Reading Rainbow

1Always My Dad

30 minOct 7, 1996

A girl, whose parents are divorced, doesn't see her father very often but frequently thinks about him and treasures the time they have together. Also contains Family Day Picnic, Love to Go Around, A Special Bond and book reviews for Boundless Grace, Taxi! Taxi! and The Perfect Spot.

2Bread is for Eating

30 minOct 8, 1996

LeVar Burton focuses on the art of baking bread and its cultural value throughout the world. Bread is considered to be the most basic food that we consume. It can be fun to make, tasty, and it's part of a balance daily diet. But in many cultures, the making and comsumption of bread takes on an even larger meaning for many. The Hopi Tribe of northern Arizona bake their bread, bekee, on a hot stone outside. In keeping with Native American tradition, the stone is always borrowed and a family member is invited to help with preparations. This time is viewed as an opportunity to draw closer to one another and nature. In the Indian culture, no meal is complete without bread. Nan, the basic bread is spicy and baked in a clay oven. This episode's suggested books are "Bread is for Eating", "Bread, Bread, Bread", "The Tortilla Factory", and "Walter the Baker."

3Hotel Animal

30 minOct 9, 1996

LeVar dreams he is miniature size and everything around him is "so very big." When he Awakes, everything is back to normal. He learns that size can influence your perception. Things look bigger and a little scary when you're small. But as you grow, your perception changes. The suggested books are "Hotel Animal," "The Three Bears," "Mr. Tall and Mr. Small," and "Zoom."

4Someplace Else

30 minOct 10, 1996

LeVar shows us his travel room, a place very dear to him. His travel room has many maps and globes of places that he's visited. While we all love our own homes, we often imagine what it would be like to live somplace else. In this episode, we see what life is like in New York city, on the high seas, and in Hawaii. Books used in the this episode include "Somplace Else," "Me on the Map," "Town Mouse, Country Mouse," and "Somewhere in the World Right Now."

5Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin

30 minOct 11, 1996

Music and orchestras are profiled in this tuneful show. The episode soon gets rhythmic when LeVar introduces the viewers to the theatrical percussion group, Stomp. Gregory Hines reads Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin, a counting story that mentions all the different types of instruments that are played in bands and orchestras and the kinds of groups they make based on many play at once.