Category Archives: episodes

Bluebullet to the Rescue – Huzzah! – interview with author Dr. Drew Palacio

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Huzzah! as Bluebullet likes to say! On this episode we share our interview with Dr. Drew Palacio, author of “Shrieks and Sounds and Things Abound – the Quiet Wants of Julien J.” a fun-filled book of wordplay and nonsense, replete with Superhero advice for times of frustration, from Bluebullet himself – Huzzah! We also got the chance to share Dr. Drew’s book with some of the students at Camelview Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona and to record a few of their voices during their superhero night.

Shrieks and Sounds and Things Abound can be found on most online booksellers, such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Shrieks and Sounds and Things Abound is a Mom’s Choice Award and Pen Craft Award winner.

Be sure to stay tuned for Dr. Drew’s next book titled, “Troubles and Doubles and Reflections Askew – the Curious Case of the Two Emily Sues”! Here is a sneak peak at a couple of illustrations for his next book!

Dr. Drew

More art by illustrator Apolline Etienne

Thanks for this episode go out to Dr. Drew Palacio, Camelview librarian Savannah Tranguch, and all of the students who stopped by to share a story or tell us about their favorite superhero. A special thanks to students Ellie, Levi, Melany, Romel, Max and Grant for welcoming us to the show and sharing their frustrations. And thanks to all of the students who told us about their favorite superheroes.

SFX from Zapsplat

The Scariest Story You’ve Ever Heard – interview with author Ron Keres

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To kick off the Halloween season we have an interview with Ron Keres, author of “The Scariest Story You’ve Ever Heard“, a Reader’s Choice Book Award Gold winner. The coolest thing about Ron’s story is that he tells it without any pictures…just spooooooooky onomatopoeia words!!! So… let’s set sail in our sieve to meet Ron Keres, hear an excerpt from his book, and have a little wordplay fun by making our own spooky onomatopoeia sounds….oh, and don’t worry, if you have little ones who scare easily, this story isn’t too scary!

Halloween Onomatopoeia Wordplay Fun

Thanks to Buttons & Figs kids Owen, Graham, Emma and Gracie for their onomatopoeia wordplay and art!

You can also find The Scariest Story You’ve Ever Heard at the following locations: Target / Walmart / Barnes & Noble

EmOcean Play with Venus Underwater author Julia Hengst

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On this episode we get to sail to the land of Mermaidia! Which means you’ll get to hear our interview with author Julia Hengst where she tells us all about the wordplay filled mermaid world she created called Mermaidia. You’ll learn about her new book Venus Underwater: Songs from Mermaidia and how mermaids use song, dance, and wordplay which can help you sort through your emOceans. You’ll also get to hear some of the wonderful music that will bring this world to life. And, as always, we have a couple of Buttons & Figs kids who were inspired by Julia’s mermaid world, who will show us their ways to wordplay….so let’s get started…

To learn more visit Venus and Her Fly Trip

To learn more, visit Julia Hengst: venusandherflytrip.net
Illustrations by Ester Samuals-Davis: dirtyliketheweeds.com
Music by Rachel Panni and Alison Balano: NightskyMind.com

Buttons & Figs kids: Brianna and Ariyah
SFX by Zapsplat
Interview recorded via Zoom
Created and produced by Pamela Rogers
Mastered by Blaise Collins

Book Recommend & Dragon Play with kid super reader Debra

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Join me and my kid co-host Debra as we sail in a sieve to the land of dragons! Debra is a super fan of Tui Sutherland’s book series, “Wings of Fire” and she’s here to tell you why she loves these books so much and to share some fun ways to play with dragons!

Here is Debra’s Dragon Play – Listen to the episode for how Debra came up with her own dragons and she has suggestions for writing their story!

Melonea
All Wings

If you fall in love with this series, there are 14 books out now, but there are three more to be published!

Wings of Fire Book Series: https://kids.scholastic.com/kid/books/wings-of-fire/

Thanks to Debra for sharing one of her favorite book series and to Donna for encouraging reading in your home!

Outer Space Music and Noise with Mary Farfisa’s Outer Space Radio Theater creator Jim Cheff

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Briscoe, Mary Farfisa’s space horse friend, has come to visit me because apparently I have some sounds from Mary’s Outer Space Library that are overdue! In this episode you’ll get to meet the creator of Mary Farfisa’s Outer Space Radio Theater, Jim Cheff and you’ll also get to hear all sorts of music and noise from his show…and as always, we have a couple of Buttons & Figs kids who will show you ways to wordplay!

Links to Jim Cheff’s comics and show:

Mary Farfisa’s Music Album


Coloring Books and more – https://www.facebook.com/maryfarfisa
Mary Farfisa Comics – https://tapas.io/jimcheff
Crater Community Radio – https://craterradio.com/about-mary-farfisa/
Kids Listen – https://app.kidslisten.org/

Summertime Comedy!

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You can visit the Summertime Zone all year long, don’t let the title fool you! Look for and listen to all of our comedy skits on the episodes titled, “Summertime Zone”.

Here is one of our favorites!

Here is a playlist of Summertime Zone episodes!!! Play away!