LeVar Burton wants to bring back "Reading Rainbow" for today's kids through a web-based project that would put interactive books and the show's video field trips in homes and schools for free. Asking for $1 million on Kickstarter, the campaign had already passed $650,000 in funding by late afternoon on Wednesday.
"Reading Rainbow" aired from 1983 to 2006, continuing in reruns until 2009, according to The Wrap.
"Together we can create and deliver a proven tool for encouraging the love of reading to millions of children," Burton said of the project. "We can genuinely change the world, one children's book at a time. Reading Rainbow is back, for every child, everywhere, but you don't have to take my word for it."
On the Kickstarter page, Burton points out that 1 in 4 children in America will grow up illiterate. The "Reading Rainbow" program is intended to reach today's generation, which uses technology as a part of everyday life. While kids are unlikely to sit down to watch a television program, they are online natives who will respond best to a new "Reading Rainbow" for the web.
Two years ago, Burton launched an iPad app so kids could discover the show's educational benefits. But not every household has an iPad.
"To reach kids everywhere, we need to be everywhere: we need to be on the web," Burton said on the Kickstarter page.
The show, which encouraged kids to explore the world of books for themselves, will also come to classrooms if the campaign is fully funded.
"[A] resounding number of teachers have told me that they want 'Reading Rainbow' in their classrooms, where they know it can make a difference," Burton said. "We will provide it, along with the tools that teachers need."
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