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. The four books Mrs. Obama will read are:

April 20, 12 noon ET:       THE GRUFFALO
                                          Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler

April 27, 12 noon ET:       THERE’S A DRAGON IN YOUR BOOK
                                          Written by Tom Fletcher and illustrated by Greg Abbott

May 4, 12 noon ET:          MISS MAPLE’S SEEDS
                                          Story and pictures by Eliza Wheeler

May 11, 12 noon ET:        THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
                                          By Eric Carle

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).”