The Hungry Mirror with Rajani LaRocca

Mirror, Mirror, can I get a bite of that? On this week's episode, 12 year old Liyana collaborates with Rajani LaRocca (author of "Midsummer’s Mayhem," a Kirkus Best Book of 2019 and long-listed for the 2020 Massachusetts Book Award as a must-read title in MG/YA Literature) to brainstorm her story idea about what happens when a girl who is a misfit in her family of celebrities finds a magic mirror. Join host Betsy Bird as she follows Rajani and Liyana to Pippin Vintage, a NYC antique store, where they go hunting for inspiration, and then collaborate to grow Liyana's story seed into a modern fairytale filled with Youtube stars, biracial characters, a particularly delicious Bengali snack, and of course, magic. Finally, sit back for storytime as Rajani narrates the original story she wrote inspired by her collaboration with Liyana: “Aina and the Mirror."

Om Podcasten

Our Webby Award-nominated show matches kids ages 6-12 and their story ideas with diverse, beloved children's authors. Each episode chronicles the magic that grows through author-child collaboration and features an immersive story time read aloud by the author. Bonus episodes feature author interviews with our host Betsy Bird! As a Common Sense Media Seal Selection, our show is recognized as a great choice for kids and families for its engaging stories, valuable content, and diverse voices, characters, and messages and has received an A+ for educational value. Our show has also been featured in Wired, Time for Kids, Parents, The New York Times, and CBC and wasThe Week Junior magazine's 2020 Podcast of the Year. Our theme song and music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. Our companion activity book "Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity" is a New York Times/Wirecutter "Best Gift for 10 Year Olds" pick. This podcast is a Literary Safari Production.