Audio Shows Kids Lean In and Listen To
In 2017, Monkey Bar Collective began to create original content for Pinna Audio, a streaming service for kids. As a trusted partner we’ve had the pleasure of being involved in all parts of the development process, including:
brainstorming new series ideas
creating multiple seasons of completely original shows
producing audio worlds for well known IPs
establishing writing guidelines for a non-fiction library
writing scripts for fiction and non-fiction series
All these projects share a common goal - to create awesome audio that engages, captivates and delights kids. Take a listen to our shows below.
Get a glimpse behind the scenes with this interview with founder, Sharon Bilman.
Extra BLURT
How do you get kids to play with audio? Our answer is audio gameshows! We turn listeners into the players by asking them to shout out their answers. Monkey Bar Collective wrote and produced this new kind of family game show for Pinna, an audio streaming service for kids.
Dive underwater, board a pirate ship, enter a castle, and blast off into space to play a nine different games with hosts Charlie and Aleah. Play along with two seasons of this family game show written for ages 8 and up. Shout out your answers with ExtraBLURT!
Extra BLURT Jr.
All the fun of the original show, revamped for younger players age 5 to 8. Hosts Natalie and Ezequiel invite you to shout out your answers about playgrounds, feeling, and animals. Monkey Bar produced 2 seasons of Jr. Play along!
ExtraBLURT Blurt-O-Matic
A short form version of the original gameshow. We created 20 episodes featuring one game each for the Pinna Surprise Box. Take a minute to play!
A to Z Mysteries Clue Club
Inspired by the chapter book series, this award winning show lets you join the Clue Club with Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. Listeners piece together audio clues and discover suspects to solve brand-new mysteries along with the characters in the show. Monkey Bar Collective wrote and produced four seasons of this consistently popular show, that’s 40 original mysteries. Solve a mystery with the Clue Club.
Want to hear more about A to Z? Here's Maggie McGuire, CEO of Pinna, talking to Kim Carson about the series.
Om Nom Noms
Based on the Cut the Rope games, each episode is a puzzle or riddle for the listener to solve. Om Nom and his friends playing along are guaranteed to give you the giggles. Monkey Bar Collective developed, wrote and produced 50 episodes of this series for Pinna and ZeptoLabs. Try solving the first Om Nom Noms riddle.
Om Nom Knows
Kids love Om Nom so much that we created a second short-form series. Each of the twenty episodes asks listeners to solve a riddle along with Om Nom. Do you know how to fit a whole lot of people under one umbrella without them getting wet? Om Nom knows!
Discover the Forest
Explore nature with the Velez family as they cross the country to visit various parks, forests, trails and mountains. Each of the 10 fictional, scripted episodes is a different stop on their adventure from Inwood Hill Park NY to Mt. Rainier National Park WA. Monkey Bar Collective wrote and produced this show in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service and the Ad Council, based on their outreach campaign criteria. Created in 2020, the show was produced remotely with the team in home studios. Meet the Velez family.
Time For Kids’ Explains
We wrote and produced season 3 of this monthly news magazine in collaboration with Time for Kids’ Magazine and Pinna. The TFK Kid Reports are on the mic, conducting interviews and hosting episodes. Monkey Bar is helping them shine, every step of the way. We came on board to convert the show from a weekly, to a monthly with more evergreen content. Check it out.
The Utterly Unfair Gameshow
An original gameshow spoof that features a sassy young host asking the experts unanswerable questions. Is that utterly unfair? Of course it is. We created 20 episodes of this short-form series for Pinna’s Surprise Box. Think you can answer the questions? Good luck with that.
Story Time with Benny and Buddy
Listen to some of the most beloved books in children’s literature with Benny and his puppy, Buddy! In each episode, Benny and Buddy share their curiosity about the world, along with a favorite story. Spark the joy of reading between each book and bark.
Monkey Bar Collective wrote and produced this audio show for the Pinna Audio for Kids platform.
Future Chicken Squawkarama
We joined forces with the internal team at Wind Sun Sky to create this companion podcast to the Future Chicken animated series. Each eco-focused episode contains an interview with an environmentalist that is wrapped in a story and mixed with games and songs. By producing the podcast in tandem with the animation, we shared resources and reduced the budget. Take listen to the first episode about reducing your stuff.