Channel logo

Reading Rainbow

PRIMETIME EMMYS® 1X nominee in 1996
Take a look, it's in a book, a Reading Rainbow! For over 30 years, this beloved children's television series has been bringing stories to life. Hosted by acclaimed actor LeVar Burton, journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books - but you don't have to take our word for it.
IMDb 8.4198320 episodesX-Ray13+
Free trial of PBS KIDS

Prime membership required

Terms apply

Episodes

  1. S8 E1 - Bugs
    August 15, 1988
    28min
    TV-Y
    With microorganisms under his belt, LeVar now goes on the lookout for insects.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  2. S8 E2 - The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner
    August 16, 1988
    27min
    TV-Y
    LeVar tries to have lunch at a diner, but soon finds himself thrust into work. For some reason, he just doesn't understand luncheonette lingo.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  3. S8 E3 - Brush
    August 17, 1988
    28min
    TV-Y
    Can inanimate things come to life, as the feature book suggests? LeVar finds out for himself in a factory where all the goods for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are stored.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  4. S8 E4 - The Purple Coat
    August 18, 1988
    28min
    TV-Y
    In New York again, LeVar goes to get a tailor-made jacket. In between comes a visit to the Fashion Institute of Technology.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  5. S8 E5 - Duncan and Dolores
    March 27, 1989
    27min
    TV-Y
    There's more to the cat than meets the eye. It culminates with one of the stars of what was then believed to be Broadway's permanence: CATS. Jane Curtain narrates the featured book about a girl who wants a cat. In the story, Duncan and Dolores learn how to be themselves and earn each other's friendship.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  6. S8 E6 - Knots on a Counting Rope
    March 28, 1989
    28min
    TV-Y
    What's a handicap to a determined individual? With LeVar camping out by himself, the show banks itself on a news anchor who had been born with deformed hands and feet. The featured story, Knots on a Counting Rope, tells about how a boy who is blind faces his own fears.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  7. S8 E7 - Mummies Made in Egypt
    March 29, 1989
    28min
    TV-Y
    A camel is out of place in the city, but LeVar rides one in preparation for a show that takes a close look at mummies. Corrine Orr narrates Mummies Made in Egypt, a book that gives all the facts about what mummies are, how the ancient Egyptians were mummified, and what they resembled.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  8. S8 E8 - Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
    March 30, 1989
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar celebrates the culture of Africa in New York City's Central Park where he learns how African drums are made. Phylicia Rashad narrates Mufaro's Beautiful Dauters, an African tale about a villager who has two beautiful daughters with completely different personalities. Mufaro presents his daughters to the king who is looking for a wife.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  9. S8 E9 - Humphrey the Lost Whale: A True Story
    January 3, 1993
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar is sailing on the Atlantic coast whale watching. He and a team of scientists learn about how whales eat and how they live in their habitats in the ocean. Jane Pauley narrates the true story of Humphrey, the Lost Whale, all about a humpback whale who gets separated from his pod and gets stuck under a bridge over the Sacramento River.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  10. S8 E10 - Stay Away from the Junkyard!
    January 4, 1993
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar decides it's time to clean out the things cluttering up his house. What he finds is only memories of his entire life. None of this is junk, as it turns out. Michelle Mariano reads the story of a young girl visiting relatives who befriends the local junkyard manager, even though the rest of the town avoids him and spreads rumors.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  11. S8 E11 - Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo
    January 7, 1993
    28min
    TV-Y
    It's spring 1989, and LeVar gets in the training camp of the Oakland Athletics (back when it was Tony LaRussa, Dave Stewart, Mark McGwire and Terry Steinbach) for a program on baseball. Edward Asner reads the story of a family who meets a dinosaur who they soon find out loves to play baseball.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  12. S8 E12 - Dive to the Coral Reefs
    January 10, 1993
    28min
    TV-Y
    Within the sea, lies a combination of scuba diving and (just slightly) snorkeling as LeVar and a friend of his dive beneath the ocean to explore a living coral reef and the life around it. Fran Brill narrates Dive to the Coral Reefs, a book that shows the life and structures of the beauty that lies beneath the sea.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  13. S8 E13 - Desert Giant
    March 26, 1990
    27min
    TV-Y
    LeVar explores the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, photographing its natural environment and learning about how animals in the desert adapt to this kind of climate. Philip Basco narrates the feature book on the natural world of the famous desert cactus, the giant saguaro.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  14. S8 E14 - Tooth-Gnasher Superflash
    January 12, 1993
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar, the jack of all trades, becomes a garage mechanic for this episode. Much of it fantasizes about dream cars. Then comes a real dream car, which a man has decorated, followed by stock footage of an assembly line and a piece on a solar-powered car named the Sunraycer. Victoria Jackson narrates Tooth-Gnasher Superflash, the story of a family that buys a car that is not like any other.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  15. S8 E15 - Bored- Nothing to Do!
    January 13, 1993
    28min
    TV-Y
    Focusing on planes in this episode, LeVar takes a flying lesson and flies a plane himself. Alex Borg and David Hyman read the story of two boys who decide to build their own airplane, using household items, after their mother sends them outside to play when they complain of being bored.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  16. S8 E16 - The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth
    September 9, 1990
    27min
    TV-Y
    Burton introduces the episode by talking about cavern and cave exploring. The featured book, "The Magic School Bus Inside The Earth", is narrated by Keshia Knight Pulliam. Burton then visits California Caverns, where he learns about stalagmites, stalactites, and other crystal formations and goes spelunking with a cave expert.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  17. S8 E17 - Jack, the Seal and the Sea
    September 10, 1990
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar takes a journey aboard a fishing boat to explore small ocean wildlife, such as plankton, sea horses, and small sharks as he learns information from oceanographers about caring for the seas and oceans. Leslie Uggams reads the featured story of a fisherman who decides to educate his neighbors about prevention of water pollution after he must rescue a small seal trapped in debris.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  18. S8 E18 - The Bicycle Man
    September 11, 1990
    28min
    TV-Y
    Wheels are set in motion for this program. In-line skating, then a brand-new commodity, get featured side-by-side with bicycles. Tom Matsusaka narrates The Bicycle Man, a story about an American soldier who visits Japan and performs amazing tricks on a bicycle.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  19. S8 E19 - Florence and Eric Take the Cake
    September 12, 1990
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar visits a famed wax sculpture museum, where an expert wax artist makes a statue of him. Julia Child reads the story of two children helping their grandmother plan a party, and how they accidentally mistake a fancy decorated hat for a cake decorated in the same way.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS
  20. S8 E20 - Sunken Treasure
    September 13, 1990
    28min
    TV-Y
    LeVar has a suspicious-looking treasure map, which he uses to help track down something of immense value to who knows? Robert Morse reads Sunken Treasure, about the search for the sunken Spanish merchant ship The Atochia, and how it was recovered centuries after it sunk. In another featured story, news footage of the raising of the Titanic is shown.
    Free trial of PBS KIDS