Penguin Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books, and PBS KIDS today announced a special collaboration with former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, in support of the recently announced “Read Together, Be Together” Penguin Random House literacy initiative and PBS KIDS’ “Read-Along” effort on Facebook and YouTube.
On Monday, April 20, at 12 noon (ET), “Mondays with Michelle Obama” will kick off a four-week series of videos that will feature Mrs. Obama reading aloud from beloved children’s books (one book every Monday through May 11). “Mondays with Michelle Obama” (#PBSKIDSRead, #ReadTogetherBeTogether) will be livestreamed simultaneously on PBS KIDS’ Facebook page and YouTube channel, and on Penguin Random House’s Facebook page, and will remain available for viewing on demand on all of those platforms immediately thereafter.
Watch the recorded read-alongs below:
THE GRUFFALO
Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler
THERE’S A DRAGON IN YOUR BOOK
Written by Tom Fletcher and illustrated by Greg Abbott
MISS MAPLE’S SEEDS
Story and pictures by Eliza Wheeler
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
By Eric Carle
GIRAFFE PROBLEMS written by Jory John; illustrated by Lane Smith
THE BEAR ATE YOUR SANDWICH *with a special surprise guest*, written and illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss
CAN I BE YOUR DOG? *with a special surprise guest*, written and illustrated by Troy Cummings
Michelle Obama says, “As a little kid, I loved to read aloud. 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).”
A suite of activities, tips, and resources for each of the books that Mrs. Obama will read are available at www.readtogetherbetogether.com, and companion literacy resources are available on pbskidsforparents.org.