Category Archives: Author & Singer Interviews

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

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/

Animal Farm Fun with Kids Place Live Radio Host Kenny Curtis

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On this episode we get to wordplay with Dirk, a talking chipmunk! Which means we’re sailing our sieve to talk with Kenny Curtis, host, DJ, and animal wrangler for his radio show, The Animal Farm, which airs on Sirius XM Channel 78, Kids Place Live. You’ll get to hear about the talking animals on Kenny’s radio show, a bit of history about satellite radio, and learn about some of the music and podcast projects he works on. You’ll also hear from some Buttons & Figs kids who have a few animal suggestions for Kenny’s Animal Farm…not to mention a few interrupting animal jokes, because it’s always fun to yell into a microphone!

Brooklyn and Georgia’s Animal Farm Recommendations

Listen to Kenny Curtis and all of the animals on The Animal Farm show at Sirius XM Channel 78, Kids Place Live

Starring Buttons & Figs kids: Alex, Brooklyn, Evelyn, Georgia and Noah

To tune in and listen to Kenny Curtis be sure to check out:
Sirius XM Kids Place Live https://www.siriusxm.com/channels/kids-place-live
Nat Geo Kids Greeking Out podcast https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/zeus-the-mighty/topic/podcast
The Ten News podcast https://www.thetennews.com/

Connections made by Sugar Mountain PR http://sugarmountainpr.com/blog/

Poetry with Phoenix Youth Poet Laureate Annika Clark

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In celebration of National Poetry Month we have a special guest – Phoenix’s Youth Poet Laureate Annika Clark! In this episode we talk with Annika about how she came to be the youth poet laureate of Phoenix, how she fell in love with poetry, and what inspires her to write poetry…but best of all, you get to hear a poem she wrote for her little sister, titled “For Grace”. She also shares the poetry prompt that inspired her to write the poem, so you can write a poem for someone special too!

If you’d like to hear more about the Phoenix Youth Poetry Program, visit CYAZ.org. If you’d like to start a youth poetry program, visit UrbanWordNYC.org. And if you’d like to read and learn about poets visit poetryfoundation.org

You can also follow Phoenix Youth Poets on Instagram at @phxyouthpoetlaureateprogram

Interview captured on Zoom,
SFX from Zapsplat and Garageband

Art by Ann Pickard/Graphic design by Elizabeth Burrill