Let me tell you a story

If you’re a parent of a kid of a certain age, you know Josh Gad. Or at least you know his voice — he’s Olaf in Disney’s “Frozen” movies.

And a kind soul of the sort we at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital appreciate, and the world needs in these days of social distancing, quarantining and the coronavirus.

Gad is streaming nightly storytime sessions via Twitter, reading children’s books, complete with voices for each character — and topical humor: “I want to lick my finger right now to the turn the page,” he said, the first night, “but I’m not going to, because apparently the CDC says I shouldn’t.”

The opening-night page-turner, viewed some 198,000 times, was “one of my favorite books about one of my favorite places that none of us can really go to — a little place called Venice, in Italy.”

He then read “Olivia Goes to Venice.” Olivia is a pig, off on a family vacation.

Families can’t go much of anywhere these days, so it’s nice to see a celebrity transporting people through the old-fashioned power of words and imagination. Our founder, Danny Thomas, would be especially proud. He was an Emmy-winning actor and Hollywood legend, but at heart Danny considered himself a storyteller.

“I’ll try to provide at least 10 minutes of daycare to you and your families a night while we’re going through this unprecedented global event,” Gad said at the end of the first session. “I love you all. I’m hoping you’re all healthy and safe, wherever you are.”

Hear, hear.