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'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter
GPN/Nebraska ETV Network; WNED Buffalo
For 26 years, Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton (left) shepherded kids through the exciting world of books. The show, which fostered a love of reading, was the third longest-running program in PBS history, outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Even if you can't remember a specific Reading Rainbow episode, chances are, the theme song is still lodged somewhere in your head:
Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high,
Take a look, it's in a book — Reading Rainbow ...
Remember now?
Reading Rainbow comes to the end of its 26-year run on Friday; it has won more than two-dozen Emmys, and is the third longest-running children's show in PBS history — outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers.
The show, which started in 1983, was hosted by actor LeVar Burton. (If you don't know Burton from Reading Rainbow, he's also famous for his role as Kunta Kinte in Roots, or as the chrome-visored Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation.)
Each episode of Reading Rainbow had the same basic elements: There was a featured children's book that inspired an adventure with Burton. Then, at the end of every show, kids gave their own book reviews, always prefaced by Burton's trademark line: "But you don't have to take my word for it ..."
"The series resonates with so many people," says John Grant, who is in charge of content at WNED Buffalo, Reading Rainbow's home station.
Enlarge GPN/Nebraska ETV Network and WNED Buffalo.
"I think reading is part of the birthright of the human being," Burton said in a 2003 interview. "It's just such an integral part of the human experience — that connection with the written word."
GPN/Nebraska ETV Network and WNED Buffalo.
"I think reading is part of the birthright of the human being," Burton said in a 2003 interview. "It's just such an integral part of the human experience — that connection with the written word."
The show's run is ending, Grant explains, because no one — not the station, not PBS, not the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — will put up the several hundred thousand dollars needed to renew the show's broadcast rights.
Grant says the funding crunch is partially to blame, but the decision to end Reading Rainbow can also be traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming. The change started with the Department of Education under the Bush administration, he explains, which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading — like phonics and spelling.
Grant says that PBS, CPB and the Department of Education put significant funding toward programming that would teach kids how to read — but that's not what Reading Rainbow was trying to do.
"Reading Rainbow taught kids why to read," Grant says. "You know, the love of reading — [the show] encouraged kids to pick up a book and to read."
Linda Simensky, vice president for children's programming at PBS, says that when Reading Rainbow was developed in the early 1980s, it was an era when the question was: "How do we get kids to read books?"
Since then, she explains, research has shown that teaching the mechanics of reading should be the network's priority.
"We've been able to identify the earliest steps that we need to take," Simensky says. "Now we know what we need to do first. Even just from five years ago, I think we all know so much more about how to use television to teach."
Research has directed programming toward phonics and reading fundamentals as the front line of the literacy fight. Reading Rainbow occupied a more luxurious space — the show operated on the assumption that kids already had basic reading skills and instead focused on fostering a love of books.
Simensky calls Reading Rainbow's 26-year run miraculous — and says that its end is bittersweet.
Reading Rainbow's impending absence leaves many open questions about today's literacy challenges, and what television's role should be in addressing them.
"But" — as Burton would have told his young readers — "you don't have to take my word for it."
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barbara kirkpatrick (simonette) wrote:
Great books become mediocre movies. Reading Rainbow should be made into a movie. Perhaps that would send a message " Books birth movies, and the book is always better than the movie."
September 12, 2009 8:37:41 AM CDT
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LuAnn Judis (Blueman) wrote:
Reading Rainbow is a national treasure. We have lost so much as a culture. I'm so sad my daughter will miss out.
September 9, 2009 4:02:18 PM CDT
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NT Murphy (ntmurphy) wrote:
An NPR moderator has removed this comment because it does not adhere to the discussion guidelines
September 9, 2009 3:59:27 PM CDT
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Marqus Hubbard (MarQDH221) wrote:
Big mistake. We have almost lost total knowledge of, and communication with our children. Many are now left with love saturated music, harsh video games, and action packed cartoons as a foundation for childhood. If we continue to discard such treasures, leaving little to imagination..it could only lead to a more cold, numb, and self destructive generation. And I have found that when teaching a child anything in life...the first question they usually ask before 'how to do it,' is 'why?'
September 8, 2009 11:52:27 PM CDT
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Jennifer Ransom (jenn92201) wrote:
I grew up watching this program with my younger brothers and sisters, and have watched it since with my own children. This show taught us not the basics of reading and writing (which we were taught in school) but to enjoy a good book and the adventure you are able to take without ever leaving your neighborhood. Reading Rainbow and the comforting voice of LaVar Burton allowed me the freedom to know that my love of books was not just "ok" but wonderful, regardless of the taunting I recieved from certain narrow-minded peers. I can only hope that after watching this show for over 20 years, I have gained the knowledge and the skills to teach my children to have a love of the written word that runs as deep as mine.
September 7, 2009 4:21:11 AM CDT
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Constance Steeples (COAlmostNative) wrote:
Please publicize the need for funding for Reading Rainbow. It is a wonderful program; both of my daughters benefitted from it- much more than programs on phonics or spelling.
September 6, 2009 1:08:30 AM CDT
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janine boguslawski (jenny7oh) wrote:
we seem to underestimate the intelligence of our children.It is a shame Reading Rainbow is going.
September 5, 2009 5:01:01 PM CDT
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janine boguslawski (jenny7oh) wrote:
I will miss Reading Rainbow.I think it generated interest in reading to all children or people learning English.Hopefully it will make a comeback or they will change their mind.It is a shame,we underestimate the intelligence of our children.
September 5, 2009 4:58:41 PM CDT
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Pamela Johnson (_pj_) wrote:
I only had one young son learning to appreciate writing and learning to read when I discovered Reading Rainbow but that show changed how I read and interacted with my sons especially the older ones; they rediscovered the joy of reading.
My grandchildren also benefit from what Grandma learned on Reading Rainbow. Reading is a very interactive event now. We stop reading and role-play what just happened, we examine the actions taken (or not taken) by the characters, we explore the "why" the "what-if" the "good decision/bad decision" the facial expressions that would go with the words. We draw our own illustrations to the stories or write out alternative endings. Many of those ideas were initially from that show years ago.
But we still have those quiet reading times when Grandma's lap, a rocker and a good book is all that is needed before sleep or a peaceful timeout when childish energy has taxed Grandma's strength and/or patience...
I haven't seen that show in a very long time but it somehow saddens me that it won't be on anymore. I hope there is another similar style show to take it's place Another show that might help teach other young mothers how to appreciate and teach the appreciation of reading/writing/illustrating...
September 4, 2009 8:45:57 PM CDT
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Sylvia Edwards (traveller512) wrote:
"Reading Rainbow" was, is, and should always be a national treasure. To my knowledge, there has never been another television program disseminated on such a wide level that treated child readers in a similarly dignified way. Imagine the audacity of training children to be informed consumers of information!
And that is the gist of why a substantive program like "Reading Rainbow" is being scrapped in favor of others that merely teach mechanical, functional literacy. Why encourage people (especially young ones) to think for themselves and make meaninful choices? As with all things ever connected to the former President and his wretched policies, this is a trend that will haunt us for years to come.
I agree with Brent Martin (previous post) that information about how concerned followers could help rescue "Reading Rainbow" would be welcome. Of course, it may be that the trendline has progressed too far in the direction of its cancellation. If so, shame on us all for not intervening soon enough to prevent the loss of this excellent program.
September 4, 2009 9:23:14 AM CDT
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