Go Twice as High: Reading Rainbow

As a Gen X kid, sick days usually went a certain way. You had soup, maybe, with crackers. You watched The Price is Right. And you got to see all the educational stuff that PBS put on during the day that you only got to watch in school if you were very lucky or your teacher was very exhausted. There might be Téléfrançais!, and Bob Ross was usually there, and there was a storytelling show where a man illustrated a scene from the book he was reading¹. And of course, starting in 1983, there was Reading Rainbow.

Reading Rainbow was originally developed as a program to address “learning loss” in the summers when children were out of school, but quickly grew to become a behemoth, with its initial series run adding up to 155 episodes that were shown throughout the school year, as well as over the summer. 

Series originator and Executive Producer Tony Buttino wasn’t a big reader as a kid, and his parents didn’t read much either. He credits his wife with sparking his interest in reading and passing it on to their children. But as the Director of Educational Services at Buffalo Toronto Public Media, he spent a lot of time speaking with educators as the didactic “instructional programming” of the 50s and 60s made way for the more entertainment-focused “educational programming” of the 1970s and beyond. Some of his early programming in Buffalo included “excursions,” field trips or studio visits intended to entertain as much as educate (once, memorably, bringing a baby elephant into the studio up the freight elevator). During the blizzard of ’77, when Buffalo and much of the region was snowed in, he remembers watching the miniseries Roots² and thinking about the role television could play in paying attention to books. Many of the educators he spoke to wanted to improve children’s reading skills and keep them interested in reading over the summer months, so he started looking to see if any other CPB or PBS affiliates had a reading show he could bring to Buffalo.

There wasn’t anything like Reading Rainbow. There wasn’t anything close to Reading Rainbow; the best he could find were some short skills-based segments and a dated puppet show called Ride the Reading Rocket, also more based on skills than the joys of reading³. So he got to work, finding the few reading-oriented programs he was aware of for younger children and asking then-intern Debi Dennis⁴ to put a proposal together. Debi suggested a show with an in-studio audience and rotating hosts, but some of her other suggested core principles remained: Encourage children to read, introduce them to good books, and “upgrade the image of the public library.” She even proposed a title: Reading Rainbow. 

WHY READING RAINBOW? An old Irish legend states that there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. The gold has the power to make one’s dreams come true. Reading won’t make a child’s dreams come true, but it will open a new world and offer endless possibilities in terms of lifestyle, relationships with other people, and general knowledge. So, being able to read is like having the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Buttino had doubts about putting “reading” in the title (and even flirted with Mister Rogers’ Summer Vacation when trying to talk Fred Rogers into hosting⁵) but they never really got rid of the working title, and it eventually stuck. “Just goes to show that if you give someone an opportunity to use their voice, there’s a good chance they will shine,” Buttino recalled.

As they worked on their eventual goal, they also tried other initiatives, doing proof of concept testing and adjusting as they went. The station aired old episodes of Ride the Reading Rocket and an adventure show called Studio See, paired with educational materials shared with local libraries and community centers. David Newell (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’s Mr. McFeely) hosted a short-run summer series called Television Library Club in summer 1981 and 1982 that also included supplemental materials. Newell hosted in-character as McFeely, introducing those pre-existing shorts focused on reading instruction, demonstrating a simple craft, and encouraging children to visit their local libraries (budgets were tight enough that he took a TV set that had been sitting around the studio in lieu of payment).

Eventually, with a host of strong results from those summer tests in hand, they were ready to pitch Reading Rainbow to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The initial pitch was not so different from the Reading Rainbow we currently know. The proposed first episode was circus-themed and included a visit to Vermont’s Shelburne Museum⁶. CPB initially rejected the proposal, but executive Meg Villarreal “fell on [her] sword” to beg her colleagues to reconsider. In 1982, the Reading Rainbow team, now joined by Great Plains National Television in Nebraska and co-executive producer Twila Ligett, got their wish: an initial 20-episode order. Then they just needed funding and a host. You don’t care about the funding. Let’s talk about LeVar Burton.

Buttino didn’t want anyone to have to waddle around in an uncomfortable costume and thought it was important to have a host rather than a character: “I wanted someone who could be himself, or herself, when off the program and someone who could promote reading in their own right.” Brainstorming among the production staff had led to the conclusion that the host should be a young man, and someone who could demonstrate excitement and engagement during the “field trip” sections of every episode. (With apologies to Mr. McFeely, this was a major shift.) Of course, they also needed someone who was good with young people, both onscreen and off.

Associate Producer Lynne Brenner Ganek had attended a symposium for educators when she was still working as a teacher; she remembered that one of the featured celebrities, newly minted star Burton, had managed to gather a crowd of engaged teenagers around him after the formal presentations were over.

In one of those acts of serendipity everyone talks about, Burton ended up on the local NBC affiliate’s 5 o’clock news one night, talking about his upcoming whitewater trip down the Zambezi river. Ganek urged her colleagues to watch, and they realized Burton had everything they were looking for: he was a handsome young man with charisma and energy, good in less formal settings than a TV or movie set, and enthusiastic for adventure.⁷ Cecily Truett, a coordinator of Studio See’s many location shoots who had been tapped as a producer, and producer and director Larry Lancit immediately loved him. “Go get him!” they told Ganek, and Ganek called his manager, Dolores Robinson. Robinson was a former teacher and no stranger to educational television (she’d even been married to Matt Robinson, Sesame Street’s original Gordon). Roots had brought Burton a lot of attention and offers, but choosing next steps after such a breakout success was a challenge. Burton, still only in his mid-twenties, had always wanted to do work “with a purpose,” and as the son of a teacher, education was a value he’d been raised with. While Reading Rainbow wouldn’t make Burton rich, it was the kind of project that wouldn’t be seen as a step down or potential humiliation the way a TV or cinematic flop might. Burton agreed, calling signing onto the show a “no-brainer.” They didn’t bother with an audition, and ended up throwing him most of the money in their budget.⁸ With no real blueprint for the show, they ended up forging their own way, figuring out how exactly the host segments would wrap around and how to emphasize the concepts they wanted to underline for their young viewers. Writer Emily Schecter said one of her particular concerns was making sure the dialogue fit Burton’s voice and style of speaking, and there was space for him to put his own reflections about the show’s theme into the episode, an element that would remain in the show.

The Reading Rainbow team chose Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport for their pilot episode. (CPB rejected the book at first, saying it might scare kids too much. This seems to be because one of the execs had a phobia. Yeah.) At any rate, instead of visiting the Shelburne, the pilot was shot in New York City with Burton fresh off the plane from eastern Africa. (He asked for a toothbrush and a glass of orange juice when they asked him if he needed anything.) A former military brat, he included his own experiences with moving to underline the episode’s themes. “We had just kicked off the beginning of something big,” Buttelli felt. The pilot was in the can by the end of January 1982. The kids had a unanimous positive reaction to Burton in early testing, and most adults liked him too. 

Of course there was retooling—the initial library segment, showing kids sitting and reading with a “librarian” played by a very pregnant Ganek, was a miss, and they put more emphasis on the book as a book rather than a fun story, since many young viewers weren’t quite getting it—but the bones were in place. Having children deliver their own reviews was a logistical challenge (the producers learned the value of pre-screening quickly), but the team learned how to carve a twenty-minute interview into a TV-appropriate segment. Multiple children were assigned books, and while that led to some (carefully managed) disappointment, it meant there were always several reviews to choose from.

They invited several artists to submit potential theme songs. Composer and performer Steve Horelick, described by his colleage Dennis Neil Kleinman as ‘on the cutting edge’ of electronic music, worked with initial lyrics submitted by Kleinman, who came up with the “butterfly” imagery. Horelick’s then-girlfriend Janet Weir punched them up and sang on the demo. It was the first all-electronic music theme song. Ever. (The show was also the first broadcast in stereo sound, so that theme song sounded real good.) Horelick says he loves it when he’s out and about and hears someone singing the song  (“which, by the way, happens a lot”). He’s even got a dedicated tab on his webpage for the Reading Rainbow theme. Tina Fabrique (who had her own distinguished performing career) sung the initial theme song in a studio “no bigger than probably a corner of someone’s apartment.” Eventually it was re-recorded by Chaka Khan with a much more robust production.

Like many hits, Reading Rainbow was created by a combination of love, talent, expertise and serendipity. But those things go into a lot of successes and few of them have had the staying power of Reading Rainbow. So what makes the difference? What made Reading Rainbow so special? 

Yes, the theme song was catchy and the books were well-chosen and engaging. But there was more.

In 1969, Sesame Street considered it important for young viewers to see themselves on screen. The humans of Sesame Street were loving and kind, with the recurring adults acting as aspirational role models. They welcomed you to a community, and you too could stay and play on Sesame Street. Mister Rogers would sit and talk to you like you were a good friend, but he was always positioned as an authority figure, albeit a gentle, loving one. Sometimes you might go on a visit with Mr. Rogers, your good neighbor. You didn’t adventure with him. Shows like Zoom and even Mickey Mouse Club were adventures where you were just one of the kids, having fun together.

LeVar Burton felt different, a grown-up friend who was just as delighted and excited to see the world as you were. Just like the friendly humans of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Muppets of Sesame Street, he spoke directly to the camera, making you an active participant. Burton would show you how to snorkel and dive under the water with you, you’d visit a beehive together, and he’d even take you to where he worked.

I think most of my generation have a favorite episode of Reading Rainbow, and for many of us it’s the episode where Burton took us behind the scenes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. For a kid like me, thousands of miles from Hollywood, TV studios seemed almost as distant and unbelievable as the world of Star Trek itself. But my friend LeVar Burton knew just how to demystify the TV show he worked on, showing us the ordinary men and women who made the show work and some of the basics of special effects and magic. I think that’s one of the unsung differences that Reading Rainbow made: it was most obvious in segments like the Star Trek episode or when Steve Horelick showed us how he made music, but it showed up in other places too. You weren’t walking into LeVar Burton’s living room. You were going out with him doing adventures, but there was also a sense that you were part of a TV show. I think that’s one of the reasons children didn’t realize the stories were books at first. Reading Rainbow felt like an experience you were not just sharing but creating together. 

The reviews conducted by other children added to that shared sense of play. Kids just like you were telling you what they thought about the book. They wanted to know what you thought! LeVar, your friend, wanted to know, too! 

The show won a staggering twenty-six Emmys. (Buttino said he didn’t even think to rent a tux for the first few years, much less consider buying one.) Over the years, the show remained popular with children and adults, but like any living thing, it would change and evolve. The animations would change to CGI, Burton’s fashions would change, and Chaka Khan would be the one calling viewers’ attention to the butterfly in the skin. The show was canceled in 2006, with original episodes airing until 2009. Renewing rights to the books proved expensive (ironic, considering that books featured on the show often received a significant boost in sales), No Child Left Behind led to a greater emphasis on phonics and those building blocks of language acquisition that had seemed so passe in the 70s and early 80s. The show has been revived in various forms several times since (not without its own challenges).

Burton himself seems pretty content with his legacy as a man who introduced generations to the joy of reading, telling Henry Louis Gates in his Finding Your Roots episode that Reading Rainbow is the work he’s proudest of. He told Esquire in 2019:

It was always my intention to speak to just one child. That was the energy I brought to my job. I was genuinely trying to communicate my genuine love of literature, the written word, the value of story, and its ability to give us a window into the world. Those windows can sometimes reveal our own innermost selves.

This article has been made possible in part by Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series by Barbara Irwin with Tony Buttino and Pam Johnson. It is packed with in-depth interviews, and also helped me remember the title of Cover to Cover.

1. Cover to Cover would feature an excerpt of a chapter book and end on a cliffhanger, which was super great when you lived in a small town with a two-room library and had yet to hear the phrase “interlibrary loan.” ↩︎
2. For real! ↩︎
3. There’s probably a lot to say here about the phonics vs. whole language discussion and how educational trends have evolved, but I hope we can all agree that “reading is a fun activity, valuable for its own sake” is an important message to share with children. Unless, you know, you’re in the current Republican party or something. ↩︎
4. Dennis was there as part of the then-new Women and Minority Apprenticeship Program. No wonder conservatives hate PBS. ↩︎
5. He knew it was a long shot but also thought he’d be able to get some good feedback; he was right on both counts. ↩︎
6. It’s a fun museum! Not sure I’d call it circus-y. ↩︎
7. The 80s had a lot of “I don’t see color” thinking going on, and they didn’t specifically seek out a Black host. However, as work on the show went on, the producers did recognize that having a Black male role model might be particularly beneficial to viewers. How aware and conscious this recognition was seems to have varied, though Truett says “We knew that this was something that could change the face of PBS.” ↩︎
8. Good call. ↩︎