Pure, genuine respite may feel hard to come by lately, especially if you’re on day...39? 300?—of quarantining with the kids. Thankfully, former First Lady Michelle Obama is offering a little bit of solace to maxed out parents and caregivers—“Mondays with Michelle Obama,” a limited weekly series in which our #ForeverFLOTUS reads a children’s book out loud. For free.
Starting April 20 (yes, that’s today) and running through May 11, Obama will read aloud a classic children’s book every Monday at noon ET. As Variety reports, the reading will be live-streamed on PBS Kids’ Facebook page and its YouTube channel, as well as on Penguin Random House’s Facebook page. And, because life happens, the videos will remain accessible on each platform after the livestream is done. So if your precious angels/little hellions prefer a late-night read-along with Michelle, they can have it! In fact, who’s to say you don’t want a little storytime for yourself?
The series will start with the classic picture book, The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson with illustrations from Axel Scheffler; followed by There’s a Dragon in Your Book (April 27), Miss Maple’s Seeds (May 4), and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (May 11).
And if you want to create more lessons around the stories Obama will be reading, Penguin Random House has also compiled activities and resources for each of the books at readtogetherbetogether.com and pbs.org/parents.
Announcing the series, Obama hearkened back to her own childhood.
“As a little kid,” she said. “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.
“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).”