Like many of you, I grew up with Reading Rainbow. As the face of Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton was a huge part of my childhood, as well as one of the major reasons I’m a voracious reader even to this day. Not only that, he and Reading Rainbow inspired me to become a storyteller and writer. In the spirit of our theme this week “The sky’s the limit”, please tell us in the comments how either LeVar Burton or Reading Rainbow has inspired you to “go twice as high”.
For the past twelve days on Facebook and Twitter, we’ve been giving away some great prizes for our Twelve Days of Holiday giveaways. Thank you to everyone who participated. For this last day of our giveaways, we decided to do something different. First, we’ve got a fantastic prize: an autographed image of Mr. Reading Rainbow himself, LeVar Burton. Second, rather than email us, as we’ve been asking you to do the last eleven days, we’d like you to respond in the comments below. One random user will be selected to win the grand prize. Thank you all for participating!
Reading Rainbow’s mission is to inspire a love of reading in children and connect them to the world they live in through quality literature so they believe that they, “can go anywhere, be anything.”
Try our FREE iPad app in the App Store, download any of our Classic Reading Rainbow episodes on iTunes or learn more about Reading Rainbow and all our digital products at www.readingrainbow.com
Tagged: LeVar Burton
I loved “Reading Rainbow” for as long a I could remember. I started watching “Star Trek: The Next Generation becuase I loved LeVar Burton from “Reading Rainbow”, not because I was a young Trekkie, although I admit I became a Trekkie as I got older
Reading Rainbow taught me to be a bookworm! I was inspired to read often and imagine everything happening as I read. Now as an English teacher I hope to inspire others to do the same!
I don’t think I’m eligible to win again, but I loved watching the show as a kid, and I would check out pretty much any book at the library that had the “Reading Rainbow book” badge on it, because I knew a book like that had to have merit.
Now I still love the books (I really enjoyed _Boo_Cow_) and the learning experience (I could barely believe that the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier manage to spend more time on their uniforms than my college roommate did on hers), but something I notice more as an adult is what a great person LeVar seems to be–he is an inspiration to me as he looks out at us from the screen, seemingly without judgment. He speaks to us respectfully, the message seeming to be that it’s OK to be ourselves. That’s amazing, and I can’t thank him enough. He inspires me to be a better person.
Reading Rainbow was a part of my childhood, and is still a part of me today…loved watching the different shows, plus as I got older, I would look for the books that were read on the show, and have added them to my collection. I always have a book with me, no matter what I do or where I am, whether at work or waiting in line, or even at lunch! Thank you LeVar, and Reading Rainbow. Reading is Awesome!!
LeVar Burton is my childhood Idol. I loved watching Reading Rainbow & Star Trek: TNG. Glad to see Reading Rainbow is still going strong for my kids.
Thanks LEVAR!!!!
I loved Reading Rainbow as a kid. It was awesome learning about other cultures and ideas. I really enjoyed the reading of the final book at the end. More shows like it should’ve out there!!
BookedinChico
Thank you, Mr. Burton, for furthering my love of reading as a child. My sister and I would watch your show religiously every time it was on. One of my favorite childhood books, Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, was featured on your show. I was so excited to see brought to life. I wish there were more I could say/do to express to you how much you have meant to me over the years. Have a wonderful holiday season!
I grew up on Reading Rainbow! My children’s librarian even had Reading Rainbow books marked with a little rainbow on the spine. I have been a voracious reader since I can remember, and it was certainly in part due to my love for Reading Rainbow! Of course, I also enjoyed Star Trek and Geordi was always one of my favorite characters on the show. LeVar instilled a love of reading that I now try to pass on to others, now that I’ve entered my chosen career of librarianship. So many thanks to LeVar, for instilling a love of reading in so many people!
Hi Mary Jo Chrabasz,
Thank you for sharing your story with us! Please send a quick e-mail to fans@rrkidz.com with your details for the autographed image of LeVar. Congratulations and thanks again!
The Reading Rainbow Team
Being an avid reader has affected my life significantly, and Reading Rainbow was a huge part of my love of books! I am so happy that as my precious four year old daughter learns to read, she can also have this influence on her. I recently have had health issues related to my cognitive function including some trouble reading. It made me realize just how important reading is to me, and how much I have taken it for granted! I am twenty nine this year, and as who has always found reading easy, it has never occured to me how frustrating it must be for someone who cannot read easily, or at all. It makes life very difficult and frustrating. I will never take it for granted again, and look forward to helping others learn a love of reading, as you do! Thank you for all that you do!
I have been fascinated with LeVar since a small child. In Star Trek, he helped save the day in many different universes. In reading rainbow, I learned that my imagination can take me anywhere and the possibilities are endless.
I think I checked that post a million times for mistakes, and I still missed one! See what I mean, very frustrating!
I remember watching Reading Rainbow as a kid, and have always respected LeVar. How many people can devote their whole life to making kids WANT to read? How many people can gain fame but remain a respectful and absolutely respectable person? Would love to shake his hand and just tell him myself how much he has affected my life for the better. I still own books he has discussed on the show 20 years ago, and any time I come across them in my storage unit (unfortunately stuck in an apartment right now), I always have to sit and read them again. Much love, sir.
As all the others before me have posted, I grew up on Reading Rainbow. Thanks to my bookworm parents and to Reading Rainbow I have a love for books that I am passing on to my own son. For all the TV programs I watched as a kid, Reading Rainbow was the only one that truly was inspiring. Thank you!
We never missed an episode when my brother and I were younger. We would look for the books at our library that we saw on the show. Then when he was on star trek it grew my love for science and technology. Now my kids read and learn with the ipad app loving the animation and interactivity.
I loved Reading Rainbow over all of the other shows on TV when I was a kid. Its influences and positive message that “I can be anything” stuck with me long after it was off the air and I was too old to be entertained by stories like “The Day Jimmy’s Boa Constrictor Ate the Wash.” Inspired by Levar Burton, I grew up to become an actor and am also a certified reading teacher, assisting children with reading difficulties to improve their reading skills. I hope that I can pass on a little bit of the enthusiasm for reading that I got from watching Reading Rainbow to the next generation. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for such an amazing show and for changing my life!
I LOVED reading rainbow growing up. It was one of my favorite shows! I loved to read and my father had me enrolled in many book clubs. I loved that there was a show where they were rating and recommending books for kids like me to read. Reading rainbow really inspired me and made me feel like I wasn’t alone as an avid reader! Thanks levar!
Reading Rainbow encouraged me as a young reader to discover the world through books. I now have young nieces and a nephew and I am so excited that I can share reading rainbow with them through the app. Thank you LeVar for your years of dedication to the education of children, for teaching them to fly.
LeVar Burton was my first crush. I was 4; he had an earring and promoted books. I never willingly missed watching an episode throughout childhood. Sesame Street helped teach me to read, but Reading Rainbow showed me why.
I love LeVar Burton. He is my favorite actor. What else I can say? He’s a Reading Rainbow host, who loves children book. When I was school, I was focused to read so many books. Reading Rainbow was empowered to me to read the book. I love watching Reading Rainbow. Reading Rainbow is my favorite TV in the world.
Boy I feel old…I fell for LeVar Burton watching Roots when I was about 11. As a college kid I liked him in TNG…and now as a mom with a book-loving child I appreciate him for totally new reasons!
I watched Reading Rainbow with my kids and we were often inspired to go to the library and check out a book from the show!
Growing up, I got to see Reading Rainbow nearly everyday. It gave me a guide into good books and inspired me to become a writer myself. And as I would sit on the couch with my dad I would watch Next Generation with him, and I always felt cool knowing that I had the best book list from my dad’s favorite character.
LeVar Burton,
Thank you for inspiring me to read. Unfortunately I have very poor grammar skills and as such my words might not convey the gratitude I have for the gift of inspiration that you gave to me as a young man. I feel it none the less. As a child I saw so many things as drudge work. School work, cleaning my room, and brushing my teeth were not things to which I looked forward. Reading also felt like that until the day that I first saw Reading Rainbow. I was six years old when I first saw Reading Rainbow and much to my delight so did my mom who whole heartedly supported me watching it unlike many of the TV shows at the time.
It took time but eventually I began to enjoy reading because you enjoyed it. I can’t even begin to express how winning and persuasive your charm and enthusiasm is. Ultimately it boils down to the fact that you gave me and many other children a gift. We can never repay you for it. It is funny but this is truly one of those times when words fail to express the feeling of appreciation and gratitude I have for your hard work. (I could write a book to you just saying “thank you”.) How do I say, “thank you” for such an enormous gift? My life was forever changed for the better. Perhaps it is enough to let you know that I hold you alongside those people in my life who will forever be appreciated and valued like my mom and dad, my wife, and our children. Yes, there are those who come before you but all who are on that very short list are thought of with love and gratitude whenever they come to mind, which is often.
My children will know your face and the sound of your voice (when they are old enough). My family and I will build happy memories together over books because of you. So many doors and possibilities have been opened to me and my posterity because of you. With all my heart, thank you.
Justice Asbury