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.

A Worm's Worth with Jason Reynolds

Our Webby Award-nominated show matches kids ages 6-12 and their story ideas with diverse, beloved children's authors. Each episode chronicles the magic that grows through author-child collaboration and features an immersive story time read aloud by the author. Bonus episodes feature author interviews with our host Betsy Bird! 

As a Common Sense Media Seal Selection, our show is recognized as a great choice for kids and families for its engaging stories, valuable content, and diverse voices, characters, and messages and has received an A+ for educational value. Our show has also been featured in Wired, Time for Kids, Parents, The New York Times, and CBC and wasThe Week Junior magazine's 2020 Podcast of the Year. Our theme song and music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. 

Our companion activity book "Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity" is a New York Times/Wirecutter "Best Gift for 10 Year Olds" pick. 

This podcast is a Literary Safari Production.

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Betsy Bird shares the exciting news that we are nominated for a Webby People's Voice Award in the "Individual Episode - Family and Kids" podcast category. Listen to find out how to vote for our nominated episode, "A Nose that Knows," with Katherine Applegate. Every vote counts, so we're counting on you to cast your ballot and share this episode with three friends!

Whoa, a Webby Award Nomination for our Podcast!

In our bonus interview episode of The Story Seeds Podcast, host Betsy Bird chats with Newbery Award-winning Katherine Applegate (author of the newly published eco-fable Willodeen) after her starring appearance in Episode 11 “A Nose that Knows.” Listen for a behind the scenes look at Katherine’s collaboration with nine-year old Jocelyn on her real-life inspired story idea about a dog who helps a girl with cancer (and the story that grew out of it, “Two Girls, One With Four Paws".) The episode concludes with a fun rapid fire Q&A with Katherine on everything from why she writes to the grossest thing she has ever eaten!

This bonus episode is brought to you by Macmillan Children’s Publishing.

Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Katherine Applegate

The Story Seeds Podcast is back with a special episode to raise awareness for childhood cancer. Nine-year old Jocelyn teams up with Newbery Award-winning author Katherine Applegate to grow her story seed about a super dog who helps a girl with cancer feel better. Jocelyn’s story idea was inspired by her own experience and diagnosis with leukemia—the most common type of childhood cancer in the world—and how her dog Sally sensed she had cancer even before the doctors knew. 

Listen along as Jocelyn and Katherine meet up on a video chat with their BFF canine companions to hash out Jocelyn’s story idea, then sit back and hear the story Katherine grew out of their collaboration, “Two Brave Girls, One with Four Paws.” This episode is sponsored by Macmillan Children’s Publishing.

A Nose that Knows with Katherine Applegate

During the summer of 2021, Story Seeds hosted an inaugural virtual podcasting camp where young people learned the skills they need to grow the seeds of their curiosities into their own podcasts. One of their assignments was to develop five questions and interview an elder, family member or friend about one of three topics: music they listened to as a teenager, food they like to make, or something they are proud of. This montage of eight intimate interviews conducted by our campers ages 8-15 captures moments of curiosity, lifelong passions, and new perspectives on the familiar.

Kids on Air with Friends & Family: Podcasting Camp Showcase

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!)

A Worm's Worth with Jason Reynolds

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