Buttons & Figs

Buttons & Figs is clearing the decks, taking out the trash, looking through the archives for gems that haven't yet be aired or heard or herded along or deserve to be heard again...hear here!

Huzzah! as Bluebullet likes to say! On this episode we share our interview with Dr. Drew Palacio, author of "Shrieks and Sounds and Things Abound - the Quiet Wants of Julien J." a fun-filled book of wordplay and nonsense, replete with Superhero advice for times of frustration, from Bluebullet himself - Huzzah! We also got the chance to share Dr. Drew's book with some of the students at Camelview Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona and to record a few of their voices during their superhero night. You can find "Shrieks and Sounds and Things Abound - the Quiet Wants of Julien J. at most online booksellers, such as Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Shrieks-Sounds-Things-Abound-Julien/dp/1953021506 To see more of Apolline Etienne's illustrations visit: https://www.artstation.com/apollineetienne Thanks for this episodes go to Dr. Drew Palacio for sharing his time and talent, Thanks to Camelview Librarian Savannah Tranguch, for loving wordplay and inviting us in, and thanks to all of the kids and families who recorded with us at superhero night. A special thanks to students Ellie, Levi, Melany, Romel, Max and Grant for sharing your frustrations and for loving superheroes. SFX from Zapsplat

On this episode we share two original stories, written by the winners of the Independence High School scary story contest. These stories are not for young ears, they are for brave souls who like their stories to simmer slowly (recommend ages 8+). The first, read by author Nathan, is titled, "Plastic Eye" a story that will chill you cold. Next you'll hear a haunting tale by Graham titled, "The Singing Bay". This story will creep up on you, humming like the fog. Nathan (Senior) and Graham (Sophmore) are this year's winners of Independence High School's scary story contest, held by librarian Stephanie Ehrick. Independence High is located in Glendale, Arizona. Special thanks to Mark Peña, Independence High School educator and haunted house builder. May haunting tales surround you this Halloween. Happy Halloween from all of us at Buttons & Figs. Sound fx from Zapsplat Sea Shanty performed by Graham

Halloween Night. Your favorite night. If you could sit back and listen on that night, you might hear an elaborate symphony, where each movement brings to mind the anticipation, preparation, gathering, trick or treating and stories of the night…sit back and listen, as you anticipate the coming of Halloween Night. A Halloween Night Symphony I. Anticipation II. Preparation III. Gathering IV. Trick-or-Treating V. Allocation "A Halloween Night Symphony" was written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers, (c) Buttons & Figs

To kick off the Halloween season we have an interview with Ron Keres, author of "The Scariest Story You've Ever Heard", a Reader's Choice Book Award Gold winner. The coolest thing about Ron's story is that he tells it without any pictures…just spooooooooky onomatopoeia words!!! So… let's set sail in our sieve to meet Ron Keres, hear an excerpt from his book, and have a little wordplay fun by making our own spooky onomatopoeia sounds….oh, and don't worry, if you have little ones who scare easily, this story isn't too scary! Thanks to Buttons & Figs kids Owen, Graham, Emma and Gracie for their onomatopoeia wordplay and art. visit buttonsandfigs.com to see their wordplay. The Scariest Story You've Ever Heard can be founds at: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Scariest-Story-Youve-Ever-Heard/dp/B0B14JLKGL Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-scariest-story-you-ve-ever-heard-by-ron-keres-paperback/-/A-87109340?preselect=87109340#lnk=sametab Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Scariest-Story-You-ve-Ever-Heard-Paperback-9798985911237/688253049 A wonderful reading of The Scariest Story You've Ever Heard by Toadstools and FairyDust: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUUXNMjk9Ng Here is a link to Ron's other book, "It's Not that 'Big a Deal'": https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Scariest-Story-You-ve-Ever-Heard-Paperback-9798985911237/688253049 All non-kid SFX from Zapsplat Buttons & Figs artwork by Ann Pickard Logo design by Elizabeth Burrill

Join me and kid co-host Debra for our back-to-school book recommendation episode. This time we sail in a sieve to talk about the book "Lulu the Broadway Mouse!" Debra is a super fan of Jenna Gavigan's book, "Lulu the Broadway Mouse", which is about a mouse who LOVES Broadway musicals. Debra and I not only discuss the book, but Lulu's story sparks Debra to give some great advice for how to stick to your big dreams, even when you feel small. In this episode you'll also hear an original song written by Debra, inspired by Lulu! All of the musical tracks and lyrics to "Tiny Dreamer, Big, Big Dream" were written and created by Debra. (I just helped by pitching our voices a bit so we would sound like Lulu!) Jenna Gavigan: https://www.iamjennagavigan.com/ Lulu the Broadway Mouse by Jenna Gavigan: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/jenna-gavigan/ Thanks to Debra for sharing one of her favorite books and special thanks to her parents and grandparents for sharing her voice and talent!

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! skits written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute, and We're Not for Everyone music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Say Wah written and produced by Pamela Rogers Physical Education music by freemidi.org, voiced by Mark Peña SFX by Zapsplat Artwork by Ann Pickard Graphic design by Elizabeth Burrill Background music by Pamela Rogers © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! skits written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Say Wah written and produced by Pamela Rogers Physical Education music by freemidi.org SFX by Zapsplat Artwork by Ann Pickard Graphic design by Elizabeth Burrill Background music by Pamela Rogers © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute, Pro-Cave and The Ummm Song written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers SFX by Zapsplat © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Physical Education music by freemidi.org SFX by Zapsplat © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute, Green & Yellow Thermos music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Nonsense Playground - written, performed and recorded by Pamela Rogers & Mark Peña SFX by Zapsplat © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute, Rip Ziskin music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Surf Sensation music by FreeMidi.org, voice Mark Peña SFX by Zapsplat © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers kid question from Buttons & Figs kid Cruz, age 8 The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute, Rip Ziskin, Salty Legume Spread music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Dig in the Yard All Summer - music by Pamela Rogers, voice Mark Peña (cover of Toy Dolls, Dig that Groove Baby) SFX by Zapsplat © Buttons & Figs

You are about to travel to the Summertime kid dimension to join the audience of The Sheila Show! The Sheila Show is a summer variety and nonsense sketch comedy show for kids, with skits, musical comedy, and vaudeville-style performances by the eponymous Sheila Carmichael III, along with members of her comedy troupe and various guest stars! Join us each week this summer for new nonsensical episodes! written and voiced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers kid question from Buttons & Figs kid Paola, age 5 The Sheila Show, Wait a Minute, Rip Ziskin music written and produced by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers Surf Sensations music by FreeMidi.org, voice by Mark Peña SFX by Zapsplat © Buttons & Figs

You are listening to The Wordplay Zone Nonsense Show (WZNS)! Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense, well, except for the part where we teach kids about being a leader. That is real. Stay tuned, our Summertime nonsense is about to begin! Nonsense skits written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers. Poncho written, produced and sung by Pamela Rogers Hoot-Hoo-Hooroo poem and music written by Pamela Rogers Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide. SFX by Zapsplat B&F Artwork by Ann Pickard Graphics by Liz Burrill For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

You are listening to The Wordplay Zone Nonsense Show (WZNS)! Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense, well, except for the part where we teach kids about ants and ant farms. That is real. Tune in to our ring-a-ding-ding, cuz this is the place where we'll be sharing our thing. Nonsense skits and music written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers. Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide. SFX by Zapsplat Midi from Freemidi.org For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

In celebration of National Poetry Month we have a special guest - this year's Phoenix's Youth Poet Laureate Myra Kamel! In this episode we talk with Myra about how she how she fell in love with poetry and what inspires her to write poetry...but best of all, you get to hear a nature poem she wrote, titled, A Siesta. She also shares how she was inspired her to write her poem and ideas for how you can start writing a nature poem too. If you'd like to hear more about the Phoenix Youth Poetry Program, visit CYAZ.org. If you'd like to start a youth poetry program, visit UrbanWordNYC.org. And if you'd like to read and learn about poets visit poetryfoundation.org Here are links to all of Myra's poetry recommends in the episode: The Borderline (Myra's literary mag)- https://www.theborderlinemag.org/ Write the World - www.writetheworld.com Kid Spirit - www.kidspiritonline.com Scholastic Arts & Writing - www.artandwriting.org Polyphony Lit - (for high school students) www.polyphonylit.org Dandelion Press - www.dandelionpress.com Young Writers Initiative - www.tywi.org ReFrame - www.reframephx.org Virginia Piper Center for Creative Writing - www.piper.asu.edu Desert Dweller Podcast - find it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts You can also follow Phoenix Youth Poets on Instagram at @phxyouthpoetlaureateprogram Interview captured on Zoom, SFX from Zapsplat and Garageband

Epic Encore: War of the Fools! Once again, this April Fool's Day, nonsense appears to be on a collision course with reason! We present - Buttons & Figs and the Oyster Actors on the Air in, The War of the Fools. It was on this day, April 1st, in which weird happenings began to happen. Reporters began to report reportable events, reportable strange happenings, reportable odd sightings - a meat shower, a weird alphabet song, odd creatures sailing in a sieve making demands...what if it were all true?! Featuring voices from the pod-o-sphere, including The Past & The Curious, Composer Dad, and What If World. Tune in to Buttons & Figs to find out what the reporters are reporting this April Fool's day. btw...does anyone have any stilton cheese?! Take care out there and watch out! This is a production of buttonsandfigs.com. Written and recorded in 2019 with Buttons & Figs kids, Kids Listen podcast members and the voices of Buttons & Figs.

You are listening to The Wordplay Zone Nonsense Show (WZNS)! Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense, well, except for the part where we teach kids about ants. That is real. Tune in this winter and spring, cuz this is the place where we'll be sharing our thing. Nonsense skits and music written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers. Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide. SFX by Zapsplat Midi from Freemidi.org For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

You are listening to the Wordplay Zone Nonsense Show (WZNS)! Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense, well, except for the part where we talk to Hans the Tuba! Tune in this winter and spring, cuz this is the place where we'll be sharing our thing. Nonsense skits and music written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers. Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide. SFX by Zapsplat For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

You are listening to the Wordplay Zone Nonsense Show (WZNS)! Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense, well, except for the part about DONUTS! Cuz DONUTS are the TRUTH! Tune in this winter and spring, cuz this is the place where we'll be sharing our thing. Nonsense skits and music written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers. Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide. Picklepear in the Air written and recorded by B&F kids Noah, Maddy and Hannah. The Donut Song written by Mark Peña, music by Pamela Rogers SFX by Zapsplat. Just Because mastered by audio engineer Blaise Collins For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

You are listening to the Wordplay Zone Nonsense Show (WZNS)! Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense, well, except for the true story about the letters Q & U. THAT part is QUite true. Tune in this winter and spring, cuz this is the place where we'll be sharing our thing. Nonsense skits and music written and performed by Mark Peña and Pamela Rogers. Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide The Ballad of Q & U written by Carter Dukarm and Mark Peña, lyrics by Pamela Rogers, guitar and pedal steel Carter Dukarm, vocals Mark Pena SFX by Zapsplat. Spurs sfx by https://freesound.org/people/CGEffex/sounds/98816/ For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

You are about to enter the Wordplay Zone. Do not try and make sense of any of what you are about to hear. It is all nonsense. It is the middle ground between stupidity and wisdom, between make-believe and absurdity. It is our playground. And we have been at play. Tune in this winter and spring, cuz this is the place where we'll be sharing our thing. Nonsense skits and music written and performed by Mark Pena and Pamela Rogers Buttons & Figs Kid voices come from nonsense lovers far and wide For more nonsense visit www.buttonsandfigs.com Copyright @buttonsandfigs

We have a brand new, semi-short, audio-fiction podcast show to share. It's called, The Semi-Adventures of Sheila! We've just released all five chapters and you can subscribe, for free, anywhere you listen to podcasts! The Semi-Adventures of Sheila features none other than our own 9 year old Sheila! Yes! That sugar loving, fact loving, rock loving Sheila! Well, if you haven't listened to our Summertime Zone series, you may not know who Sheila is, so this episode will introduce you to her and share a little more about her favorite past time - rockhounding! Search and subscribe to 'The Semi-adventures of Sheila' in Apple or Google Podcasts, Spotify, or where ever you listen to podcasts. The Semi-adventures of Sheila is a Buttons & Figs production.

On this episode we get to sail to the land of Mermaidia! Which means you'll get to hear our interview with author Julia Hengst where she tells us all about the wordplay filled mermaid world she created called Mermaidia. You'll learn about her new book, "Venus Underwater: Songs from Mermaidia" and how mermaids use song, dance, and wordplay which can help you sort through your emOceans. You'll also get to hear some of the wonderful music that will bring this world to life. And, as always, we have a couple of Buttons & Figs kids who were inspired by Julia's mermaid world, who will show us their ways to wordplay….so let's get started... To learn more, visit Julia Hengst: venusandherflytrip.net Illustrations by Ester Samuals-Davis: dirtyliketheweeds.com Music by Rachel Panni and Alison Balano: NightskyMind.com Buttons & Figs kids: Brianna and Ariyah SFX by Zapsplat Interview recorded via Zoom Created and produced by Pamela Rogers Mastered by Blaise Collins

You are about to enter....the Wordplay Zone! A place where kids get to share their story ideas for Sheila and her gang...and we get to bring them to life with our crazy voices, sounds fx, and nonsense! So...WELCOME to our first episode of the Wordplay Zone. In this episode you get to hear the script of 11 year old Buttons & Figs kid Noah. He come up with a crazy library book cart race for Sheila, Max and Jimmy...not to mention a chipmunk, Robot and Spring-Heeled Jack! Get ready to enter the...Wordplay Zone: The First Annual Library Book Cart Race, by Noah If you enjoyed this crazy story, then be sure to check out Noah's inspiration: Mr. Lemoncello's Library book series, by Chris Grabenstein. If you have a story idea for Sheila and her friends, be sure to email pamela@buttonsandfigs.com If you'd like to add your voice to the Wordplay Zone, find a grownup and ask them to record you saying: Welcome to the Wordplay Zone! This episode was written by Noah, with support from Buttons & Figs Sheila, Max, Jimmy, Spring-heeled Jack voiced by Mark Pena Robot, Chipmunk, Wordplay Zone musical introduction by Noah Writing support and production by Pamela Rogers Audio engineering by Blaise Collins

You are about to hear original scary stories by students from Independence High School in Glendale Arizona. These stories were written for you, the listeners of Buttons & Figs...but we must warn you, they are not for those who scare easily...there is a story of a ghost, a girl, and a train...all of them are haunting, scary and spooky! We recommend these stories for those who are brave, ages 8+. The Girl in the White Dress written and narrated by Sarahi, voices by Marisol, Mark, Chloe and student Stitches and Needles written by Madison, narrated by Marisol The Runaway Train by Gio The Spirit of Halloween by Mark Pena Thanks to librarian Stephanie Ehrick for hosting this spooky story contest and a special thanks to Mark Pena for keeping the halloween spirit alive! Recorded and produced by Pamela Rogers Happy Halloween! Boo!

You are about to hear Sheila host a spooky story telling contest with her friends. Which one will win? Will there be prizes? What is a bloody book anyway? Before we answer these questions, please note...If you are a kid who scares easily, then you may not be ready for this contest, but if you don't mind the mention of murder and bloody hooks...or books, then...by all means, prepare yourself to enter... the Halloween Zone. Recommended for kids ages 7+ due to the mention of murder and a bloody hook. Storytelling Contest written and voiced by Mark Pena What Will I Be? written and voiced by Mark Pena Introduced and produced by Pamela Rogers Thanks to Buttons & Figs kids Noah and Hannah for lending their voice to halloween! The Bloody Hook was adapted from "The Hook", a story in the collection "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark", by Alvin Schwartz. For more scary stories, be sure to check out all of his collections!

Street scenes. Halloween. The past. You are about to listen to several groups of kids who all live near one another, who take to the streets on their own daring journeys this Halloween Night. Their talk of candy and costumes will be familiar to you...until fear sets in and you hear a black cat start talking...a little too much. This next stop will be...in the Halloween Zone. Thanks to Buttons & Figs kid voices Noah and Hannah. Halloween stories written and voiced by Pamela Rogers and Mark Pena Halloween is Coming was written by Mark Pena Produced by Pamela Rogers and Blaise Collins

Join me and my kid co-host Debra as we sail in a sieve to the land of dragons! Debra is a super fan of Tui Sutherland's book series, "Wings of Fire" and she's here to tell you why she loves these books so much and to share some fun ways to play with dragons! If you fall in love with this series, there are 14 books out now, but there are three more to be published! Wings of Fire Book Series: https://kids.scholastic.com/kid/books/wings-of-fire/ Thanks to Debra for sharing one of her favorite book series and to Donna for encouraging reading in your home!

Briscoe, Mary Farfisa's space horse friend, has come to visit me because apparently I have some sounds from Mary's Outer Space Library that are overdue! In this episode you'll get to meet the creator of Mary Farfisa's Outer Space Radio Theater, Jim Cheff and you'll also get to hear all sorts of music and noise from his show...and as always, we have a couple of Buttons & Figs kids who will show you ways to wordplay! Links to Jim Cheff's comics and show: Mary Farfisa's Music Album - https://maryfarfisasouterspaceradiotheater.bandcamp.com/album/songs-and-sounds-and-music-and-noise Coloring Books and more - https://www.facebook.com/maryfarfisa Mary Farfisa Comics - https://tapas.io/jimcheff Crater Community Radio - https://craterradio.com/about-mary-farfisa/ Kids Listen - https://app.kidslisten.org/ Thanks to Buttons & Figs kids - Chloe (11) and Sydnee (7)

After meeting Spring-Heeled Jack this summer what if you were inspired to bounce...ok, leap great distances. Where will such leaping lead? You are about to find out….in the SummerTime Zone. You are now bouncing out of the Summertime Zone. We don't understand why you entered this kid dimension, but we are grateful you found your way into this middle ground between stupidity and wisdom, between make-believe and absurdity. May the kid dimension of stories always find its way to you. Be well. Summertime Zone sketch comedy written and performed by Pamela Rogers and Mark Pena. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program of wordplay, poetry and episodes written for and by Buttons & Figs kids.

You've been playing outside with your friends all day, you're about to be called in for the night, when out of the shadows a gentleman appears, one with bat wings, red eyes, and clawed hands, known from legend as Spring-Heeled Jack. You are about to hear what fear, or exasperation, sounds like in - the Summertime Zone. written, voiced by mark pena and pamela rogers produced by pamela rogers sfx Zapsplat

Summertime Zone Encore: Two kids, two ideas. One song contest. On the back of a cereal box. Should Sheila and her friend enter? Can they work together? Will they win? What is a lunar launcher? This Summertime Zone Encore episode is sponsored by Strobe Nightlight, a nightlight that will bring a party to your dreams...or might just keep you up dancing all night long! Thanks to Hank, age 6, for sending us the winning guess for what Lulu the Ladybug was selling! Check out Hank and Phoebe's podcast The Adventures of Power Dog in Dogland. If you have an idea for the Frosty Pop contest, send them to pamela@buttonsandfigs.com - you'll receive a Buttons & Figs wordplay zine, drawn by Jim Cheff, the creator of the podcast, Mary Farfisa's Outer Space Radio Theater Frosty Pops written, performed and produced by Mark Pena and Pamela Rogers Audio mastering by Blaise Collins/Pamela Rogers

You are about to travel through to the kid dimension, to join the audience of your favorite game show, Guess That Noun. One kid contestant knows the answer to this game, regardless of the actual answer, or what the audience has to say. You are about to play this game...in the Summertime Zone. written and voiced by Mark Pena and Pamela Rogers SFX by Zapsplat Produced by Buttons & Figs

Hey Buttons & Figs kids….I'm super excited to share this summertime zone journey with you because it was written by a Buttons & Figs kid! One of the kids from our fall semester of wordplay reached out and said that he had an idea for a Summertime Zone episode, featuring none other than Sheila! It's the middle of the school year, it's picture day. That day when it was ok for your parent to lick their hand in order to smooth down that one piece of hair sticking up. But what if you missed picture day? You are about to hear an epic journey of what it takes to get the perfect picture….in the Summertime Zone…. written by Noah, age 11 voiced by Mark Pena edited and produced by Pamela Rogers SFX by Zapsplat

You are about to journey into the past, when kids took turn telling stories after a long day of play...but sometimes it landed on that kid. The kid who likes candy and slurpees. Next stop, the Summertime Zone. Dodgeball PSA from the Summertime Zone Playground Association written and voiced by Mark Pena and Pamela Rogers sfx by Zapsplat Go play, ready, write, play this summer!

Summer is officially here! You know what that means...summer sketch comedy fun at Buttons & Figs! We'll have some summer silliness from the past and present, along with some great summer reading and podcast recommends! To kick off this summer, we have a song, one we recorded with some extraterrestrials we encountered, who happen to love wordplay as much as me and you! But before we kick things off, we have big news here at Buttons & Figs....we have our first sponsor!!! Which means, we have a short commercial message...sort of. If you can help us make sense of this sponsor's message, please ask a grownup if you can call us....please! 623-282-4080 (email: pamela@buttonsandfigs.com)Leave us a message with your first name, age, where you are calling from, and what you think Lulu the Ladybug is trying to sell! Check out Mary Farfisa's Outer Space Radio Theater podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts! And...send us a message, you'll get a free Zine illustrated by Jim Cheff, creator of Mary Farfisa! Be sure to check out our YouTube channel to see the space creatures we met singing, Let Wordplay Open the Door to Your Heart: https://youtu.be/RNwjL9_zM0Q Episode written and voiced by Pamela Rogers and Mark Pena Sign up for Summer Reading at a library near you!!!

On this episode we get to wordplay with Dirk, a talking chipmunk! Which means we're sailing our sieve to talk with Kenny Curtis, host, DJ, and animal wrangler for his radio show, The Animal Farm, which airs on Sirius XM Channel 78, Kids Place Live. You'll get to hear about the talking animals on Kenny's radio show, a bit of history about satellite radio, and learn about some of the music and podcast projects he works on. You'll also hear from some Buttons & Figs kids who have a few animal suggestions for Kenny's Animal Farm...not to mention a few interrupting animal jokes, because it's always fun to yell into a microphone! Starring Buttons & Figs kids: Alex, Brooklyn, Evelyn, Georgia and Noah To tune in and listen to Kenny Curtis be sure to check out: Sirius XM Kids Place Live https://www.siriusxm.com/channels/kids-place-live Nat Geo Kids Greeking Out podcast https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/zeus-the-mighty/topic/podcast The Ten News podcast https://www.thetennews.com/ Connections made by Sugar Mountain PR http://sugarmountainpr.com/blog/

In celebration of National Poetry Month we have a special guest - Phoenix's Youth Poet Laureate Annika Clark! In this episode we talk with Annika about how she came to be the youth poet laureate of Phoenix, how she fell in love with poetry, and what inspires her to write poetry...but best of all, you get to hear a poem she wrote for her little sister, titled "For Grace". She also shares the poetry prompt that inspired her to write the poem, so you can write a poem for someone special too! If you'd like to hear more about the Phoenix Youth Poetry Program, visit CYAZ.org. If you'd like to start a youth poetry program, visit UrbanWordNYC.org. And if you'd like to read and learn about poets visit poetryfoundation.org You can also follow Phoenix Youth Poets on Instagram at @phxyouthpoetlaureateprogram Interview captured on Zoom, SFX from Zapsplat and Garageband

Happy National Poetry Month! We love listening, reading and writing poetry during April and we hope you do too! Here's a poem I wrote, hope you'll say it along with me, it's called, Pails of Shoeshine. You can find the words on our YouTube channel so you can Say-a-Long Verse with me! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN1KmnzEa8I&t=30s Pails of Shoeshine written by Pamela Rogers Ukulele by Pamela Rogers Beats created with LOC's Citizen DJ and Garageband

Epic Encore: Once again...Nonsense appeared to be on a collision course with reason...presenting Buttons & Figs and the Oyster Actors on the Air in The War of the Fools. It was on this day, April 1st, in which weird happenings began to happen. Reporters began to report reportable events, reportable strange happenings, reportable odd sightings - a meat shower, a weird alphabet song, odd creatures sailing in a sieve making demands...what if it were all true?! Featuring voices from the pod-o-sphere, including The Past & The Curious, Composer Dad, and What If World. Tune in to Buttons & Figs to find out what the reporters are reporting this April Fool's day. btw...does anyone have any stilton cheese?! Take care out there.

Do you like to say the words, Activity Books? Do you like all the puzzles and games found in Activity Books? Then you'll love comedy musician Mike Phirman's new album titled, "Activity Books". In this episode you'll get to hear one of the songs from his new EP, "Word Search/Vacuum", featuring the voice of Weird Al Yankovich, and you'll get to hear our funny and fabulous interview with Mike about how he became famous and about his unfortunate experience with a vacuum. A few of our Buttons & Figs kids were inspired to create their own word search activity after listening to this fabulous album. You can learn more about Mike Phirman's work and find all the ways to purchase the Activity Books EP at https://mikephirman.com/ Thanks for this episodes go out to Buttons & Figs kids Olivia, Sophia and friends, Beth Blenz-Clucas at Sugar Mountain PR, librarian intern Anna Ferguson and comedy musician Mike Phirman. Word Search/Vacuum and song excerpts from the Activity Books album used with permission from the artist. Sound FX from Zapsplat

Do you know the rhyme Miss Mary Mack?! If so, then we have a silly, fun, joyful nonsense challenge! In this episode you'll learn a bit about the rhyme Miss Mary Mack, hear Buttons & Figs kid Chloe sing the rhyme AND make up a nonsense version of her own...and of course, we hope her wordplay will inspire YOU to make up your own version too! And IF you don't know this rhyme, then this is as good of time as any to learn it, grab a jump rope...and play! Credits: wordplay by chloe, age 9 music by pamela rogers Inspiration: "Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout; Dance, Spin and Turn It Out! Games Songs and Stories from an African American Childhood" by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Brian Pinkney - https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780375870880

Do you love animals at the zoo...us too! For this episode we were inspired by Ogden Nash's "Zoo", a collection of silly animal verse, illustrated by Etienne Delessert. We invited kids at the Velma Teague Library to read some of Ogden Nash's poems and write some of their own. You'll learn a bit about Ogden Nash, hear a few of his poems, and hear original poems about a panda, a bee, a sheep and more! We'll also tell you how we went about our wordplay, so you can play our way by writing some silly animal verse of your own! Thanks to: Greg Kinder and Janet Llyod with Glendale Public Library, Velma Teague Branch - who welcomed us in to read, write and play before Covid took it all away! Zapslat for their SFX Anna Ferguson our Library Intern from the UofA - who has some wonderful book recommends! Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to see the original writing from the kid on this episode

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a Word Ghost were to capture me and a bunch of Buttons & Figs kids after we fell through a portal along with a bunch of other friends, like horses, chickens and Scooby-Doo? Us too! In this episode you get to hear a tale from the land of Wacky Woo, Woo, Woo, spun from the imaginations of the first ever group of online writers for Buttons & Figs. During our online class we played with alliteration, rhyming verse, word rhythms then for our last class, we each wrote a chapter that I've woven into a story...sort of. This episode features original nonsense stories written by: C.J., Cruz, Maddy, Noah, Olivia, Piper, and Silver - kids ages 7 to 11. If you want to write some nonsense too...be sure to check out our friends at Storyseedspodcast.com. They have an excellent podcast for kids all about writing and they have a new activity book chalk filled with great ideas to get you started. The class was supported and co-taught by Tamara Fromm, sfx by Zapsplat, audio enginnering by Blaise Collins and hosted and produced by Pamela Rogers. Thanks for listening to me and you and you and me.

Happy Thanksgiving from Buttons & Figs! On this WWW episode your challenge is to figure out which word doesn't belong. Play four rounds of Thanksgiving Thesaurus by listening to a list of words that mean similar things, in other words, synonyms...but one of the words in the list doesn't belong. And of course, there is a trick round, just because. Have a Happy, Joyful, Peaceful, Merry, Jubilant Thanksgiving. be safe. be kind. be playful. visit www.buttonsandfigs.com and look for more Wacky Wordplay Wednesdays written by Pamela Rogers audio produced by Pamela Rogers SFX from Zapsplat

Have you Heards of Verbs?! On this Wacky Wordplay we share 4 limericks by Edward Lear and YOU are to listen for how many VERBS you HEARDS! You say that's nonsense? I say a verbs a verb, that's what I heard! GO PLAY! visit www.buttonsandfigs.com and look for Wacky Wordplay Wednesdays to see this wordplay written out to share in class or at home. a little wordplay each day goes a long way! written by Pamela Rogers audio produced by Pamela Rogers SFX from Zapsplat

Encore WWW: Are you As Playful As a Simile?! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this fall, join us for a wordplay ball. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find these WWW activities written out for classroom play.

Halloween Spirit is a mini-musical treat with three songs that follow the story of a young boy whose favorite holiday is Halloween! Happy Halloween "Halloween is Coming" is about the excitement he feels at the start of the season! "What Can I Be?" is about the most monumental decision of the season! "Halloween Spirit" is a reminder, that no matter how different this halloween season might be, the spirit is always inside you...for free. Music by Mark Pena Lyrics by Mark Pena and Pamela Rogers Voice by Mark Pena Production by Pamela Rogers Audio Design and Engineering by Blaise Collins Happy Halloween from Buttons & Figs

For this episode kids at the Velma Teague Library in Glendale, Arizona wrote and recorded nonsense poems inspired by Eric Carle's "The Nonsense Show". Be warned, this book of nonsense brings forth all sorts of, well, how shall I say, Nonsense! You'll also hear great nonsense book recommends, and a public service announcement about staying hydrated. What? You say poppycock, fiddle-faddle, surreal cereal?! You're welcome. All nonsense on this episode was written by kids taking part in Buttons & Figs creative wordplay workshops at Velma Teague Library in the Spring of 2020, yup, in the time before. These voices are a nice reminder that we'll gather again. Stay safe, sane, hydrated, and wear a mask. Poems by Buttons & Figs kids Music by Pamela Rogers SFX by Zapsplat