Reading Rainbow

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Reading Rainbow
Format Children's television series
Created by Cecily Truett Lancit
Laurence Lancit
Twila Liggett
Lynne Ganek
Tony Buttino
Presented by LeVar Burton
Theme music composer Steve Horelick
Dennis Neil Kleinman
Janet Weir
Composer(s) Steve Horelick
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 21
No. of episodes 155 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel PBS
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
Audio format Mono (1983–1987)
Stereo (1984–1987; some episodes, all episodes 1988–2006)
Original run June 6, 1983 (1983-06-06) – November 10, 2006 (2006-11-10)

Reading Rainbow is an American children's television series that aired on PBS from June 6, 1983, until November 10, 2006, that encouraged reading by children.

The public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the "Outstanding Children's Series" category.[1] The series was created under the leadership of Cecily Truett Lancit and Larry Lancit, at Lancit Media Productions in New York. The concept of a reading series for children originated with Twila Liggett, Ph.D., and Paul Schupbach (director), of the Great Plains National Instructional Television Library at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln; and Tony Buttino, of WNED-TV Buffalo, New York. The original team included Lynne Brenner Ganek, Ellen Schecter, and host LeVar Burton.

Each episode centered on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which was explored through a number of segments or stories. The show also recommended books for kids to look for when they went to the library. It is the third-longest running children's series in PBS history, after Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street. It was also one of the first PBS shows to be broadcast in stereo.

After cancellation on November 10, 2006, reruns aired until May 29, 2009, when it was pulled from the schedule.[2] On June 20, 2012, the Reading Rainbow App was released for the iPad and, within 36 hours, became the #1 most-downloaded educational app in the iTunes App Store.[3] Built from the ground up by LeVar Burton and his company, RRKIDZ, the app allows children to read unlimited books, explore video field trips starring Burton, and earn rewards for reading.

The week of June 11, 2013, Reading Rainbow celebrated its 30th anniversary.[4]

Show details

Reading Rainbow was hosted by actor and executive producer LeVar Burton, who is also known for his roles in Roots and Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was produced by Lancit Media Entertainment from 1983 until 2000, and by On-Screen Entertainment from 2000 through 2006.

A regular feature was a children's book narrated by a celebrity. Celebrity readers included Philip Bosco (Barbara Bash's Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus), Michael Ansara (Paul Goble's The Gift of the Sacred Dog, Sheila MacGill Callahan's And Still the Turtle Watched), Josie de Guzman (Leyla Torres's Saturday Sancocho), Jason Robards (Francine Jacobs' Sam the Sea Cow), Bill Cosby (Marc Brown's Arthur's Eyes), Eartha Kitt (Megan McDonald's Is This a House for Hermit Crab?) and Charles Kimbrough (David Wiesner's June 29, 1999). Another segment featured Burton in diverse places talking to people about their work and other contributions, focusing on the theme of each episode. (In one episode, Burton took the show behind-the-scenes on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation.) The final segment of each show, called Book Reviews, began with Burton's introductory phrase, "But you don't have to take my word for it," and featured children giving capsule reviews of books they liked. Burton ended every show with, "I'll see you next time."

The series' pilot, which aired as the show's eighth episode in 1983, featured the book Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, and was narrated by Doug Parvin. It was created and produced in 1981. Burton hosted the program.

Its theme song was written by Steve Horelick, Dennis Neil Kleinman, and Janet Weir; Horelick also served as the series' music director and composer. The theme was sung by Tina Fabrique. The original opening, which depicted a cartoon butterfly transforming the surroundings of young children reading books into cartoon fantasy lands, was used until 1999. Later episodes used a new opening, a live-action sequence in a space-themed environment, with the same theme song performed by R&B artist Chaka Khan. It was also used for reruns of older episodes until Labor Day of 2008, when PBS stopped airing reruns.

The daughters of producer Larry Lancit, Shaune and Caitlin Lancit, were often featured in the series, notably as the children thanking the sponsors at the beginning and end of the show.

Reading Rainbow's last years

The Reading Rainbow logo used between 1983 and 1999.

Original production was to have ended after April 4, 2005, with the show continuing to air in reruns, but host LeVar Burton said on February 7, 2006 that five new episodes of the show would be shot in 2006 despite the continuing financial troubles of PBS.[5]

Educate Inc. recently announced a new corporate configuration spinning-off Reading Rainbow into a new products division. The future of the series is uncertain. Burton stated on February 18, 2009, that he is considering webisodes of "a new version of a Reading Rainbow-like show" for adults.[6]

Relaunch

Former executive producer LeVar Burton announced on his Twitter feed on March 19, 2010, that "Reading Rainbow 2.0 is in the works."[7] On March 4, 2012, he announced that it was the "last day of shooting before launch!"[8]

On June 13, 2012, in a special presentation at Apple Inc's annual World Wide Developers Conference, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, introduced the new Reading Rainbow iPad App.[9] It became available in Apple's iTunes Store on June 20, 2012, and within 36 hours was the #1 educational app. [10]

Accolades

Animation producers

Feature Book filming

The photographing of the Feature Book segments was by:

  • Centron Films (1983–1987; renamed in 1986 to "Centron Productions Inc.")
  • Loren Dolezal (1988–1998; renamed in 1995 to "Dolezal Animation"); Take Ten Animation teamed up with Dolezal from 1995–1998
  • On Screen Entertainment (1999–2006)
  • Roger Holden - www.rogerreadingrainbow.com - Designer of the digital animation photography system used by Centron Films to film the Feature Book segments (1983-1987)

Guest readers and contributors

Writing and illustrating contest

Main article: PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest

In 1995, the creators launched the first contest called Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. The annual writing and illustrating competition for children grades K through 3 continued until 2009 when it was relaunched as PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest.

References

  1. ↑ "Reading Rainbow Awards". IMDb.com. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  2. ↑ http://idahoptv.org/schedules/listings.cfm?calDate=29&calMonth=5&calYear=2009&TZ=MT&thisChannel=ALL&view=Current&startTime=09:00:00
  3. ↑ Kozlowski, Michael. "Interview with Levar Burton on the Reading Rainbow iPad App". Good E-Reader. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Celebrations!". Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  5. ↑ Burton Talks Drama, Diversity, Respect & 'Reading Rainbow'
  6. ↑ "Twitter / LeVar Burton: Want y'all to know...". 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
  7. ↑ Twitter Announcement of Reading Rainbow 2.0
  8. ↑ Twitter Announcement of Last Day of Shooting of Reading Rainbow 2.0
  9. ↑ Lunch with LeVar Burton
  10. ↑ Just Childrens Books: Reading Rainbow Relaunched as an App

External links

PBS Kids shows
Current shows
Former shows
PBS Kids Go!
See also
  • PBS network shows
  • Educational television
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