Well Documented History Of The Origins Of An Acclaimed Program. Coming in at 32% documentation, this is one of the better documented nonfiction tales I’ve read of late. Given that it doesn’t actually make many claims that require larger amounts of evidence, this is actually even more astounding – the authors documented seemingly more just to provide the data than to necessarily “prove” their claims. Which is to be commended.
The actual narrative of the tale as told though… could use some better editing, and perhaps the final version of this text – vs the Advanced Review Copy edition I read – has that better editing. But for the edition I read, the narrative could get a touch disjointed at times, often switching between authors and perspectives from paragraph to paragraph and even seemingly at times within a given paragraph. Which makes the overall reading experience a bit tougher, which is a shame given that the very story we’re learning here is the creation of a program that would become truly legendary in getting kids excited about reading.
Those looking for a large presence of host LeVar Burton are going to be disappointed, as while the book discusses how his involvement came about and then references him a few times as it progresses through the timeline of the show, there are only a few scant quotes directly from him – most seeming from the very documentation the authors cite in the end.
Instead, this book focuses more on coauthor Tony Buttino’s own history and efforts to get the show up and operational, including deep dives into his family and neighborhood as he grew and developed as both a person and a television professional.
Still, for anyone interested in learning the backstory of Reading Rainbow and how it came into existence, this book is a treasure trove unlike any other. Very much recommended.
This review of Creating Reading Rainbow by Barbara Irwin, Tony Buttino, and Pam Johnson was originally written on June 21, 2024.