Podcasters P.J. Vogt, host of Reply All, and Starlee Kine, host of Mystery Show, addressed sold-out sessions at the Sydney Writers' Festival last month, riding the wave of popularity engendered by Serial, the 2014 US true crime podcast series whose 100 million downloads galvanised the audio storytelling world.
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How would you react if you won a Caldecott Medal? The American Library Association requested that the Honor and Medal winners create videos showcasing their reactions when they were informed that their books had been recognized with these awards. The video embedded above features the newly crowned medalist Dan Santat, his wife Leah, their two sons Alek and Kyle, and the voice of Serial host Sarah Koenig.
Santat, the author and illustrator behind The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, drew inspiration for this spoof video project, entitled “The Call,” by the hit podcast, Serial. To learn more about Santat’s picture book, check out the book trailer. Click here to read the acceptance speech he delivered while accepting the Caldecott Medal during the American Library Association’s annual conference.
It’s been a busy month, with many school visits and almost no real writing. On Sunday, tomorrow, I’m heading to South Carolina, a trip that begins with three presentations in a middle school. So I thought I’d share my highest recommendation with you.
Listen to This American Life: Middle School. Trust me, it’s terrific. Smart, insightful, poignant, funny, heartbreaking. Really, I mean it. This is brilliant and you have must, must, must give it a listen.
Seventh-graders at a costume dance, dressed
as characters from The Outsiders.
To listen to the show, you have a couple of options. You can go here, for free, to hear the show in its entirety. Or you can catch up on all the old episodes of “This American Life” on iTunes for only 99 cents each. The “Middle School” segment originally aired in late October. Here’s some background info, as provided by WBEZ:
This week, at the suggestion of a 14-year-old listener, we bring you stories from the awkward, confusing, hormonally charged world of middle school. Including a teacher who transforms peer pressure into a force for good, and reports from the frontlines of the middle school dance.
Prologue.
Host Ira Glass interviews a 14-year old named Annie, who emailed us asking if we would do a show about middle school. She explains why exactly the middle school years can be so daunting. (4 1/2 minutes)
Act One: Life in the Middle Ages.
In an effort to understand the physical and emotional changes middle school kids experience, Ira speaks with reporter Linda Perlstein, who wrote a book called Not Much Just Chillin’ about a year she spent following five middle schoolers. Then we hear from producer Alex Blumberg, who was a middle school teacher in Chicago for four years before getting into radio. Alex’s takeaway? We shouldn’t even try teaching kids at this age. Marion Strok, principal of a successful Chicago s
