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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Story Seeds x Big Emotions
Thursday, October 23, 2025 • Duration 22:47
Hello Story Seeds Podcast listeners. It’s been a while!
We are excited to share this special episode - a collaboration we have done with Big Emotions: Kids Listen Mashups about Feelings. This episode features our story “The World’s Biggest Detective” by author Chris Grabenstein and creative rockstar, Jasper.
Big Emotions: Kids Listen Mashups is a 7-part audio adventure where creators from the Kids Listen community come together to explore feelings in all their shapes and sizes. Each episode pairs two related emotions with original clips and reflections to help kids (and grownups!) understand, name, and navigate their feelings.
This episode's theme is a deep dive into the emotions of embarrassment and pride. You'll listen to stories that showcase moments that make us squirm, moments that make us shine, and how each can teach us something about who we are and who we want to be. Embarrassment and pride might seem like opposites, but they’re really two sides of the same coin. Both are “self-conscious” emotions that help us reflect on how we show up in the world.
Educators & Caregivers: Download this free PDF Activity Sheet created by Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD, a children’s psychologist and podcaster. You can also check out Literary Safari’s brand new picture book for children ages 3-8 Life is a Dance: Enjoy It which also explores the themes of embarrassment and pride.
About Kids Listen
Kids Listen is a volunteer-run non-profit organization dedicated to championing high-quality audio for children and families. The organization fosters collaboration among producers, provides resources for educators and librarians, and helps families discover excellent screen-free content. Through community-building, advocacy, and research, Kids Listen sets best practices for the development, production, and promotion of children’s podcasts. The full list of themes that Big Emotions Kids Listen Mashup podcast series explores are: Fear & Bravery | Jealousy & Openness | Anger & Forgiveness | Belonging & Independence | Embarrassment & Pride | Love & Sadness | Endings & Beginnings. Listen here
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.)
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.
Look Before You Eat! with Bil Lepp
Thursday, June 25, 2020 • Duration 29:45
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 .
Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Susan Muaddi Darraj
Thursday, June 18, 2020 • Duration 22:40
Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast host Betsy Bird chats with Susan Muaddi Darraj (author of the debut middle grade series Farah Rocks and a 2014 AWP Grace Paley Award, 2016 American Book Award, and 2016 Arab American Book Award winner). They go behind the scenes and talk about what it was like working with 12 year old Sulaf on Episode 8 “A Girl Who Looks Like Me” and grow her story seed about a young Arab-American girl who finds herself at the center of a mystery at the theatre where she works.
Susan talks about how Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe and her visit to the Riverside Theater inspired the story she grew. Sheds light on the contemporary authors she admires: Jarrett Lerner, Toni Morrison, Esmeralda Santiago. And, she shares two tips for young writers and our listeners:
Reading makes you a better writer
Don't write yourself into a tired state. End your day at an interesting point in your story so that you can pick up fresh where you left off the next day
Kids: Grow your own stories with the help of our Imagination Lab activity e-zines! 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 , our kids listeners club.
A Girl Who Looks Like Me with Susan Muaddi Darraj
Thursday, June 11, 2020 • Duration 31:41
This week’s Story Seeds collaboration brings together 12 year old Sulaf and Susan Muaddi Darraj (author of the new middle grade series Farah Rocks and a 2014 AWP Grace Paley Award, 2016 American Book Award, and 2016 Arab American Book Award winner) on a field trip to the Riverside Theater in New York City.
Susan helps Sulaf grow this story idea:
A young girl who lives in New York City and works in the theater district realizes there is a very dark secret hidden at the show she's working on.
Follow Sulaf and Susan's thrill-filled Story Seeds adventure with host Betsy Bird as:
Sulaf tells Susan her wish of seeing a story about an Arab-American girl who looks like her and represents not only her cultural background but her love of the theatre too
They talk about the Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's metaphor on how children's books should be be mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors for readers
They geek out over their mutual love of Agatha Christie mysteries and Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven
They grow a story inspired by their back stage tour of the Riverside Theater
The episode concludes with this week’s storytime (17:40) where Susan reads the story she grew from Sulaf’s story seed: Mystery at the Theatre
Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast host Betsy Bird chats with Tracey Baptiste (New York Times bestselling author of MINECRAFT: THE CRASH, as well as the Caribbean adventure series THE JUMBIES.) They go behind the scenes and talk about what it was like virtually working and collaborating with 12 year old Amalia on Episode 7 “Barking Up the Right Tree” to grow her story seed about an athletic girl named Joy and her magical relationship with the oak tree in her backyard.
In this bonus episode, Tracey shares her writing tips and shares a cool creativiity hack: how to take two very different things and bringing them together to create something entirely new in your writing!
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!). You can also follow us on Instagram on Twitter , and on Facebook .
Barking up the Right Tree with Tracey Baptiste
Thursday, May 28, 2020 • Duration 30:54
This week’s quarantine edition of Story Seeds brings together two super imaginative Jersey girls: Tracey Baptiste (New York Times bestselling author of MINECRAFT: THE CRASH, as well as the creepy Caribbean series THE JUMBIES) and Amalia Tsampalis (age 12).
Tracey helps Amalia grow this story idea:
An athletic 12 year old girl loves to climb trees. Maybe this tree she loves to climb is in her backyard. It's really tall and there's not a lot of branches left. The personality of the tree is old and wise, and it's purposely losing its branches because it wants to create a challenge for the girl.
Follow this adventure as Story Seeds creator Sandhya Nankani sits in for Betsy Bird to host Tracey and Amalia’s virtual collaboration via video chat where:
They explore the power of nonverbal communication and brainstorm ideas for a wise tree character
They create an athletic, strong, girl character
They discover they both have Trinidadian roots and share stories about celebrating carnival
Amalia requests Tracey to weave her experiences of breaking an arm into the story
Tracey documents her writing process in a series of voice memo diaries
The episode concludes with this week’s story time (20:25) where Tracey reads the story she grew from Amalia’s story seed: Joy’s Challenge.
Books and media mentioned in this episode: THE JUMBIES by Tracey Baptiste and THE MAGIC TREEHOUSE series by Mary Pope Osborne.
Calls to Action
Bonus Episode: Betsy Bird is back next week to interview Tracey so do tune in to hear them chat about writing and staying creative in quarantine.
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.
Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Carlos Hernandez
Thursday, May 21, 2020 • Duration 23:39
Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast host Betsy Bird chats with Carlos Hernandez, author of Rick Riordan Presents' Sal and Gabi series and winner of 2020 Pura Belpré Author Award. They go behind the scenes of Episode 6: The Paintbrush of Doom and talk about what it was like working with twins Siri and Zarana and growing their story seed (a girl who receives a magic paintbrush from her kooky aunt that turns whatever you paint, real! Things are going great as she creates dozens of hybrid creatures until ... upset by her friends' disbelief of the power of her paintbrush, she unleashes her anger on her canvas and paints a monster who comes alive!)
On this bonus episode, Carlos also talks to Betsy about how his work as a board game and video game designer helped him write the SAL AND GABI books as well as the importance of being your truest, most kooky self.
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 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 on Twitter , and on Facebook .
The Paintbrush of Doom with Carlos Hernandez
Thursday, May 14, 2020 • Duration 41:33
This week’s Story Seeds collaboration matches Carlos Hernandez (winner of the 2020 Pura Belpré Author Award and author of the Sal and Gabi series from Rick Riordan Presents) with 10 year old twins Siri and Zarana.
Carlos collaborates with Siri and Zarana to grow their story idea:
A girl who really loves to paint get a magic paintbrush from her kooky aunt on her 10th birthday. She uses it to paint the animals she loves, but it turns out that her imagination is opening up doorways to a locked, magical world that’s letting the animals from her paintings out into the real world.
Join an imagination-filled Story Seeds adventure with host Betsy Bird as Carlos and the twins take a field trip to the Children's Museum of the Arts NYC to:
Create clay landscapes in CMA's art studios while talking about silhouette painting and creativity
Discuss their inspiration for the story idea: the power of imagination and screentime
Grow a story about a main character who discovers what happens when she unleashes her anger and lets it take control of her creativity
The episode concludes with this week’s storytime (17:00) where Carlos reads the story he grew from Siri and Zarana’s story seed: Citaria’s Paintbrush.
Bonus Episode: Check back next week to hear Betsy's interview with Carlos. You’ll get to hear more about his life as an author and a game designer.
Kids: Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at , or visit our website to submit your story ideas. You can also join , our kids listeners club.
Bonus Q&A: Betsy Bird Interviews Rajani LaRocca
Thursday, May 7, 2020 • Duration 21:48
Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast host Betsy Bird chats with Rajani LaRocca (author of "Midsummer’s Mayhem," a Kirkus Best Book of 2019 and long-listed for the 2020 Massachusetts Book Award as a must-read title in MG/YA Literature.) They go behind the scenes and talk about what it was like meeting Liyana and growing her story seed about a girl trying to fit in with her famous family with the help of a magic mirror on Episode 5 “The Hungry Mirror.”
In this author interview, Rajani also shares tips on writing and talks about how, by working hard, she balanced her love of science and writing to become both a doctor and an award-winning author!
Authors, books, and genres of writing mentioned in this episode: Shakespeare, Madeleine L'Engle, Richard Seltzer, William Carlos Williams
Genres of writing mentioned in this episode: science fiction, fantasy, fairy tale
Snacks mentioned in this episode: carrot halva, chanachur
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 , and on Facebook .
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
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
Bonus Episode: Check back next week to hear Betsy's interview with Susan where you'll get to find out whodunnit!
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
Hey Listeners! Looking for ways to support our show? Well, now you can! 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 Kayla Fedeson, Sandhya Nankani, and Anjali Sakhrani. 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 Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari
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!
Hey Listeners! Looking for ways to support our show? Well, now you can! 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.
This episode is also available on our YouTube channel. Subscribe here.
Show credits
Matt Boynton and Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio for the sound mixing, design, and score of our bonus episode. Theme music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden. And, our host is Betsy Bird.
The Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari
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!
Hey Listeners! Looking for ways to support our show? Well, now you can! 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.
This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here.
Show credits
This episode was produced and hosted by Sandhya Nankani. Co-producers are Anjali Sakhrani and Kayla Fedeson. Sound mixing, design, and score is by Ania Grezsik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. 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
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!
Hey Listeners! Looking for ways to support our show? Well, now you can! 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.
This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here.
Show credits
Matt Boynton and Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio for the sound mixing, design, and score of our bonus episode. Theme music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden. And, our host is Betsy Bird.
The Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari www.literarysafari.com
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.
Show credits
Produced and written 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 Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari www.literarysafari.com
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.
Show credits
Matt Boynton and Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio for the sound mixing, design, and score of our bonus episode. Theme music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden. And, our host is Betsy Bird.
The Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari www.literarysafari.com
