Former First Lady Michelle Obama is reading children’s books over free livestreams for children who are stuck at home (and probably for parents, too).
“Mondays With Michelle Obama” starts April 20 at noon EST with Obama reading “The Gruffalo” and will continue for the next four Mondays, through May 11. Variety reports that the project is a collaboration between Obama, Penguin Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books, and PBS Kids.
You can watch the livestreams on the Facebook pages for PBS Kids and Penguin Random House, and on the PBS Kids YouTube channel. The recordings will be available on these channels afterwards. Here’s the first one, Obama reading “The Gruffalo,” written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler:
Here’s her reading schedule:
April 20: The Gruffalo
April 27: There’s A Dragon In Your Book
May 4 Miss Maple’s Seeds
May 11: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (a classic)
“At this time when so many families are under so much stress, I’m excited to give kids a chance to practice their reading and hear some wonderful stories (and to give parents and caretakers a much-needed break),” Obama said in a statement.
Michelle Obama has been publicly soothing American kids and adults with children’s stories since her time as First Lady. A popular feature of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll was when she and President Barack Obama would not just read, but often act out children’s stories for the assembled kids.
“As a little kid, I loved to read aloud,” Michelle Obama added in her statement. “And when I became a parent, I found such joy in sharing the magic of storytelling with my own children — and then later, as First Lady, with kids everywhere.”
According to Variety, Penguin Random House is also making activities and resources for each book available at readtogetherbetogether.com.
By Versha Sharma for nowthisnews.com