The Little Mermaid read by Jodi Benson

Jodi Benson is the actress who played Ariel in the original Disney movie The Little Mermaid. Now you can hear Ariel read about Ariel! Enjoy the story, everyone! 

Beauty and the Beast read by Paige O'Hara

Paige O'Hara is the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast, the original animated Disney movie. I hope you enjoy this short story version of Beauty and the Beast, read by Belle herself!

Forky in Craft Buddy Day by Drew Daywalt read by Tony Hale

A story about Forky read by ... Forky? Here is Tony Hale, the voice of Forky in Toy Story 4, reading Forky in Craft Buddy Day by Drew Daywalt. Enjoy!

A New Purpose (from Toy Story) read by Ally Maki

Ally Maki is the voice of Giggle McDimples in Toy Story 4. Here she is reading a story called A New Purpose from Toy Story.

A Place for Mulan by Marie Chow read by Ming-Na Wen

Ming-Na Wen is the actress who does the voice of Mulan in the original animated Disney movie. (A different actress, Liu Yifei, plays Mulan in the new live-action movie coming out this summer.) This story is about how Mulan tries to fit in but finds it difficult. She learns a great lesson from her father about being who you were meant to be - yourself. Everyone has gifts of their own, and no one needs to try to be like everyone else.

Chewie and the Porgs by Kevin Shinick read by Joonas Suotamo

Here's another Star Wars book read by a Star Wars actor. This one is read by Joonas Suotamo, the actor who plays my favorite character, Chewbacca! This book gives more details about what happens when Chewbacca is on Ahch-To, the planet where Luke lives in The Last Jedi.

Moana and the Ocean by Heather Knowles read by Auli'i Cravalho

Moana is one of my favorite Disney movies, so I thought it was pretty cool to hear a Moana book read by Auli'i Cravalho, the actress who is the voice of Moana!

First, a quick lesson. The narrator of a story is whoever tells the story. Sometimes the narrator is "first person" which means that a character in the story tells the story. You can spot a first person narrator because they use words like I and me to tell the story. Sometimes the narrator is "third person" which means the story is told by a narrator that is not in the story. Third person narrators use words like he and she and they because they are telling a story about other people.

This story has a first person narrator. But what is interesting in this story is that the character telling the story is the ocean. Wait, the ocean is a character in a story? How can the ocean tell a story? It will make sense when you hear the story.

BB-8 on the Run by Drew Daywalt read by Daisy Ridley

Here's another Star Wars book read by someone in the Star Wars movies. Yesterday was Anthony Daniels. Today it's Daisy Ridley. I hope you enjoy BB-8 on the Run as much as I did.

R2-D2 and the Renegade Rescue read by Anthony Daniels

If you are a Star Wars fan like me, then you will enjoy this short story read by Anthony Daniels. You might not recognize his face or name, but Star Wars fans will definitely know his voice.

The story was first written in a Star Wars comic book and then rewritten for this storybook. In the story C-3PO has been captured by the Empire and R2-D2 tries to rescue him.

Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds read by Governor Tony Evers

Tony Evers is the governor of Wisconsin. Recently he shared this video on Facebook of him reading Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds. As it says in the book, "Everyone has something to say." Thank you, Governor Evers, for sharing a great book with students of Wisconsin.

In addition, Governor Evers thanked Wisconsin students and parents for all we are doing to work from home. He knows it's not easy, but it is keeping people healthy.

I also want to say thank you to the many Wisconsin students and parents who are tackling school from home. It's not easy, but I appreciate your efforts to help keep our communities healthy and safe. #COVID19 #SaferAtHome

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) April 15, 2020

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

We have guest readers for today's picture book. Welcome (and thank you!) to Mr. and Mrs. Calteux for reading Birthday Bunny Battle Bunny aloud for us. Mr. Calteux is a 4th grade teacher at Mead, and Mrs. Calteux is a reading teacher at Grant and an instructional coach at Grant, Mead, and Woodside.

If you would like to make your own book, you can download and print a copy of Birthday Bunny at mybirthdaybunny.com. What kind of bunny do YOU think would be better than Birthday Bunny? 

Or, if you have an old book you have outgrown AND have your parent's permission, you can make changes to that actual book just like Alex did to his copy of Birthday Bunny. We'd love to see your creations!