Story Pirates: Buried Treasure - “Animal Week / The Donut Is Right” (S2E11)

Air Date: August 21, 2025

Episode Overview

This special "Buried Treasure" edition revisits a fan-favorite from the Story Pirates archives. The episode is built around revisiting “Animal Week,” an imaginative musical story about talking animals, and “The Donut Is Right,” a zany game show-inspired sketch about guessing a host's favorite donut. It also marks the first Story Pirates visit to the whimsical Isle of Monsters—a setting packed with comic adventure and surprise. As always, the stories and songs are entirely written by kids and adapted by the Story Pirates into raucous comedy and toe-tapping tunes, highlighting the boundless creativity of young minds.

Key Segments and Discussion Points

1. Setting Sail for Adventure (00:01–04:15)

• Lee welcomes listeners, sets the “Isle of Monsters” codename, and teases the episode's themes: adventure and monster mayhem.
• The group—Lee, Peter, Rachel, and others—banter aboard their flying ship. Peter (feeling restless and nostalgic for his Viking days) is determined to seek out monsters, despite the others’ reluctance.
  • Notable Quote:
    Peter, dramatically: “I need to fight monsters or I'll never be happy again.” (02:05)
• Hilarious confusion follows as Peter misinterprets every caution as encouragement to reroute the ship towards the fabled Isle of Monsters.

2. Story 1: “Animal Week” – Written by Ronan, Age 8 (04:16–10:35)

Introduction (04:20)

• Ronan introduces his story, setting the scene for a magical week in which all animals learn to talk.
  • Ronan: “Hi, my name is Ronan and I'm eight years old. ... This is my story, Animal Week.” (04:30)

Musical Storytelling (06:04–09:52)

• Presented as an exuberant, multi-character campfire tale-song told by Ms. Abbott and her family.
• Each day of “Animal Week” features a new group of animals suddenly gaining the gift of speech:
  • Monday: Mammals (“The cow said, ooh, hey, O coyote.”)
  • Tuesday: Reptiles (“They said, 'Get away from my eggs!’”)
  • Wednesday: Fish (“They said plop, plop, ah, plop, plop, ah!”)
• The story is full of comic asides (Rachel on dancing at age 43: “Listen up, everyone. I am 43, and that is actually considered very young in a lot of circles.” [08:35]).
• Ultimately, “Animal Week” ends peacefully as animals return to their usual non-talking ways, but humans are left wondering what their animal friends might be thinking.

Memorable Moments

• Song chorus:
  “Animal Week, the week that the animals learned to speak!” (Multiple times, starting at 06:41)
• Family debate and silly guitar/piano moments (05:50).
• Playful goose chase and improvised verses (09:08–10:16).

3. The Isle of Monsters Adventure (10:35–16:29)

• The Story Pirates crew lands on the spooky Isle of Monsters.
• Scene shifts to classic adventure-movie parody as Peter gears up for a monster fight. The woods are “wooded and spooky and dark for real.”
  • Quote:
    Peter, chanting: “Wooded and spooky and dark for real!” (10:57)
• Comic mayhem peaks when Peter and a monster discover they share the name Siegfried. The planned epic battle is canceled due to the “brotherhood of Siegfrieds.”

Notable Quotes & Comedy Highlights

• Peter (as Monster Siegfried): “I am Siegfried the monster. We're both Siegfried. The battle is cancelled. Phew.” (12:45)
• Quick realization: “I guess we’re all more alike than we think.” (16:16)

4. Story 2: “The Donut Is Right” – Written by Rhea, Age 15 (16:49–24:42)

Introduction by Author (16:58)

• Rhea introduces “The Donut Is Right," a send-up of daytime game shows featuring a wacky host and eccentric contestants.
• Game Show Setup: Contestants must taste 100 million donuts and guess which is the host's favorite to win a billion donuts.

The Game Show Unfolds (17:08–24:42)

• The host, Edgar Oscar Isaac Princeton (hilariously over-the-top), juggles an absurdly tight budget and a hopelessly complex show format.
• Contestants’ attempts are full of banter and failures: Boston cream? No. French cruller? Nope. (22:44–23:22)
• Host accidentally whispers the answer:
  • Peter (as Edgar): “It's not like she's gonna guess that my favorite donut is a plain donut. No one ever does.” (23:24)
• Jacquel wins by overhearing, and the show is finally, comically, “freed from this insanity.”
  • Lee (Guinness World Records): “I have for you an award for being the only person to ever win The Donut Is Right in all eternity.” (24:14)

5. Interview with Young Author Rhea (24:51–29:30)

Writing Inspiration & Family Life (24:51–27:39)

• Rhea shares her love for donuts (“They're so interesting. Like, how could a bit of fried dough taste so good?” [25:14]).
• Tells the story of her family’s four-year journey across North America in a travel trailer with her seven siblings (“Two of them were actually born while we were traveling.” [26:38]).
• Reflects on being introverted within a big, close homeschool family (“I'm more happy in my own kind of space.” [27:41])

Fun Game Show-Style Bonus Question (28:00–29:19)

• Lee playfully quizzes Rhea on which type of donut is most introverted.
  • Rhea: “The glazed donut, because it's always keeping itself behind a curtain, and the jelly filled donut because it has ... a rough outside, but then has a whole bunch of fun side to it in the inside.” (28:52)
• Lee: “I wish I could pull a switch right now and a million donuts would fall on you wherever you were.” (29:19)

6. Wrap-Up and Story Spark Challenge (29:34–30:11)

• Lee thanks authors Ronan and Rhea, then invites young listeners to write a story about a “character who makes the greatest comeback of all time.”

7. Playful Epilogue and Credits (30:16–32:37)

• Behind-the-scenes tour: Lee jokes about storing props from past stories, including a “donut glazed dunk tank.”
  • Lee: “I keep everything in this storage closet right here on the ship. ... Like, for example, right now, I want to take a swim in the donut glaze tank while I listen to klezmer music.” (31:22)

Memorable Quotes

• Peter (longing for action, 02:05): “I need to fight monsters or I'll never be happy again.”
• Rachel (on age, 08:35): “I am 43, and that is actually considered very young in a lot of circles.”
• Peter (on cancellation of the monster fight, 12:45): “We're both Siegfried. The battle is cancelled.”
• Rhea (on donuts, 25:14): “How could a bit of fried dough taste so good?”
• Rhea (on introversion, 27:41): “I'm more happy in my own kind of space.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------| | Setting the Ship’s Course | Lee and crew argue about monster fights | 01:10–04:15 | | “Animal Week” Story & Song | Talking animals musical adventure | 04:30–10:35 | | Isle of Monsters Adventure | Comic monster mayhem, “Siegfried” joke resolved | 10:35–16:29 | | “The Donut Is Right” Sketch | Game show parody: giggles & donut chaos | 16:49–24:42 | | Rhea’s Author Interview | Rhea talks family, writing, donut love | 24:51–29:30 | | Story Spark Challenge | Lee gives writing prompt to listeners | 29:34–30:11 | | Epilogue/Credits | Lee’s prop closet tour and klezmer donut swim | 30:16–32:37 |

Tone & Style

The episode is irrepressibly playful, blending silly wordplay, musical numbers, dramatic comic scenes, and rich kid-driven imagination. Banter is rapid-fire and affectionate, characters lean into broad comedic and musical archetypes, and each segment is performed with contagious energy. The tone welcomes kids and adults, mixing jokes for all ages with a genuine celebration of each young storyteller’s unique voice.

For New Listeners

• Perfect For: Families, creative kids, educators, and anyone who loves wild imagination and big laughs.
• Why Listen: To enjoy hilarious, high-energy stories and songs written by kids, lovingly adapted by a team of top comic performers—and to be inspired to imagine and write your own stories.