On this week’s episode, we bring you a whodunnit shaped story seed! 12 year old Sulaf collaborates with author Susan Muaddi Darraj (author of the debut middle grade series FARAH ROCKS) on a story starring a young Arab-American girl, who looks like Sulaf, and who finds herself at the center of a mystery at the theatre where she works. Join our host Betsy Bird as she follows Sulaf and Susan on their all-access backstage tour of the Riverside Theatre at the landmark Riverside Church in NYC where they discover all its nooks and crannies that can inspire a mystery story. They also talk about their great love of Agatha Christie mysteries and how meaningful it is— as Arab Americans—to read a story about a character that you can relate to and that looks like you.
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:
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
Books and media mentioned in this episode: Farah Rocks series by Susan Muaddi Darraj, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe.
Musicals and Plays: The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe.
Calls to Action
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.
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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