Michelle Obama Reads To Kids Weekly On PBS — Guest Stars Include Barack & Family Pets
Michelle Obama has been reading to children in PBS Kids videos since April. Her Mondays With Michelle Obama series features children’s books like The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Suess. She’s also introduced some special guests — her husband, former President Barack Obama, joined her one the May 18th episode, and the family dogs, Bo and Sunny, join the former First Lady on May 25 as she reads Can I Be Your Dog by Troy Cummings.
The weekly series initially ran from April 20 through May 11, but Mrs. Obama announced on May 11 that she’d be presenting books for two more weeks, with special guests. The following Monday, Barack joined her for a reading of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach. For her final episode, Michelle brought along the dogs as surprise guests, as she read Can I Be Your Dog by Troy Cummings.
The videos, presenting two books per episode, have been a hit, with parents tweeting their appreciation to her each week.
Read with @MichelleObama has become one of our favorite Monday morning routines! Thank you, @PBSKIDS! #QuarantineLife pic.twitter.com/U5xM9jtT2q
— Samar Sengupta, Ph.D. (@AnonDumboOctopi) May 18, 2020
My almost 3 y.o. loves (LOVES) Mondays with Michelle Obama (google it). We were walking thru Kalorama the other day & mentioned that the nice lady who reads books lives nearby. "You mean Michelle?" she replied. "She's my friend." Ever since @MichelleObama has been Ayla's friend.
— Erol Yayboke (@ErolYayboke) April 29, 2020
PBS presented the series as part of their “Read Together, Be Together” initiative, and as parents and children have struggled with the changes to routine that the pandemic and closure of schools and daycares presented, families have leaned on such shared storytimes as a way to ease the transition. Michelle said of the series, “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).”
There are more “Read Together, Be Together” books, activities, and videos here, and all of the Mondays With Michelle Obama episodes (as well as other PBS favorites) are available on the PBS Kids YouTube channel here.