COMPLETE READING LIST The PBS show Reading Rainbow was a favorite of my older children when they were small, and as I watched with them, it quickly became a favorite of mine too. Reading Rainbow introduced us to so many great children’s books that we otherwise would never have known about. It was not uncommon, on our weekly trips to the library, for me to seek out books that I had discovered on Reading Rainbow to read to them at home, and later, for them to read for themselves. Since Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, my younger children never had a chance to experience this great program. That is why I decided to compile this list. Every time we go to the library, or every time I am shopping for gifts, I will consult this list. I am sharing it with you so you can do the same if you’d like! To the right of every entry, there is a check box so you can keep track of the books you have read. Almost all of the books are still in print, and the few that are out of print are most likely available at your public library or your child’s school library. I could have put the books in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, or arranged them alphabetically by title, or I could have tried to group them by subject matter. In the end, however, I decided to list the books in the order they originally aired on Reading Rainbow. I have included each show’s original air date and the name of the narrator of each book because it may help jog your memory about an old favorite. (There is one episode for which I could not find the name of the narrator. If you know it, please email me at the address below.) Many of the books, to this day, are still published with the Reading Rainbow logo on the front cover, which helps in locating them I hope this list will help you rediscover some great books you had forgotten about, and also help you discover some new favorites! I am excited about using this list to introduce my younger children to the books my older ones came to know and love through Reading Rainbow. I hope you will find it helpful too. (By the way, many of the Reading Rainbow programs are available online through Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and other streaming services.) John Allen T. Bankson Montevallo, Alabama [email protected] Season 1: 1983 (15 episodes) 1 Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen (narrated by Patrick McCaffrey) June 6, 1983 2 Miss Nelson Is Back by Harry G. Allard, Jr. (narrated by Ruth Buzzi) June 13, 1983 3 Bea and Mr. Jones by Amy Schwartz (narrated by Madeline Kahn) June 20, 1983 Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema (narrated by James Earl 4 June 27, 1983 Jones) 5 Louis the Fish by Arthur Yorinks (narrated by Vincent Gardenia) July 4, 1983 6 Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki (narrated by Linda Gelman) July 18, 1983 7 Liang and the Magic Paintbrush by Demi (narrated by Lauren Tom) July 19, 1983 Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (narrated 8 July 20, 1983 by Douglas Parvin) Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera B. Williams (narrated by Carolyn 9 July 21, 1983 McHanon) 10 The Gift of the Sacred Dog by Paul Goble (narrated by Michael Ansara) July 22, 1983 11 Gregory the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat (narrated by Marilyn Michaels) July 25, 1983 12 Three by the Sea by Edward Marshall (narrated by Chicago City Limits) July 26, 1983 13 Arthur's Eyes by Marc Brown (narrated by Bill Cosby) July 27, 1983 The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble (narrated by Kaleena 14 July 28, 1983 Kiff and Laura Hicks) 15 Ty's One-Man Band by Mildred Pitts Walter (narrated by Lou Rawls) July 29, 1983 Season 2: 1984 (5 episodes) 16 Hot-Air Henry by Mary Calhoun (narrated by William Windom) July 16, 1984 17 Simon's Book by Henrik Drescher (narrated by Ruby Dee) July 17, 1984 18 Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall (narrated by Lorne Greene) July 18, 1984 19 Mystery on the Docks by Thacher Hurd (narrated by Raul Julia) July 19, 1984 20 A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (narrated by Amy Linker) July 20, 1984 Season 3: 1985 (5 episodes) 21 Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg (narrated by Buddy Ebsen) June 24, 1985 22 The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy (narrated by Isabel Sanford) June 25, 1985 23 Hill of Fire by Thomas P. Lewis (narrated by Fernando Escandon) June 26, 1985 24 The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens (narrated by Gilda Radner) June 27, 1985 25 Perfect the Pig by Susan Jeschke (narrated by James Coco) June 28, 1985 Season 4: 1986 (10 episodes) 26 Animal Café by John Stadler (narrated by Martin Short) June 23, 1986 27 Alistair in Outer Space by Marilyn Sadler (narrated by Arnold Stang) June 24, 1986 Feelings by Aliki (narrated by Raima Evans, Jessica Mercado, Laura 28 Haymann, Paul Sidoriak, Jonathan Rose, Timothy Oakes, Jerry David, June 25, 1986 and Pamela Stogner) 29 Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson (narrated by Laura Haymann) June 26, 1986 30 Mama Don't Allow by Thacher Hurd (narrated by Fred Newman) June 27, 1986 31 Space Case by Edward Marshall (narrated by Michael Winslow) August 4, 1986 32 The Milk Makers by Gail Gibbons (narrated by Alaina Reed) August 5, 1986 33 Imogene's Antlers by David Small (narrated by Imogene Coca) August 6, 1986 34 Germs Make Me Sick! by Melvin Berger (narrated by Molly Mandlin) August 7, 1986 35 Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger (narrated and sung by Pete Seeger) August 8, 1986 Season 5: 1987 (10 episodes) The Life Cycle of the Honeybee by Paula Z. Hogan (narrated by Barbara 36 June 1, 1987 Feldon) 37 Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Connie Roop (narrated by Sada Thompson) June 2, 1987 38 Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller (narrated by Georgia Engel) June 3, 1987 39 The Paper Crane by Molly Bang (narrated by Keye Luke) June 4, 1987 40 The Runaway Duck by David Lyon (narrated by Orson Bean) June 5, 1987 41 A Three Hat Day by Laura Geringer (narrated by Zelda Rubinstein) July 27, 1987 42 Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky (narrated by Ralph Waite) July 28, 1987 43 Best Friends by Steven Kellogg (narrated by Liza Siegler) July 29, 1987 44 Meanwhile Back at the Ranch by Trinka Hakes Noble (narrated by Hoyt Axton) July 30, 1987 45 My Little Island by Frane Lessac (narrated by Ron Foster) July 31, 1987 Season 6: 1988–89 (10 episodes) 46 The Bionic Bunny Show by Marc Brown (narrated by Gene Klavan) August 15, 1988 Bugs by Joan Richards Wright (narrated by Lori Delgado and Edwin 47 August 16, 1988 Maldonado, Jr.) The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner by Eileen Christelow (narrated by Peter 48 August 17, 1988 Falk) 49 Brush by Pere Calders (narrated by Hector Elizondo) August 18, 1988 50 The Purple Coat by Amy Hest (narrated by Jack Gilford) August 19, 1988 51 Barn Dance! by Bill Martin, Jr. (narrated by Roy Clark) March 27, 1989 52 Duncan and Dolores by Barbara Samuels (narrated by Jane Curtin) March 28, 1989 Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault (narrated 53 March 29, 1989 by J. Ruben Silverbird and Kenneth Blank) 54 Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki (narrated by Corinne Orr) March 30, 1989 55 Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John L. Steptoe (narrated by Phylicia Rashad) March 31, 1989 Season 7: 1989–90 (10 episodes) Humphrey the Lost Whale: A True Story by Wendy Tokuda and Richard Hall 56 July 3, 1989 (narrated by Jane Pauley) 57 Stay Away from the Junkyard! by Tricia Tusa (narrated by Michele Mariana) July 4, 1989 58 Little Nino's Pizzeria by Karen Barbour (narrated by Josh Saviano) July 5, 1989 59 Ludlow Laughs by John Agee (narrated by Phyllis Diller) July 6, 1989 Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo by William Joyce 60 July 7, 1989 (narrated by Edward Asner) Dive to the Coral Reefs: A New England Aquarium Book by Elizabeth Tayntor 61 March 26, 1990 (narrated by Fran Brill) Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus by Barbara Bash (narrated 62 March 27, 1990 by Philip Bosco) 63 Tooth-Gnasher Superflash by Daniel Pinkwater (narrated by Victoria Jackson) March 28, 1990 Bored—Nothing to Do! by Peter Spier (narrated by Alex Borg and David 64 March 29, 1990 Hyman) 65 Sports Pages by Arnold Adoff (narrated by LeVar Burton) March 30, 1990 Season 8: 1990 (5 episodes) The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole (narrated by Keisha 66 September 10, 1990 Knight-Pulliam) Jack, the Seal and the Sea by Gerald Aschenbrenner (narrated by Leslie 67 September 11, 1990 Uggams) 68 The Bicycle Man by Allen Say (narrated by Tom Matsusaka) September 12, 1990 69 Florence and Eric Take the Cake by Jocelyn Wild (narrated by Julia Child) September 13, 1990 70 Sunken Treasure by Gail Gibbons (narrated by Robert Morse) September 14, 1990 Season 9: 1991 (10 episodes) 71 Alistair's Time Machine by Matthew Sadler (narrated by Arnold Stang) September 16, 1991 The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra Barracca and Saul Barracca (narrated 72 September 17, 1991 by Vincent Gardenia) The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie de Paola (narrated by Harold 73 September 18, 1991 Littlebird) 74 Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams (narrated by Hattie Winston) September 19, 1991 75 Fox on the Job by James Marshall (narrated by Fred Newman) September 20, 1991 Opt: An Illusionary Tale by Arline Baum and Joseph Baum (narrated by LeVar 76 September 23, 1991 Burton) 77 Raccoons and Ripe Corn by Jim Arnosky (narrated by Julia Barr) September 24, 1991 The Lady with the Ship on Her Head by Deborah Nourse Lattimore (narrated 78 September 25, 1991 by Marilyn Pasekoff) Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K.