn's story idea (6:44) Real-time voice memo recordings where Katherine chronicles her writing process for Jocelyn (19:50) An immersive storytime where Katherine narrates the full-fledged tale — "Two Brave Girls, One with Four Paws"—she grew from Jocelyn's story seed (23:56) This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. Additional Information Books mentioned in this episode: The Odyssey, The Mahabarata, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamillo, the Dogman series by Dave Pilkey, and The Only and Only Ivan and Willodeen by Katherine Applegate. Media and Games mentioned in the episode: How to Train Your Dragon, Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses, Animal Upon Animal, and Don't Stop Believing by Journey Calls to Action Bonus Episode: Check back next Thursday to hear Betsy's bonus interview with Katherine. It’s a fun one and also includes a rapid-fire Q&A with the Newbery Award-winning author herself. Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com to download a companion printable activity kit for this episode. You can also order a copy of our NYTimes Wirecutter-approved Imagination Lab activity book! Follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. Show credits The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. This episode was produced and written by her and Anjali Sakhrani. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. This episode is sponsored by Macmillan Children's Publishing. Special thanks to Joseph Tisdall for post-production support.
Priyanka and Riya are best friends. Morgan and Mercedes are daughter and mother. They are just four of the voices you will hear in this montage of eight short interviews created by kids ages 8-15 during the inaugural Story Seeds On Air Summer 2021 Podcasting Camp where aspiring podcasters learned from expert guests and each other the art and technical skills they need to amplify their voices and broadcast their ideas into community conversations big and small. In these interviews, campers from around the United States ask intimate questions of people they know very well, and in the process capture moments of curiosity, lifelong passions, and new perspectives on the familiar while creating memorable oral histories. Queens, New York neighbors and best friends Riya, age 9, and Priyanka, age 12 ask each other questions about their favorite things. Seattle-based Anna, age 8, interviews her mother, Merideth, about her love of podcasts and the podcast platform, Storitopia, that she is brewing. New Jersey-based Ella, age 15, interviews her mother, Jennifer, about her memories of learning to cook and hairspray cooking mishaps! Philadelphia-based Ahan, age 13, interviews his mother Madhusmita, about her stories from her career as a dancer in the 500 year old Sattriya dance tradition from Assam (India). Harlem, New York-based Shalini, age 10, interviews her mother Swati, a writer, educator, and artist, about her interests and her passion for podcasting New Jersey-based Amrita, age 12, interviews her mother, Sandhya (creator of The Story Seeds Podcast), about the music she loved to listen to when she was her age and the role music plays in her life Alaska-based Morgan, age 10, interviews her mother, Mercedes about the moment in her childhood that she realized her passion was writing and how she puts that passion into practice in her life and work