Reading Rainbow and Me

"Reading Rainbow" is a show I have very fond memories of. I haven't seen all the episodes or own any DVDs, but that doesn't lessen my feelings. I enjoyed LeVar Burton as host, I loved "reading" the books and the whole format just worked for me.

The books I remember best are, not surprisingly, considering it's me, related to disaster. The first of the two is titled A Chair for My Mother and tells the story of a girl whose home was destroyed by fire prior to the beginning of the book. Now the family is saving up to buy a chair for her mother to relax in after a long day's work. It's a sweet story, and now that I'm remembering it, I look forward to actually reading it in book form one of these days. But it's not the "rebuilding" plot line that has stuck in my head all these years. It's more the initial loss. I couldn't imagine losing everything in a fire and now I was being forced to by one of my favorite TV shows. I distinctly remember the sound effects that they used to make "fire" - probably just fire crackling in someone's fireplace, but add that to quick page scans and the sound of sirens and I was both riveted and terrified. I'm surprised it's taken me this long to come back to this book.

The other book is called Hill of Fire and the memory of it came back to me a few years ago, quite handily. Back when I was a preschool teacher, we were working on The Volcano Project (more here) and at some point I wanted a book that was appropriate for their age that was about volcanoes. "Reading Rainbow" to the rescue. I recalled this book from when I was their age, about a farmer in Mexico who was in his field when a volcano started to grow there. For years afterward, I was highly concerned that a volcano would sprout in my backyard. When I found this book at the library and read it to the children, I assured them that such a fate for them was highly unlikely.

I remember other books from the show like Miss Nelson is Back, The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash and Chickens Aren't the Only Ones (very exciting, as I owned that book), but none as vividly as the ones above.

Two last non-book related "Reading Rainbow" memories:

One - LeVar Burton spoke at my high school commencement. He was one of our office staff's brothers. He was, of course, amazing and inspiring. Way better than that senator (whom, it was rumored, was having an affair with one of the student's moms).

Two - I always felt cooler than the kids on the show. I only recently discovered why. Most of the episodes I remember were reruns, meaning the kids were wearing out of style clothes. That would do it.