![EXCLUSIVE: Former First Lady Michelle Obama steps out with friends Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa at celebrity restaurant Polo Bar in New York City. The two families have been friends since The Boss campaigned for Barack Obama during his successful run for the White House in 2008. Michelle famously told her President husband he needed to spend more time with Springsteen. Both men have talked about their friendship — fortified in part by the bond between their wives, Michelle and Patti. In the first episode of a podcast, called Renegades, Obama, 59, said he and Springsteen, 71, "grew to trust each other" based on conversations in which they reflected on feeling "invisible" throughout their childhoods. Springsteen sang with a gospel choir at the newly elected president's inauguration in 2009 and later recalled how he thought Obama had the wrong number the first time the Chicago Democrat called him. "And I said, 'OK, let me figure this out. I am a guitar-playing high school graduate from Freehold, New Jersey. And — OK — you want me to do what?" Springsteen said. Over the years, both have realized they had more in common than they initially realized. Namely, that they both felt like outsiders. "I always kept one foot in sort of the blue collar world and one foot in the counter culture world," Springsteen said of growing up in New Jersey. "And I never truly belonged completely in either of them, you know?". 28 Sep 2022 Pictured: Michelle Obama. Photo credit: ZapatA/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA902427_026.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/michelle-obama-nyc-mega.jpg?fit=293%2C440)
The work for Former First Lady Michelle Obama is never over, and on April 17, she shared with PBS Kids audiences everywhere her latest project! Mrs. Obama, 56, partnered with PBS Kids and Penguin Random House publishing company for a four-week video series where she will read some of her favorite classic children’s stories to audiences everywhere. Her first pick was The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The former First Lady was so excited to read her book. Having raised two daughters, Malia, 21, and Sasha, 18, with her husband, Former President Barack Obama, 58, bringing back the imagination and charm of reading children’s stories was easy!
“This is a book about a little mouse who uses his wit and imagination to outsmart a snake, an owl, and a hungry fox on his stroll through a deep dark wood,” Mrs. Obama explained. As soon as the Former First Lady started reading, it was so clear just how much she was enjoying the story! Mrs. Obama recited every word with incredible diction and made expressive — often funny — faces to heighten the drama. Even the inflection in her voice showed off Mrs. Obama’s talent for storytelling, as she went through each and every page of the exciting tale! By the time she finished the seven-minute story, the Former First Lady encouraged viewers to come back next week for the next tale.
The latest project of the previous First Lady is one that she has come to quickly love, as she explained in an Instagram post she made on April 20! “As a young parent, I found so much joy in rediscovering my favorite children’s books with my daughters,” she captioned the promotional clip for the four-week video series. “The time I spent reading with them, creating voices for our favorite characters and beaming with pride as they started to recognize words and read along, is something we all still cherish to this day.”
Mrs. Obama further explained that, as First Lady, she “had the privilege of sharing my love of stories with children everywhere, and today, I’m excited to pick that back up with “The Gruffalo”—my first read-along in what will be a four-week series with @PBSKids and @PenguinRandomHouse.” It’s just the latest way that Mrs. Obama has done her part to try and ease the minds and spirits of Americans amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Prior to her inspiring joint Former First Lady address with Laura Bush during the “One World: Together At Home” special on ABC, Mrs. Obama shared with her Instagram followers ways they could cope with their mental health during this uncertain time.
In the March 22 Instagram post, Mrs. Obama recognized that “these past few weeks have been scary and difficult for many of us. We just don’t have a roadmap for what we’re currently experiencing—that in and of itself can bring up feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and fear, not to mention the worry we feel about the health and safety of our parents, children, and loved ones and the financial security of so many families.” The most important message the Former First Lady gave her followers was to simply let them know “you aren’t alone. Even as we practice social distancing, this new normal is something we are figuring out together.”
For our readers with young children, you can tune in each Monday at noon on PBS Kids’ YouTube channel or Facebook page to read along with Mrs. Obama!