Thank you Reading Rainbow
I love reading. It helps me understand the world, it introduces me to new ideas, and it entertains me. I have my parents to thank for turning me into a reader, but they didn’t do it alone. Growing up I was surrounded by teachers, friends, and role-models all encouraging me to try new books and fixing me up with their favorite authors.
Not least among these people is LeVar Burton, the host (for over 25 years) of Reading Rainbow. Even the lyrics of the theme song were words to live by:
“I can be anything. Take a look, it’s in a book.”
I was thrilled to learn that LeVar Burton is bringing Reading Rainbow to a new generation of kids, and embracing the changing landscape of publishing to do it in an interesting way.
Burton is launching a new company, RRKidz, that will offer a regular stream of educational, interactive eBooks optimized for iPads, smartphones, and other tablets. The company is setting this service up with a subscription model, which I’ve talked about before as the likely future for eBooks, and with content curated by Burton.
Curation is becoming crucial in the digital age, especially as it becomes easier for everyone to create content and share it online. I love that the internet has created such fertile ground for exchanging ideas, but the information overload can be a real problem.
There’s no getting past how important it is that LeVar Burton’s at the helm for this project. I trust him to curate RRKidz because of the years he spent turning me on to great books and inspiring a love of reading. He believed in everything he recommended enough to tell me not to just take his word for it, but to try things for myself. His famous phrase “but you don’t have to take my word for it” encouraged my curiosity, it reminded me that adults don’t always have the answers, and that above all, I could make my own choices.
The kind of trust I feel for Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton is something you can’t buy. For that, I’m grateful. Because that level of respect and trust has to be earned, it serves as a reminder of the hard work we all need to do if we want to become leaders in our field and make an impact on people’s lives.
So, thank you, LeVar Burton, for teaching me the importance of honest communication, respecting my audience, and not recommending something unless I stand behind it 100%.
Book Cover Design
