NEW YORK — Michelle Obama launched a series of online video readings for kids with the classic picture book “The Gruffalo,” which the former first lady called the story of a mouse who uses his “wit and imagination” to get the best of a fox and other would-be predators.

“Mondays with Michelle Obama” is part of the PBS KIDS Read-Along series, and will continue through May 11. It can be seen at noon EDT on the Facebook and YouTube pages of PBS KIDS and the Facebook page of Obama’s publisher, Penguin Random House.

The livestream of Obama reading “The Gruffalo” quickly received tens of thousands of likes on Facebook. Other celebrities who have given readings during the coronavirus pandemic include Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Garner and Demi Lovato, who also read “The Gruffalo.”