(upbeat music)
- Hi, I'm Michelle Obama.
Welcome to "Mondays with Me",
a series of stories with PBS
KIDS and Penguin Random House.
I'm excited to
share today's book
"Giraffe Problems" by Jory John
and illustrated by Lane Smith.
This is a fun story
about a giraffe
who's unhappy with
his long neck,
until he meets a friend
who persuades him
that they're both fine
just the way they are.
I love this book.
This is a new book for me.
Here we go.
I feel bad about my neck, I do.
I can't help it.
It's too long, too bendy,
too narrow, too dopey,
too patterned, too stretchy,
too high, too lofty, too necky.
Yes, my neck is too necky.
Everybody stares.
This guy, that guy,
him, her, them,
whatever that is, her again.
Yep, I feel bad about my neck.
I've tried dressing it up.
I've added a scarf.
Two scarves.
A bundle of scarves.
A mountain of scarves.
I've tried bow ties, and
regular ties, and both.
(Michelle groans)
I've tried hiding it away.
I've used shrubs.
I've hung out in ditches.
I've stood behind trees.
I've spent time in the river.
Other animals have
necks that just work.
Take a gander at
the zebra's neck.
Stripes always look good.
So classic.
Quit staring at me.
Or gaze upon this
elephant's neck.
Strong and powerful,
yet graceful.
Stop talking about me.
Or glimpse this lion,
whose neck is adorned
with a glorious mane
of flowing locks.
What a sight.
How inspiring.
Why can't I have
a neck like that?
Are you always this loud?
My mom always said I
should be proud of my neck.
She said other animals would
love to have a neck like this.
Yeah, right.
No offense, Mom.
But nobody wants this neck.
It's a neck only a
mother could love.
It all makes me wanna
hide until the sun sets.
(Michelle groans)
Poor giraffe.
Sheesh.
Good evening.
(gasps) Who's that?
I've been admiring
your neck from afar.
Oh, how I wish my neck
looked like yours.
I'd get so much done in a day.
Goodness, I can only
imagine all the reaching,
and grabbing, and
looking around I'd do.
I'd accomplish many
of my goals for sure.
Meanwhile, I'm saddled with
this little excuse for a neck.
Here, here, watch me
try to stretch it out.
Ugh.
See?
That's about as far as it goes.
Pathetic, right?
I'm basically neckless.
(Michelle sighs)
You feel bad about
your neck, too?
Yup.
Huh.
I'm Cyrus, by the way.
I'm Edward.
It's lovely to meet you, Cyrus.
Hey, can you tell me
something else, Edward?
Of course, Cyrus.
Ahem.
There is a hill in the distance
which you can surely see
from your great vantage.
I've stood on that very hill
for seven straight days now
staring skyward, watching
as a single piece of fruit,
a lone banana, slowly changed
from green to yellow, ripening.
I've endured windy nights
and unseasonably brisk mornings,
with very little sleep,
as I waited, and waited,
hoping against hope that the
fruit would drop before me
so I could sample its sweetness
and nourish myself
in the process.
Yet, day after day I've
felt like such a fool
as I stretched my neck
toward those greedy branches,
only to be limited by my
own physical shortcomings.
You want a banana from a tree?
That's what I said, yes.
Watch this.
Pluck.
Here you go.
Whump.
(gasps) You did it.
You made it look so easy.
(Michelle chewing)
Delectable.
So that's what a banana
tastes like, huh?
Oh, it was worth the wait.
(Michelle chuckles)
Edward, face it, your
neck is impressive.
It allows you to
do amazing things.
For instance, you just solved
my week-long banana
dilemma in 10 seconds.
Well, thank you, Cyrus.
I think you have
a swell neck, too.
It's elegant and dignified,
and it works well
with your shell.
Oh, that means a great
deal to me, Edward.
Say, do you like
bow ties, Cyrus?
I'm not sure, Edward.
I've very little
experience with them.
You look wonderful, Cyrus.
As do you, Edward.
(Michelle laughs)
I feel good about
our necks, Edward.
Thank you, Cyrus.
For once, so do I.
Yes, for once, so do I.
The end.
Well, that's a great story
of wanting something
that you don't have
and not appreciating that
what you have is pretty cool.
I'm glad they became friends.
This is one of my new favorites.
I hope you enjoyed it.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Michelle Obama.
- And I'm Barack.
We are excited to
share today's book
"The Bear Ate Your Sandwich"
by Julia Sarcone-Roach.
- This is a book about a bear
lost and hungry in the city
who happened upon a girl's
sandwich and ate it.
Or did he?
- Hmm.
- Let's find out.
- By now I think you know what
happened to your sandwich.
But you may not know
how it happened.
So let me tell you.
It all started with the bear.
- The morning air
was warm and bright
when the bear stepped
out of his den.
He stretched and sniffed.
The scent of ripe berries
drifted toward him
and led to a
wonderful discovery.
- After a berry feast,
the bear curled
up in the sunlight
and listened to the
buzzing of the bees.
And before long, he was asleep.
- By the time bear
opened his eyes,
the buzzing had
become a rumbling.
He was being quickly swept along
like a leaf in a great river.
The forest disappeared
in the distance
and high cliffs
rose up around him.
- Once the rumbling stopped,
the bear found himself
in a new forest.
It was like nothing
he'd ever seen before.
- This forest had many
great climbing spots.
The trees were still itchy here.
There was good bark
for scratching.
And the mud squished
nicely under his feet.
- There were many interesting
smells in the forest.
But some of the tastiest
ones had already been found.
- Leafy green smells
led the bear to new fun.
And that's when he saw it.
- There it was.
Your beautiful and
delicious sandwich.
All alone.
He waited to make
sure no one saw him.
- Shh.
- Not even the sandwich.
(Michelle laughs)
Before he made his move.
- It was such a great sandwich.
The bear loved it.
But just as he was
almost finished,
he heard (slurps) behind him.
- He'd been seen.
(Michelle gasps)
The bear was so surprised,
he ran out of the park
and down the street, until
he spotted a very tall tree.
- From the top of the tree,
the bear could see his forest.
It was time to go home.
The waves rocked the bear
and he began to doze.
- When he opened his eyes,
he heard the breeze
in familiar branches,
and the birds' and
bugs' evening song.
Well, the bear made
it home just fine.
- So, that's what
happened to your sandwich.
The bear ate it.
- I saw it all.
I tried to save your sandwich.
I was able to save this
little bit of lettuce here.
The bear dropped
it as he ran off,
but I couldn't save the rest.
I'm sorry to have to tell you
about your sandwich this
way, but now you know.
(Michelle gasps)
- Who is that?
(Barack barking)
(Michelle laughing)
The end.
- What do you think happened
to the sandwich, really?
- I think the dog
ate the sandwich.
- But.
- It wasn't the bear.
- You know what?
If you can come up with
that good a story, though,
you kinda earned your sandwich.
- Yeah, I think so. (laughs)
I hope you all
enjoyed today's book.
That was fun.
- See you, guys.
Keep reading.
(upbeat music)
