More than 14 years ago, a project was started to put real pieces of children's literature on the TV screen when Tony Buttino, director of educational services and human resources in Buffalo, N.Y., conducted a search for something that would fill a summer reading slot. More than three years later Buttino and Twila Liggett - who became project director/executive producer - teamed up to write a grant proposal to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for Reading Rainbow.
That is history. Not only did the corporation fund the project, but Kellogg Co. matched the initial funding for the pilot and has become one of the partnerships in the 10 years of Reading Rainbow.Reading Rainbow did not always meet with success. There were years when the ratings failed to assure another season of new programs. Campaigns in periodicals and some very subtle "hints" in national associations like American Library Association, International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English invigorated the public - parents, librarians, teachers - to the worth of books which encourage children to read for the right reason - because it's fun.
The successful format has been retained. Each program features at least one children's book on topics that are assured to maintain interest: monsters, animals, humor, living in different times and families. The book's outstanding illustrations are highlighted by such top-notch narrators as Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones, Ruth Buzzi and many others. LaVar Burton comes in and out of the segments as the viewers visit astronaut school, the New England Aquarium, National Center for Atmospheric Research and many other field trips.
One of main feature of Reading Rainbow is the reviews by children of three books in each program, giving viewers added suggestions of good books they might enjoy. The best thing about the latter segment is that it is usually written by children, not "canned."
Reading Rainbow is now the literary pot of gold. It recently announced the titles for its eighth season starting this month and for the fall 1990, too. For those of us that love this program and see the integral worth of it, we can breathe a sigh of relief for one more year.
Following are the titles from the five groupings scheduled to appear beginning Monday, March 26:
-Program One:
Featured Book: DIVE TO THE CORAL REEFS, Elizabeth Tayntor. Crown
Review Books: HOW TO HIDE AN OCTOPUS AND OTHER SEA CREATURES. Ruth Heller. Putnam; I CAN BE AN OCEANOGRAPHER. Paul Sipiera. Children's Press; CREATURES OF THE SEA. John Christopher Fine. Atheneum.
-Program Two:
Featured Book: DESERT GIANT; THE WORLD OF THE SAGUARO CACTUS. Barbara Bash. Little, Brown/Sierra Club.
Review Books: SNAKES ARE HUNTERS. Patricia Lauber. Harper; CACTUS. Cynthia Overbeck. Lerner; A LIVING DESERT. Guy J. Spencer. Troll.
-Program Three:
Featured Book: TOOTH-GNASHER SUPERFLASH. Daniel Pinkwater. McMillan.
Review Books: MISS NELSON HAS A FIELD DAY. Harry Allard and James Marshall. Houghton; MAKING THE TEAM. Nancy Carlson. Carolrhoda; SOCCER SAM. Jean Marzollo. Random; SPORTS. Tim Hammond. Knopf.
Check TV schedules for times and stations of the Reading Rainbow.