<p>Sniff, sniff. My kids loooovvvved that show! We read so many of those books, over and over again. If you say "Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe", we all recite, "we drove and drove and drove and drove and drove and drove...." One of the commenters mentioned still getting chills thinking about James Earl Jones' reading of "Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain" and I could immediately hear him reading it.</p>
<p>It was a fabulous show..."but you don't have to take *my *word for it!"</p>
<p>Sad day. At my kid's school, in second grade, it was the routine to come back from recess and watch part of the show (the story) each day...it was a great "settle down/cool down" activity....</p>
<p>Exactly what the article said: the show did not teach HOW to read, but WHY to read - for the magical enjoyment. Sad to lose that.</p>
<p>My kids loved the show, and so did I. I recall being on vacation in Maine one summer and the show was on one morning. Coincidentally, the episode had been filmed at a lighthouse that we could see out our window. My youngest wanted to run right over because she thought that Levar Burton would be there. :)</p>
<p>Oh No!! We have kids from 20-5 who have grown up/are growing up with Reading Rainbow. Our little ones LOVE this program, they will be so disappointed. It was traumatic enough when 'Wishbone' was canceled! I am sad for our kids and the generations of children who will not know this wonderful show and the great books/authors featured. :( This show truly opened up the world of literature for many kids.</p>
<p>It was part of our afternoon routine, along with several other PBS shows ("Wishbone" included). It was always special for my kids to find a "Reading Rainbow" book at the library. This is really sad.</p>
<p>I remember teaching 1st grade and when the kids came in from recess that was our tradition to watch it for @20 minutes to get them to calm down, it was tied into with allowing a few kids everday going to the library to check out books.</p>
<p>In KS, we had the wishbone series on video, so the 2-3rd grade teachers used that at the end of the day as they packed up their backpack and cleaned up the floor around them. You never saw kids run around so quickly in your life, and it was a great way to get them to pick up even the smallest of pieces of paper.</p>
<p>We all loved Reading Rainbow, and my boys were beyond thrilled when my husband brought home Levar's personalized note he wrote to them. My DH was sitting near him on a plane and asked for the autograph. DH said he was a very nice man.</p>
<p>This news brought a tear to my eye, like the loss of an old friend...
We loved Reading Rainbow, and brought many of their suggestions home from the library.</p>
<p>How sad. We watched it and loved it as well. I occasionally run across it when I turn my TV on to watch a soap and it still brings a smile to my face. :(</p>
<p>I didn't know Levar Burton was Kunte Kinte in roots, though I do remember him in Star Trek.</p>
<p>I have kids ages 21-4 (CelticClan--we might be kindred spirits!)--we all loved this show and learned a lot from it. (We also loved Wishbone and Bill Nye). Levar had the coolest job ever. He got to try so many interesting things in so many fields, so many places. He got to meet so many amazing people--and ask them the questions you really wanted answered. (At one time or another, most of my kids thought Levar's name was "Reading Rainbow.")</p>
