Reading Rainbow
Three by the Sea
TV Flash files “Three by the Sea” as hour 12 of 155 in the TV Flash guide — Reading Rainbow (1983–2006) on PBS, season 1, episode 12, aired 1983-06-21, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E12: listed hour 12 of 155 in the Reading Rainbow guide, hour 12 of 15 in season 1. It aired 1983-06-21 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Gregory, the Terrible Eater” (S01E11). Next is “Arthur's Eyes” (S01E13).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
LeVar learns that telling a story or listening to one can unlock the imagination as he watches Chicago City Limits, an improvisational performance group. Kids tell their own stories in the books they make. While walking the beach, LeVar explores the history and adventure of sea chanteys, and talks with winners of a sand sculpture contest.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Three by the Sea sit in the Reading Rainbow guide?
S01E12 is listed hour 12 of 155 — hour 12 of 15 in season 1, season 1 episode 12.
When did Reading Rainbow S01E12 air?
Three by the Sea aired 1983-06-21 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is it only for kids?
PBS literacy as after-school adventure. Adults return for Burton and the catchphrase. The Kickstarter revival proved nobody actually outgrew the librarian on camera.
In the series
Why this series still plays
LeVar Burton takes you into a book, then kids review it, then the catchphrase: you don't have to take his word for it. PBS literacy as after-school adventure, with field-trip segments that treated reading as a passport. A generation's librarian on camera — the Kickstarter revival proved nobody actually outgrew him.
The catchphrase is the contract. PBS, premiere 1983 through 2006: LeVar Burton introduces books, field trips, and kid reviews that sell the joy of reading — you don't have to take his word for it. Reading Rainbow, from Twila Liggett, Cecily Truett Lancit, and Larry Lancit, made literacy appointment television. After-school adventure treated reading as a passport: theme song as permanent childhood earworm, multiple Daytime Emmys, Burton as a generation's librarian on camera. If you came for a blotter item about a…
Filed against
- LeVar Burton as Host
LeVar Burton’s breakthrough as young Kunta Kinte on Roots made miniseries history — eight ABC nights, event television that forced a nation to watch and talk together. Later Star Trek: TNG and Reading Rainbow sealed educator-icon status.…