Reading Rainbow was an educational children’s television program on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) that encouraged young children to read. The show ran from 1983 to 2006 and was an iconic part of childhood to kids who grew up during those decades, introducing many of us to some of our favorite childhood books.
In a typical show, someone would read a picture book aloud while the camera focused on the pictures in the book. Then, the show’s host, LeVar Burton, would go to a place where he would discuss the topics of the story with someone who was an expert on a related subject and/or conduct interviews with children about things related to the topics in the story. For example, if there were animals in the book, he might go to a zoo to talk about animals with the zookeepers, or if the book featured a child moving to a new house or being the new kid in school, he would talk to children about how they felt about moving to a new place or going to a new school. Toward the end of the show, children would introduce other books that they liked and briefly explain a little about them.
Some of the episodes of this series are available on dvd. Sometimes, you can also find old episodes of this show on YouTube, and there are a couple of episodes available on the show’s official website.
The books below are in alphabetical order by title. This is not a complete list of the books presented on Reading Rainbow, but a list of the ones I’ve summarized and reviewed on this site. More will be added later. For a more complete list, see Wikipedia. Here is also an easily-printable list.
Books:
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972)
Everything is going wrong for Alexander today! Will it ever end, or will he have to move to Australia to escape this awful day?
Amazing Grace (1991)
Grace wants the role of Peter Pan in her school play, but some of the other kids say that she can’t do it, both because she’s a girl and because she’s black. Can she prove them wrong?
Caps for Sale (1940)
A peddler tries to get his caps back from the monkeys who have stolen them.
A Chair for My Mother (1982)
When their home is destroyed in a fire, a family moves to a new home and begins saving money to buy new furniture to replace what they’ve lost. By Vera B. Williams.
Dancing with the Indians (1991)
An African American family in the 1930s joins the Seminole tribe in Oklahoma for a celebration. By Angela Shelf Medearis.
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash (1980)
A girl comes home from a class field trip and tells her mother the exciting events caused by her friend Jimmy’s pet boa constrictor.
Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport (1980)
A boy moving from one side of the United States to the other has misconceptions of what he’s going to find when he goes west. By Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.
The Great Kapok Tree (1990)
A man who is about to help cut down trees in a rain forest is confronted by the animals who live there, warning what will happen if he doesn’t stop. By Lynne Cherry.
Gregory the Terrible Eater
Follow the Drinking Gourd
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
If you give the mouse a cookie, it starts a chain reaction of other things he’ll want.
Imogene’s Antlers (1985)
A girl named Imogene discovers one morning that she has suddenly sprouted antlers.
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
Abbie must keep the light in the lighthouse going during a terrible storm.
Knots on a Counting Rope (1987)
A blind Navajo boy asks his grandfather to tell him the story of when he was born.
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth (1987)
A new student, Phoebe, joins the class and has her first taste of Ms. Frizzle’s field trips when Miss Frizzle takes the kids to an actual field to dig it up in search of rocks to study. The bus turns into a steam shovel and then a drill, taking the kids to the center of the Earth.
Mama Don’t Allow
Miss Nelson is Back (1982)
Miss Nelson tells her class that she’s going to be away for awhile, having her tonsils taken out. The school principal ends up being their substitute for awhile, but he’s so boring that the kids pretend like Miss Nelson has returned so they can do what they want. But, in trying to trick their way out of their arranged sub, they end up getting Viola Swamp instead.
A Cinderella-type story from Africa. Mufaro has two beautiful daughters, but only one has the temperament to become queen.
The Purple Coat (1986)
Gabby decides that she wants something different and unusual for her new coat this year.
Stellaluna (1993)
A baby fruit bat who is separated from her mother is raised by a mother bird until she is old enough to learn how to be a bat.
The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South (1989)
Similar to the Mother Holle folktales, young Blanche is rewarded for following a witch’s instructions, but her mean sister is punished for making fun of the old woman. By Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
This House is Made of Mud (1991, 1994)
A children’s book about an adobe house in the Southwestern United States.
When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba (1997)
When Sophie’s Aunt Lena sprains her ankle and can’t go to her usual matinee musical performance, the rest of the family entertains her to cheer her up. By Eileen Kurtis-Kleinman, illustrated by Diane Greenseid.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 