To help with the quarantine, various celebrities and public figures are reading books for your listening pleasure. Many of these are books appropriate for children, with one notable exception (see the last entry). Everyone seems to be pitching in, from the cast of the Harry Potter movies to the family of Texas Governor Abbott. Find something you like and listen in. Some of these are one-offs, like board books, while others are ongoing series with installments.
Celebrities Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Starting with Daniel Radcliffe reading the chapter “The Boy Who Lived,” celebrities from The Wizarding World (and beyond) will read a chapter apiece from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The 17 chapters will be released periodically, with the project expected to be completed over the summer. You can register with the website in order to get updates when they publish another chapter, so you never miss out on the thrilling tale of Harry Potter’s first year at Hogwarts.
Seven of the celebrity readers were announced on the website: Daniel Radcliffe, Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni, and Eddie Redmayne are all slated to read a chapter apiece. The full cast of 17 contributors is likely to have some future surprises, so stay tuned for more.
George Strait Never Ask a Dinosaur to Dinner
In this video you can watch George Strait read the adorable children’s story Never Ask a Dinosaur to Dinner. This video is part of a larger project called Stars of Texas Storytime. In this series, Texas Governor Abbott’s wife Cecilia Abbott has gathered Texas celebs to read stories to children at 10am on Tuesdays and Fridays. The odd thing is that the videos are streamed on the Texans for Abbott Facebook feed which is also used for the Governor’s other business including press conferences, interviews, and other news videos. Thankfully, you can peruse all the videos here, and just watch the videos you’re looking for.
Levar Burton Reads a Lot
Our next act is LeVar Burton of Star Trek, Roots, and Reading Rainbow fame. It’s his past experience with Reading Rainbow that we’re interested in this time. In his animated and entertaining style, LeVar presents books in a variety of reading levels, on Twitter and on his podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. You can follow the hashtag #LeVarBurtonReads to follow these projects.
You can listen to My Brother Charlie on Twitter to try it out.
Jasleiney Reads Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline”
This channel is a bit out of the comfort zone, as it’s part of Jenny Lorenzo’s Tia Gloria universe. This universe mainly features outrageous characters portrayed by Jenny Lorenzo herself, and “Jasleiney’s” 2-part reading of Coraline is done in-character as the goth cosplay fan. Despite the oddity of the premise, you can enjoy a fun read of Coraline in two parts. Part 1 is about an hour long, but Part 2 is almost three hours long, though Jasleiney says she’ll only read for an hour again. Instead, she finishes the book, which was a welcome surprise for those who didn’t want to wait to hear the end of the story.
Samuel L. Jackson – “Stay The F*ck At Home” ( Uncensored )
This one goes without explanation. Samuel L. Jackson’s emphatic reading is more entertaining than the other acts, but definitely has no room for kiddos. You can watch it here.
Want more? Watch Taika Waititi and Friends Read ‘James and the Giant Peach’
Finally, check out this GeekDad article which tells you how to listen to Taika Waititi and other celebs read James and the Giant Peach.
Watch Today: Taika Waititi and Friends Read ‘James and the Giant Peach’
