A Girl Who Looks Like Me with Susan Muaddi Darraj

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.

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.