Mindy Kaling Says She Reads These Books to Her 3 Kids: ‘It’s Like a Little Performance’ (Exclusive)

Mindy Kaling puts on a show for her three kids during reading time!

The Running Point co-creator, 46, revealed to PEOPLE in an exclusive conversation during New York Fashion Week on Monday, Sept. 15 that she reads specific books to her young children as part of their bedtime ritual.

“They like such different things and so it’s great — it’s like a little performance,” Kaling said of Katherine, 7, Spencer, 5, and Anne, 1, while attending Tory Burch’s NYFW show at One Hanson Place in Brooklyn.

“My son [Spencer] likes books about trucks and cars, and he loves John Cena’s books, Elbow Grease,” the Inside Out actress continued. “John Cena wrote these kids books that are amazing about a monster truck.”

“My daughter [Katherine] loves The Baby-Sitters Club,” Kaling continued, referring to Ann M. Martin’s popular book series. “And then the baby [Anne] loves Sandra Boynton and more simple board books, so lots of different kinds of books.”

“When I finish up the show, as glamorous as this is, I get to go hang out with my three kids, so they’re pretty grounding,” Kaling said.

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Kaling, meanwhile, has kept Katherine, Spencer and Anne’s faces out of the spotlight since she welcomed them in 2017, 2020 and 2024, respectively.

“I feel like I might as well wait until they get old enough so they can tell me if they want to be part of my social media or not,” Kaling told PEOPLE in 2021. Since then, she has since only posted photos of them with their backs to the camera or their faces not in the pictures. 

She added at the time, “I’m like any parent where I’m proud of the things they do. I think they’re so cute, and of course, I want other people to see it.”