KidLit Crafts & Activities

National Poetry Month with The Story Seeds Podcast

Poetry Prompt: Imagine you had an unusual or quirky trait. What would it be and what are the weird and wonderful things you might do with it?

This National Poetry Month, The Story Seeds Podcast invites you to find the inner rhymist inside you with a little prompt taken from the pages of their brand new activity book,
Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity.

This prompt is inspired by “The View from the Top,” an episode featuring 13-year-old Jasper and Chris Grabenstein, author of the NYTimes best-selling Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series. In the episode, Jasper asks Chris to write a tall tale about a 74-foot tall boy detective named Zeta whose height allows him to see and do things that others cannot.

Whether you are 74 feet tall or one inch tall, you’d definitely have a different point of view, wouldn’t you?

In Shel Silverstein’s poem “One Inch Tall” he writes,
If you were only one inch tall, you’d ride a worm to school
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool

A member of Story Seeds’ kids listening society, Amrita, age 11, took inspiration in Shel Silverstein’s poem and Episode 3 “The View from the Top” to imagine what life would be like if she were phenomenally tall (15 feet in this case.) She wrote this poem:

Now, it’s your turn. Pick up a pen or pencil and follow the template below and let your words flow.

For more writing inspiration and tips on how to create your own stories from author Chris Grabenstein, check out this mini writing workshop hosted by The Story Seeds Podcast where Chris, a former improv performer, shares ways to exercise your imagination.

Looking for More Creative Writing prompts and inspiration?
Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity is an activity book inspired by The Story Seeds Podcast. Featured in Parents magazine and Good Housekeeping’s “The 20 Best Workbooks for Kids to Keep Them Learning All Year Long,” it includes over 80 pages of writing prompts, STEAM projects, non-fiction, and tips from the diverse and best-selling authors featured on the show. Just scan a QR code inside to launch an adventure in listening, reading, writing, and creativity!
Learn more.

More about The Story Seeds Podcast
The Story Seeds Podcast matches kids between the ages of 6-12 and their story ideas with best-selling children’s book authors who collaborate with them to grow their story ideas into original stories. It was selected Podcast of the Year for 2020 by The Week Junior Magazine and has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, and Common Sense Media. On Season One, you’ll hear never-before-heard stories from best-selling authors like Dan Gutman and Chris Grabenstein, up-and-coming debut authors such as Rajani LaRocca, Rick Riordan Presents authors Carlos Hernandez and Tracey Baptiste, and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds.