'Reading Rainbow' Is Coming Back After 20 Years & Mychal Threets Is Hosting
They could not have picked a more perfect successor.
Have you ever deeply loved two things, and then they come together to form something so wonderful that the whole is somehow greater than the sum of its parts? This is exactly how I feel about the announcement that Reading Rainbow is coming back on the air with new host Mychal Threets (everyone’s favorite online librarian).
Reading Rainbow made the announcement along with Threets and PBS on Monday on Instagram, offering a tiny ray of hope to everyone: “🎶 Take a look, it’s in a book 🎶After nearly 20 years… Reading Rainbow is returning to motivate, help, and encourage kids to become avid readers with new episodes, new friends, new projects, and of course… new books! Make sure to follow the rainbow 📚🌈✨,” they wrote in the caption.
“Reading Rainbow is returning with all new episodes,” Mychal the Librarian says in the video, before outlining what the new era of the show will look like.
There’s a sneak peak at new guests, like Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa from Dancing With the Stars, 14-year-old author Bellen Woodard and actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
There’s also a quick glimpse of some of the segments, in which we see kids making postcards, sensory bottles, and mini libraries.
Some of the new books and authors that will be spotlighted include reads from Jamie Chung, Gabrielle Union, Adam DeVine, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen.
“We’re so excited about exploring the world of books together,” Mychal concludes.
Reading Rainbow originally aired in 1983 on PBS starring the beloved LeVar Burton. He hosted the show until its final episode in 2006.
Mychal Threets has been widely known as a child librarian and book influencer since a post of his went viral about “library joy.” With almost a million followers on Instagram, and the same infectious warm and positive attitude as Burton, he’s a perfect choice to fill some big shoes.
Threets shared his own post about the announcement.
"There have been two hosts in the history of Reading Rainbow. The Legend of Literacy, LeVar Burton! And... me, Mychal Threets, a librarian,” he wrote.
"I was raised on Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton is my hero," he continued. "I am a reader, I am a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow so powerfully made us believe we belong in books, we belong everywhere. We’re flying twice as high, butterflies in the sky."
The new Reading Rainbow will consist of four episodes available on KidZuko on YouTube. The first episode premieres this Saturday, and each subsequent episode will be released each Saturday at 10 a.m. ET until October 25.
