Neal Conan recently interviewed the actor and former host of Reading Rainbow for Talk of the Nation on NPR. I really enjoyed their conversation, and loved what Mr. Burton had to say about the role of reading in the lives of children, and the mission of the show. This quote summed it up nicely:
“Sesame Street was on the air and already doing the teaching of the rudiments of reading – phonics and the beginning of spelling and cracking the code. Reading Rainbow was about the passion. The idea for Reading Rainbow was to be there during the time of the child’s developmental cycle when they’re making that decision that every human being makes at one point in life or another. That decision being, will I be a reader or not.”
Here is the whole 17-minute interview, if you want to listen to it:
[audio:levar_burton_totn.mp3|titles=Talk of the Nation|artists=Neal Conan]