"Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high,
Take a look,
It's in a book,
A Reading Rainbow…"

This long running children's series was among the best and most innovative, as you would expect from the good folks at PBS. Reading Rainbow encouraged reading and the exercise of one's imagination, two things that could transport a young mind to millions of different worlds.

Hosted by LeVar Burton (of Roots and Star Trek: The Next Generation fame), Reading Rainbow revolved around books and reading, with several regular segments. Burton would open each episode by visiting an interesting place that matched the theme of the day's book. Celebrity guests, like Martin Short, Ed Asner and Jane Pauley, also stopped by to narrate the story.

The books featured in the series ran the gamut in their subject matter. They could be simple fairy tales, cautionary stories, myths and legends or about botany, biology and space exploration. At the end of the show, Burton would suggest further reading in the same or similar vein as the featured book.

Reading Rainbow aired for more than 20 years, becoming a PBS landmark and winning numerous (really, dozens) prizes and accolades. Richly deserved, my friends, richly deserved.