Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Jason Reynolds

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.

We know full well that our podcast would be nada, zilch, nothing, zero, rien, kuchh nahin, la shayy,  méiyǒu ... without you—our incredible listeners. So, if you like what we have created here at Story Seeds, please make your voice heard! 

Help us join the Webby Winners Circle by voting for us in the "Best Individual Episode - Family and Kids" category in the Webbys People's Voice Awards through April 21, 2022. Just click here to cast your ballot! You can also find the link to vote at our Twitter, Instagram, or website. (Kids: Ask a grownup to help you create an account to vote. We promise it only takes a few seconds.)

Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Dhanyawad! Shukran!  Xièxiè!

Story Seeds is a Literary Safari production. Our host is Betsy Bird. Our theme song is by Andrew VanWyngarden. Sound design is by Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio. Our producers are Sandhya Nankani, Anjali Sakhrani, and Kayla Fedeson. 

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
  
  Links to Interview Mentions :
  Riya's  favorite  TV shows: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and Miraculous  Tales of Lady bug & Cat Noir
  Priyanka's favorite books: Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novel series from Dark Horse Comics and the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
  Anna's mom's podcast platform: Storitopia
  Ahan's mom's dance company: Sattriya Dance Company
  Shalini's mom's art and writing: SwatiKhurana.com
  Amrita's mom's favorite radio station: 90.7 WFUV 
  Two pieces of writing by Morgan's mom: A poem in Literary Mama and an essay in The Anchorage Daily News

This special episode of The Story Seeds Podcast is produced by Claudia Haines and Ella Rose Frankel. Editing and sound design is by Alyssa Baptiste. Story Seeds is a Literary Safari production and will be back on October 28 with a new episode presented by Macmillan Publishing, featuring Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan and her new book Willodeen.

Follow Story Seeds on Instagram @storyseedspod and on Twitter @litsafarimedia 
Learn more about our podcasting classes & camps at www.storyseedspodcast.com/classes
Order our Wirecutter/New York Times featured activity book Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity

This specific episode which we released in June 2020 is featured on CBC Podcast Playlist this week in an episode titled "Feel good stories for when you need them most."  Though it originally aired last summer, we're giving it the good ole' encore treatment—along a  brief update from our host Betsy Bird on some exciting new happenings in the Story Seeds  world (like our summer camp for kids)!

About the Episode

A Worm's Worth: Twelve-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.

About CBC Podcast Playlist

This weekly podcast from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio One features "fresh, new, provocative programs from the digital realm [and] kicks it off on terrestrial with a sampling of some of the most intriguing of what the internet has to offer." Follow CBC Podcast Playlist at https://twitter.com/podcastplaylist 

Episode Mentions

Summer of Podcasts camps & classes  www.storyseedspodcast.com/camp

Our activity book Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity is available at www.storyseedspodcast.com/imaginationlab

Listen to more episodes at www.storyseedspodcast.com/listen

Follow us on twitter.com/litsafarimedia or instagram.com/storyseedpod

Follow Jason Reynolds on twitter.com/JasonReynolds83 or instagram.com/

Episode Credits

This episode was produced by Sandhya Nankani, Anjali Sakhrani, and Kayla Fedeson. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ania Grzesik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. Field audio recorded by James Boo. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. The music  at the start of Irthan and Jason's conversation is titled Brass Song and was composed by Irthan himself. 

Who says podcasts are just for listening? Our activity book is ideal for at home fun, distance learning, or the classroom, and brings together the best of a magazine, workbook, and journal. It features over 80 pages of episode inspired, screen-free prompts and projects. Scan the QR codes inside to blast off on your interactive listening adventures!

Now available to order. Get your copy here. 

We also have single activity kits for each episode. Browse here.

Show credits

The Story Seeds Podcast is a Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. 

Music Credits

Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT.

Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast host Betsy Bird chats with the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds (author of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a Remix of the National Book Award-winning book by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi.) They talk about what it was like working with 12 year old Irthan in Episode 10  “A Worm’s Worth” and growing his story seed about a worm that turns into a human on a full moon’s night. 

Jason also talks to Betsy about how he got his start as a writer and shares advice for keeping your imagination alive: go learn the thing you’re not interested in. 

This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. 

Additional Information

Stories mentioned in this episode: Ghost, Look Both Ways, Long Way Down, Miles Morales: Spider-Man (A YA Marvel Novel), As Brave As You, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a remix of the National Book Award-winning book by Dr. Ibram X Kendi by Jason Reynolds.

Young Landlords by Walter Dean Myers.  Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

Calls to Action

Kids: Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at storyseeds@literarysafari.com, or visit our website to submit your story ideas for a chance to be on the show. You can also join The Story Seeds Society, our kids listeners club.

Grownups: Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com for subscription links, to sign up for our newsletter, and to download our printable activity e-zines for your kids (or the  kid in you!) Our zines offer opportunities to read, write, and get creative alongside listening to each episode . You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. 

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!

Support Us

Visit our recently launched glow.fm page where you can support The Story Seeds Podcast on a recurring or one-time basis. Your donation - large or small - will help us create more episodes of the show and give us the ability to provide opportunities for more kids from around the world to participate in Story Seeds. 

Show credits

The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. Scoring, mixing, and sound design of this bonus episode is by Ania Grzesik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. 

Visit us at www.storyseedspodcast.com

This week’s Story Seeds collaboration brings together 12 year old Irthan and the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds (poet, storyteller, National Book Award finalist, Newbery Honoree, and New York Times best-selling author.) Jason's latest work is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a Remix of the National Book Award-winning book by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. As National Ambassador, he recently started the Grab the Mic platform  which empowers young people  to share their own personal stories.

Jason sat down with 12 year old Irthan at Brooklyn Public Library to grow this story idea: 

A worm becomes human at the stroke of midnight. Kind of like werewolves, but the opposite. Why a worm? Because worms are the least popular. Barely anybody talks about worms. A worm would be interesting and it would put them on an equal status with all the other bugs. 

Join our host Betsy Bird as she introduces you to Jason and Irthan and sets the scene for an episode where:

• Irthan shows Jason his YouTube videos of him playing the drums
• They talk about Spongebob, Minecraft, and music that inspires them
• They hash out some important details about Irthan's story seed
• They connect over their common observations as young Black men in America today
• Jason chronicles his writing process and reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and Irthan's story seed as a metaphor for social justice

The episode concludes with this week’s storytime (25:15) where Jason reads the story, "Hoo and Wut," that he grew from Irthan’s story seed. 

This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. 

Additional Information

Books mentioned in this episode: Ghost by Jason Reynolds. Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. 

Musicians mentioned in this episode:  R David R, Jack White, Bob Marley

Media mentioned in the episode: Write. Right. Rite. video series by Jason Reynolds for The Library of Congress. Minecraft. Spongebob Squarepants. 

Calls to Action

Bonus Episode: Check back next Thursday to hear Betsy's bonus interview with Jason. You’ll get to hear about his approach to writing and he also shares his tips.

Kids: 

Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at storyseeds@literarysafari.com, or visit our website to submit your story ideas. You can also join The Story Seeds Society, our kids listeners club.

Grownups: Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com for subscription links, to sign up for our newsletter, and to download our printable activity e-zines for your kids (or the  kid in you!) Our zines offer opportunities to read, write, and get creative alongside listening to each episode . You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. 

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!

Support Us

Visit our recently launched glow.fm page where you can support The Story Seeds Podcast on a recurring or one-time basis. Your donation - large or small - will help us create more episodes of the show and give us the ability to provide opportunities for more kids from around the world to participate in Story Seeds. 

Show credits

The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. This episode was produced and written by Anjali Sakhrani with Kayla Fedeson. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ania Grzesik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. Field audio recorded by James Boo. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. 

The music  at the start of Irthan and Jason's conversation is titled Brass Song and was composed by Irthan himself!

Visit us at www.storyseedspodcast.com

Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast 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.) They go behind the scenes and talk about what it was like working with 11 year old Keshav in Episode 9 “Look Before You Eat” to grow his fractured fairytale of a story seed about a cow with an ice cream house, a bunny with a chocolate abode, a fox with a chili pepper den, and a big bad wolf hungry to eat them all!

Bil also shares lots of valuable advice for young writers and our listeners. Among them is a quick way to get writing: reimagine a story you already know but from another character’s perspective,  you'll find a new story born out of it.

Stories mentioned in this episode: The King of Little Things by Bil Lepp. Three Billy Goats Gruff. Humpty Dumpty. Little Red Riding Hood.  

Cartoons and Movies: Looney Tunes and Lawrence of Arabia

Bil’s Podshow: Click here

Calls to Action

Kids: Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at storyseeds@literarysafari.com, or visit our website to submit your story ideas. You can also join The Story Seeds Society, our kids listeners club. 

Grownups: Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com for subscription links, to sign up for our newsletter, and to download our printable activity e-zines for your kids (or the  kid in you!) that offer opportunities to read, write, and get creative alongside listening to each episode . You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. 

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!

This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. 

Support Us

Visit our recently launched glow.fm page where you can support The Story Seeds Podcast on a recurring or one-time basis. Your donation - large or small - will help us create more episodes of the show and give us the ability to provide opportunities for more kids from around the world to participate in Story Seeds. 

Show credits

Credit to Matt Boynton and Ania  Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio for the sound mixing, design, and score of our bonus episode. Our theme music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden. 

The Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari www.literarysafari.com

This week’s Story Seeds collaboration brings together 11 year old Keshav and Bil Lepp (professional storyteller, five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Competition and author of the 2014 PEN award-winning The King of Little Things.)

Bil helps Keshav grow this story idea:

Once there was a cow, a bunny and a fox. There was also a bad wolf who liked eating up people's houses. The cow made a house out of ice cream, the bunny made a chocolate egg house and the fox made his house out of red hot chilies. Now the wolf, being very greedy. Loved ice cream. So he went to the cows house and ate it all up and was now ready to eat the cow. The cow got away and ran to the bunny house. The wolf followed him there. And when he got to the bunny house, he said, mm hmm. Delicious chocolate. And so we went and ate at all. Now the bunny and the cow was scared half to death. So they ran to the fox’s house. The wolf was still hungry because he was a big bad wolf. So he, too, went to the foxes house. You took one bite out of the chilies, up out of the chili house and burned his mouth. He ran away, never to be seen again.

Listen along to this Story Seeds adventure with host Betsy Bird as Keshav and Bil:

• Develop the backstories for their three main characters and discuss why they chose to build their houses out of ice cream, chocolates, and chilis
• Get inspired by their visit to Jacques Torres chocolate shop in NYC and sample a selection of their chocolate bon-bons for "research"
• Look at chilis of all shapes and sizes and ultimately decide there's no need to try any of those in order to grow this story seed!
• Cook up a quintessential fairytale but with a spicy kick, starring: a  cow with a love for ice cream, a bunny with a sweet-tooth for chocolate, a fiery fox with a penchant for chilis, and a big bad wolf!

The episode concludes with this week’s storytime (19:24) where Bil reads the story he grew from Keshav's story seed: Not By the Hare in My Chili Pepper Den . 

Stories mentioned in this episode:  Three Little Pigs, Henny Penny, Chicken Little,  Aesop’s Fables, Anansi Tales, Panchatantra, Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales, The King of Little Things by Bill Lepp 

Calls to Action

Bonus Episode: Check back next week to hear Betsy's interview with Bil. You’ll get to hear what it’s like to be a 21st century storyteller and Bil also shares a few hilarious anecdotes, including one about his former life as a preacher.  

Kids: Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at storyseeds@literarysafari.com, or visit our website to submit your story ideas. You can also join The Story Seeds Society, our kids listeners club.

Grownups: Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com for subscription links, to sign up for our newsletter, and to download our printable activity e-zines for your kids (or the  kid in you!) that offer opportunities to read, write, and get creative alongside listening to each episode . You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. 

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!

This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. 

Support Us

Visit our recently launched glow.fm page where you can support The Story Seeds Podcast on a recurring or one-time basis. Your donation - large or small - will help us create more episodes of the show and give us the ability to provide opportunities for more kids from around the world to participate in Story Seeds. 

Show credits

Produced and written by Sandhya Nankani and Anjali Sakhrani. Our Associate Producer is Kayla Fedeson. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ania Grzesik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. Field audio recorded by Nathan Miller. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music 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