While he was president, Barack Obama read “Where the Wild Things Are,” one of his personal favorites, to children on the White House lawn at the annual Easter Egg Roll. In 2011, Ms. Obama read the book to children at the Royal Castle Child Development Center in New Orleans as part of her “Let’s Move” initiative.

Amid the pandemic, parents are trying to work from home while home schooling children who grew up in an era of planned play dates, packed schedules and screen time. Children are growing bored, missing their friends and becoming increasingly anxious about loved ones getting the coronavirus.

Many children’s publishers are providing virtual learning opportunities to fill the void. Zoos and aquariums have moved to virtual tours and webcams. Artists and actors are live streaming events. And other celebrities and public figures are using their time at home to live stream virtual story times.

LeVar Burton, who hosted the PBS program “Reading Rainbow” for more than two decades, has been streaming a reading series on Twitter since April 3. On Mondays, he reads for children; on Wednesdays, for young adults; and on Fridays, for adults. And Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has been holding a children’s story time six days a week since April 15 as part of her YouTube series, “Storytime with Fergie and Friends.”