Reading Rainbow
On the Day You Were Born
TV Flash files “On the Day You Were Born” as the first listed hour of season 16 — Reading Rainbow (1983–2006) on PBS, season 16, episode 1, aired 1997-04-07, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S16E01: listed hour 126 of 155 in the Reading Rainbow guide, first listed hour of season 16. It aired 1997-04-07 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin” (S15E05). Next is “Hip Cat” (S16E02).
Viewer FAQ
Where does On the Day You Were Born sit in the Reading Rainbow guide?
S16E01 is listed hour 126 of 155 — first listed hour of season 16, season 16 episode 1.
When did Reading Rainbow S16E01 air?
On the Day You Were Born aired 1997-04-07 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.…