My Seven Favorite Reading Rainbow Books

The other day, I wrote about Our Five Favorite Books. Well, that got me thinking about "Reading Rainbow." Yes, LeVar Burton launched a successful KickStarter campaign and now a whole new generation of kids get to experience "Reading Rainbow." But there's nothing quite like the original. Okay, just to make you all start singing along, here's the original theme song:

So now that are you singing along, here are my seven favorite "Reading Rainbow" books, in no particular order!

**NOTE: Cover photos link to Amazon. I get NOTHING from them!**

Also, I searched YouTube to find the reading of these stories from the show. No such luck. Thank you Reading Rainbow and PBS. The only one Reading Rainbow actually has on their site is "Abiyoyo".

1. Miss Nelson is Back by Harry G. Allard, Jr.

This is a favorite because, well, I taught for five years and substitute taught in between. Oh man, if I could pull off the whole "Miss Nelson is Missing--Miss Viola Swamp" thing, I would've! This is such a great book to read to kids, especially when they have a substitute teacher. Oh, and then you've got to have them write about it! What would Miss Nelson (or their teacher) be doing on their "day off.."

2. Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Oh how I wish this was true! But I moved around a lot as a kid and this book/episode made me feel like I wasn't alone in it! Thanks LeVar!

3. Gregory the Terrible Eater by Mitchel Sharmat

An all time favorite of mine! Gregory, the goat wants to eat human food! But he really needs to eat "junk" that is goat food! What a wonderful twist on the picky eater. I just wish it taught my own picky eater to actually eat!

4. Arthur's Eyes by Marc Brown

All hail Marc Brown!!!!! I LOVED the Arthur series. I also had to wear glasses and when I was in fourth grade, hated it! I could SO understand Arthur in this book! And then PBS went on to make Arthur into his own SERIES! So much love here for Arthur and his family and friends!

5. The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble

Yes, this one was a favorite. I mean, come on, who brings his pet boa constrictor to the farm??? Oh the havoc that ensues! So much fun to read about!

6. How Much is a Million by David M. Schwartz

We actually just read this one not too long ago. Little Man has been obsessed with large numbers lately. This, of course is the PERFECT book for finding out about those HUGE numbers!

And just because:

7. The Bionic Bunny Show by Marc Brown

This one HAD to be on the list because, well, it was in the episode where LeVar Burton introduced his OTHER TV show at the time, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." So of course this HAD to be on the list. And because I can actually find SOMETHING of it on YouTube, here's one tiny segment about bloopers:

And then, LeVar Burton actually talking about when "Reading Rainbow" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" were on the same episode.

I always wanted to do one of those book talks as a kid. It always seemed like a cool thing. So those are my favorite "Reading Rainbow" books. I hope you like them. But, as LeVar always said, "You don't have to take my word for it!"