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Reading Rainbow
On PBS — From Lancit Media Productions · RCN Entertainment
Take a look, it’s in a book, a Reading Rainbow!
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Where to watch
Not available to stream in US
🔔 Notify me about new seasonsSynopsis
Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories.
Episodes
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- E1 Tight TimesNext upJun 6, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
A young girl's father loses his job.
Guest stars: Patrick McCaffrey (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E2 Miss Nelson Is BackJun 7, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
As part of his birthday celebration, LeVar gets made-up like a movie monster, and then gets involved in Harry Blackstone's magic act. Ruth Buzzi reads Miss Nelson Is Back, all about a group of rowdy students who try to take advantage of their teacher's absence when she's out sick one day, and how she gets revenge on them by pretending to be "the meanest teacher in the world, Viola Swamp."
Guest stars: Ruth Buzzi (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E3 Bea and Mr. JonesJun 8, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
LeVar is already worn out after working on several scenes all day long on the production of the series. He feels he needs to take on another identity, segueing into introducing the featured book, Bea and Mr. Jones. Madeline Kahn reads the book about a kindergarten student and her father who get so bored with their jobs that they decide to experiment by switching places for the day.
Guest stars: Madeline Kahn (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E4 Bringing the Rain to Kapiti PlainJun 9, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
Guest stars: James Earl Jones (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E5 Louis the FishJun 10, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Louis the Fish
Guest stars: Vincent Gardenia (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E6 Digging Up DinosaursJun 13, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Technically not the first science-related show in its history, LeVar seeks a place where archaeologists retrieve dinosaur bones. At the end of the program, LeVar buries a time capsule, containing (among other things) a can of old Coke and his picture. Linda Gilman reads Digging Up Dinosaurs, a story about how paleontologists unearth dinosaurs skeletons and preserve them in museum exhibits.
Guest stars: Linda Gelman (Self - Narrator (voice)), Jerry Stiller (Dinosaur Comedian (voice))
- E7 Liang and the Magic PaintbrushJun 14, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Liang and the Magic Paintbrush
Guest stars: Lauren Tom (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E8 Gila Monsters Meet You at the AirportJun 15, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
In the featured book, a young boy and his family move from New York City to the Southwest and he has many misconceptions about what his new home is like.
Guest stars: Douglas Parvin (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E9 Three Days on a River in a Red CanoeJun 16, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe
Guest stars: Carolyn McHanon (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E10 The Gift of the Sacred DogJun 17, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
The first of many programs favoring Native Americans. In this instance, a Midwestern legend suggests how horses arrived to the tribe. Later in this episode is the song "Ancient Places, Sacred Lands" which lists several words originating from various locations of the United States and the tribal meaning of their names.
Guest stars: Michael Ansara (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E11 Gregory, the Terrible EaterJun 20, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Today's subject is goats and what they eat.
Guest stars: Marilyn Michaels (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E12 Three by the SeaJun 21, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
Three by the Sea
Guest stars: Linda Gelman (Narrator (voice)), Christopher Oyen (Narrator (voice)), Carol Schindler (Narrator (voice)), Paul Zuckerman (Narrator (voice))
- E13 Arthur's EyesJun 22, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
LaVar explores seeing and our other senses, as Bill Cosby tells the story of how the young aardvark, Arthur Read acquired his pair of glasses.
Guest stars: Bill Cosby (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E14 The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the WashJun 22, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash
Guest stars: Kaleena Kiff (Self - Narrator (voice)), Laura Hicks (Self - Narrator (voice))
- E15 Ty's One Man BandJun 23, 1983 · 30 min
Synopsis
LeVar is ready to find music everywhere, and he does. This show includes the animation Onomatopoeia. Lou Rawls reads the story of Ty's One-Man Band, about a man who teaches a boy how to make music using household items.
Guest stars: Lou Rawls (Self - Narrator (voice))
LeVar Burton
