Imagination is kids’ superpower, and what better time to celebrate it than during the annual World Read Aloud Day celebration, when their minds are filled with the wonder of stories?
This World Read Aloud Day, discover the magic of imagination and storytelling in all forms with The Story Seeds Podcast! Story Seeds brings kids from ages 6-13 together with their favorite authors, who help them grow their ideas into a story. In each episode, authors and kids collaborate to show the magic that happens when adults make time to deeply listen to young people.
There’s a whole season of Story Seeds for you to enjoy, featuring 10 well-known and diverse American children’s book authors such as Dan Gutman, Veera Hiranandani, Aram Kim, and Rajani LaRocca, along with 10 super creative and smart kids. There’s even an episode with Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!
A fun starter episode for WRAD is Episode 9: Look Before You Eat, which features storytelling champion Bil Lepp and 12 year old Keshav from New York City collaborating to create a fun story that puts a delicious, chocolate-y spin on the classic Three Little Pigs folktale. Listen here at www.storyseedspodcast.com, and find bonus photos and fun facts about Bil and Keshav to share!
If that’s not enough to get you hooked, here are a few more reasons to listen to Story Seeds this World Read Aloud Day:
A catchy theme song that will get kids singing “I’m in control of my destiny.” Who doesn’t need an affirmation like that in 2021?
An immersive storytime segment that you can play in your classroom or home to inspire kids to start imagining and writing their own stories.
Host Betsy Bird weaves all sorts of fun facts and writing tips into each episode
The podcast comes with an activity book, Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity, which is available worldwide and includes writing, reading, and STEAM activities for each episode.
It provides an aural experience for young people’s ears that helps them spend time off screens while introducing them to new authors and the writing process.
It can inspire kids to dream up their own stories. A recent Kids Listen survey reported that 74% of young podcast listeners remain highly engaged with the material they listen to, either by telling others what they’ve learned, seeking out more information after listening, or requesting to do an activity inspired by the podcast.
You can listen wherever you are. In fact, podcasts require very little streaming bandwidth which allows for greater accessibility and easy listening on your mobile devices.
But what other fun storytime podcasts are there? We asked the producers of Story Seeds—Sandhya Nankani and Anjali Sakhrani—to put together a playlist to help you and your family get into the storytelling mood! They are big fans of popular podcasts like Julie’s Library, Circle Round, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, and Story Pirates that you may have already heard of. Here are some of their top picks of some other shows for you to discover!
For Little Ears, check out …
Based on the famed 500 Words BBC Radio 2 short story writing competition for kids, this podcast is made up of funny and heartwarming bedtime stories written by kids ages 6-13.
Recommended Episode: It’s Up To You How Far You’ll Go. If You Don’t Try, You’ll Never Know!
Narrated by the lyrical voice of storytellers Miss JoJo and Auntie Oni who take listeners on a magic jeep excursion to discover lands where animals talk and people lie. Each episode is under 10 minutes, features a folktale of the African and African American tradition, and comes with an activity guide.
Recommended Episode: The Rabbit and the Turtle
Host Dan Wendelin is a dad who used to imagine a new bedtime story for his children each night. Now, he shares the best of those stories with you and your family. These 10-15 minute tales for children 4-10, with a narrator whose voice is engaging and soothing with a once-upon-a-time charm.
Recommended Episode: Peggy the Ant
For Tween and Teen Listeners, Try…
Women’s history set to music and performed by musical theater performers. If you already know and love Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, you’ll love this one
. Recommended Episode: Episode 1, Dr. Mae Jamison
Unspookable is a family friendly look at the histories and mysteries behind your favorite scary stories, myths and urban legends.
Recommended Episode: Episode #19, Dragons
This American Life is a hallmark in public radio. Each episode is centered around a theme told in three stories, celebrating both the ordinary and extraordinary.
Recommended Episode: Act Two of The Magic Show
And, if you can’t get enough …
The Kids Listen Activity Podcast is THE tasting menu of kids podcasts. It was created by Kids Listen (an organization that advocates for high-quality audio content for kids) in response to lockdown and the millions of kids being homeschooled around the world. Each week you’ll discover a new show and get access to a paired activity which helps kids dive deeper into the featured episode.