Jon Hamm Will Read You a Bedtime Story - The Wall Street Journal

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Novelist Emma Straub and son during one of her Instagram readings.
Photo: Michael Fusco-Straub

Kathryn O’Shea-Evans

Updated May 1, 2020 2:06 pm ET

Story hour at bookstores and libraries around the country may be shelved for the time being, but a number of well-known storytellers are turning to Instagram with a temporary workaround. Launched in mid March by Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner, the account @savewithstories posts boldfaced names—Steve Carell, Kate Winslet, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny Slate, Ne-Yo, and Jon Hamm among them—reading kiddies books aloud as a way to drum up support for the non-profits Save the Children and No Kid Hungry. And every Thursday at 7 p.m. ET through June 4th, Dolly Parton hosts her own storytime gig @dollyparton (it’s also posted on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter ). Over in Brooklyn, novelist Emma Straub is doing readings for her bookshop Books Are Magic (@booksaremagicbk) every Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. ET, while on the West Coast, author Mac Barnett, based in Oakland, Calif., gets up to 25,000 views from kids in 50 countries, including Iran and South Korea, for his “Mac’s Book Club Show” (@macbarnett). “Gathering together to listen to stories is one of the most human things we can do—it’s one of the first ways we formed communities,” Mr. Barnett said. “I hope I provide some structure and joy for kids each day.”