Michelle Obama Narrates Audiobook Version of a Beloved (But Controversial) Children's Classic

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama read Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” to children at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016.

Parents are about to get a bedtime story assist from our Forever First Lady. HarperCollins Publishers announced today that Michelle Obama will narrate a new digital audio edition of Maurice Sendak’s award-winning children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are.” The audio download will be available for purchase on October 31 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the book’s original release.

Written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, “Where the Wild Things Are” tells the story of a young boy who throws a tantrum and is sent to his room without dinner by his mother. While there, he sails away to a land of wild things who make him their king. But it doesn’t take long for the boy to realize how much he misses his mom. So he makes his way home, where his dinner (and his mom) are waiting for him.

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In 1969, child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim wrote in Ladies’ Home Journal, “What [Sendak] failed to understand is the incredible fear it evokes in the child to be sent to bed without supper, and this by the first and foremost giver of food and security—his mother.”

Former First Lady Michelle Obama

Despite the controversy, “Where the Wild Things Are” is a favorite of the Obamas. The former First Couple read from the book to children at an Easter event on the South Lawn of the White House in 2016. And the Sendak estate has already given Mrs. Obama’s narration their stamp of approval.

“Maurice Sendak would have been absolutely delighted with Mrs. Obama’s superb rendition of ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ and her strong commitment to children is much admired by us all in the Sendak household,” said Lynn Caponera, President and Treasurer of the Maurice Sendak Foundation in a statement shared with The Root. “You’ll want to eat up the new audio edition of this timeless classic on its 60th birthday!”

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