By Christi Carras
Los Angeles Times
Once upon a time, famous actors and authors united during a pandemic to ease children’s anxieties through storytelling.
Amy Adams, Josh Gad, Jennifer Garner and more stars are lending their voices to “Operation Storytime” and “Save With Stories,” initiatives aimed at lifting kids’ — and parents’ — spirits amid coronavirus-induced uncertainty.
Here’s how it works: Participants post social media videos of themselves reading various children’s books aloud to entertain self-quarantined families whose children are no longer in school because of public health concerns.
“In case your day calls for a calming story,” Garner captioned her Instagram post, for which she recited Jan Brett’s winter wonderland tale, “The Mitten,” accompanied by her kid-friendly golden retriever.
Gad — who is accustomed to amusing kids as the voice of Olaf the snowman in “Frozen” — opted to read Shel Silverstein’s classic “The Giving Tree” and offered some support to families who have committed to social distancing.
“I also want to thank everyone who is in self-isolation right now. I know it’s hard not to be out there socializing with everybody. Trust me, I want to be out there, too,” the “Book of Mormon” alum said. “But it’s important that all of us protect everybody who is somewhat fragile right now, or immunocompromised, so thank you. And now I’m going to read a book that I have a lot of trouble getting through and haven’t actually read in a long time because I find it a difficult one.”
In addition to partnering with parenting blog Romper for “Operation Storytime,” Garner also collaborated with Adams for “Save With Stories,” a reading initiative started by nonprofit organizations Save the Children and No Kid Hungry. Similar to “Operation Storytime,” “Save With Stories” features Adams reciting Aviana Olea Le Gallo’s “The Dinosaur Princess” to her daughter and Garner reading Ken Geist’s “The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark.”
Both actresses also encouraged their fans to donate to Save the Children and No Kid Hungry in order to serve kids “affected by COVID-19,” who are experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic. Anyone who wants to contribute can do so at savethechildren.org/savewithstories or text “SAVE” to 20222 for a one-time donation of $10.
“All you have to do is watch our stories and please consider donating,” Adams said in a joint video with Garner.
