Reading books to your kids is one of life’s greatest simple pleasures, but in these days of self-quarantining and sheltering in place, you might get sick of putting on a performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar 10 times a day. So why not let some celebrities do the heavy lifting for a little bit?
Betty White, Jimmy Fallon, and Jennifer Garner are among the stars who have posted videos of themselves reading children’s books to help bored little ones (and their stressed parents) get through the day, USA Today reports.
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation set up a website called Storyline Online, which features videos of actors reading stories to kids. The videos include Betty White reading Harry the Dirty Dog, Allison Janney reading Carla’s Sandwich, and the famously intense Rami Malek narrating The Empty Pot.
In a similar project, the charity Save the Children has established an Instagram account called Save With Stories, where you can stream videos of Ron Howard reading Harold and the Purple Crayon, Kerry Washington reading Mae Among the Stars,and “Weird Al” Yankovic reading his own When I Grow Up.
Other actors are taking a more DIY approach. Actor Josh Gad has been posting videos reading books to kids on his Twitter account—his most recent selection was Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, based on the animated movie in which Gad memorably played the optimistic snowman.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
