Reading Rainbow Reboot!
Photo by Gabriel Tovar
Reading Rainbow, the well-known and long running PBS literacy series that ended in 2006, is being revived in a new, updated online format. The first new episodes are now available.
The Instagram post announced, “After nearly 20 years… Reading Rainbow is returning to motivate, help, and encourage kids to become avid readers with new episodes, new friends, new projects, and of course… new books! Make sure to follow the rainbow.” Mychal Threets, a librarian and content creator who developed a large following during the pandemic, will host the new online series.
The original Reading Rainbow series first appeared in 1983 and grew to become the most watched PBS program in classrooms. The series was designed initially to counter the “summer loss phenomena” where children lose some of their recently acquired reading abilities because they tend not to read during the summer. The series soon outgrew the original concept and quickly grew to be a multi-award winning classroom staple. The creation of new episodes ended in 2006 “due to funding challenges and a growing need to update the show’s concept to adapt to changing technology and delivery methods”.
The stories and activities for the new series are being hosted on the YouTube Kidzuko platform and available on the Reading Rainbow website at https://www.readingrainbow.org/new-episodes/. The new host, Mychal Threets, posted recently on Instagram, “I was raised on Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton is my hero. I am a reader, I am a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow so powerfully made us believe we belong in books, we belong everywhere.”
The four stories in the new series include:
Moo Hoo: In this episode, actor Adam Devine reads aloud Moo-Hoo by Audrey Perrott, a story about embracing your feelings, being true to yourself, and finding friends who like you just the way you are. The episode includes activities using art to release and manage emotions, and an explanation by Dr. Raquel Martin of why we feel big emotions and how we can manage them in healthy ways.
More Than Peach: In this episode, actress Gabrielle Union, reads a story by Bellen Woodard when she was 9 years old. Bellen, now 14, is a “CEO changing the world one crayon at a time”. Activist Blair Imani talks about how to stand up for the causes we care about, and the craft involves making homemade postcards.
Tiny Troubles: Chrissy Tiegen and John Legend read a story about two best friends on a journey to find their purpose. Mychal share the many ways someone can find their purpose, and the story focuses on people fulfilling their unique purpose by supporting the life of bees.
No Cats in the Library: Actress Jamie Chung reads a story about a cat who loves being read to at the library, Mychal the Librarian builds tiny libraries, and actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach demonstrates volunteering to read to cats at a local animal shelter.
The Reading Rainbow website also hosts a collection of videos and activities from the original series at https://www.readingrainbow.org/watch/