Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children's Series by Barbara Irwin, Anthony Buttino Sr., Pamela N. Johnson

Reading Rainbow is one of the most successful PBS children’s series in television history, earning numerous national and international awards including 26 Emmy’s and a Peabody Award. But perhaps more important than anything else, Reading Rainbow helped generations of children cultivate a love for books. The brainchild of co-author Tony Buttino, Reading Rainbow is very much a story of humble beginnings and enormous perseverance. Over five summers, co-author Tony Buttino and his colleagues at WNED-TV, the public television station in Buffalo, New York, worked in collaboration with educators and librarians to experiment with summer reading programs. But after trialing these programs, the WNED team realized there was a big need for a new children's literacy series and believed they could create a new show with partners. After fits and starts, and enough twists and turns to fill a children’s book, Reading Rainbow premiered in the summer of 1983 and captured the attention of 6.5 million young viewers worldwide. Creating Reading Rainbow explores the many intriguing and homespun stories that, when woven together, reveal how this groundbreaking and iconic television series came to be. What led to the series being called “Reading Rainbow”? How did the road to Reading Rainbow wind its way through MisterRogers’ Neighborhood? How did a public television station in Buffalo spearhead a revolution in education and spark the passion for reading in millions of children? And, what does lasagna have to do with it? Brimming with behind-the-scenes stories, never-before-seen photographs, Buttino’s own first-person tales, and original interviews with those who worked on the series’ development– from local educators and librarians to the national production team – Creating Reading Rainbow gives readers an inside look at the foundational work, origin, and history of the beloved television show that still inspires readers today.