Disclaimer: As a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam, I happily dish on the best of the curated best each month. And usually it’s a mash-up of multiple shows and movies. But not this month. Because August is dedicated to one show and one show only. Read on. (And while I’m compensated for these posts in one way or another, all thoughts, opinions, and off-key theme songs are entirely my own.)
I’m sure you’ve got a bunch of great, end o’ August plans lined up- and that’s simply wonderful. But you might have to cancel them. For Netflix has recently unveiled its coup of coups: Reading Rainbow, at the touch of a Wii-mote.
Now, sometimes a trip down memory lane isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes the shows of my youth seem dated and a tad stupid when compared to the premises and unlimited pixels of today’s programming. I prepped the girls for a marathon viewing session, and prepped myself for the potential heartache of a childhood, rose-colored glasses meltdown.
But the opening theme song was a warm hug n’ fresh baked tray of cookies wrapped into one. I had expected that Nora, impending kindergartener (and full-time bookworm) that she is, would immediately fall in love with this show. And she did. From the first moment and without reservation. But it was my preschooler Susannah who could. Not. Believe. The. Magic. Coming. From. The. Screen.
“Mom, what IS this?” She repeated that incredulous question with the passion of someone witnessing the Northern Lights for the first time. (That’s just a guess, as neither Suzy nor I have ever seen the aurora borealis before. But I imagine it would involve the same amount of gasping.)
Three episodes into, as Suzy calls it, “the Rainbow Book,” all three of us were smitten (or re-smitten). Because guess what? LeVar Burton transcends the ages. He’s the television equivalent of that friend who asks how your weekend was- and really listens to the answer. LeVar Burton wants us to know about this book, and he wants to know how and why we liked it. (And kids totally know when someone- on TV or otherwise- cares about their thoughts and feelings.)
And, back in the day, did I fully appreciate how incredibly hilarious some of those kid book reviewers were? Because they were and still are.
2 outta 3 of my children are hugely in love with Reading Rainbow. That 3rd one, well…
Reading Rainbow is made of molten, televised gold, and it’s now near-daily required viewing at my household.
Along with singing that damn catchy theme song.
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