Dr. Barbara Irwin, emerita professor of communication, will be a featured guest on PBS Books, discussing the new book she co-authored with Tony Buttino Sr. and Dr. Pam Johnson: Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series.
The event will be streamed on Facebook and Youtube on Wednesday, September 18 at 8:00 pm ET.
Irwin worked as a project assistant on the groundbreaking reading motivation series while at WNED PBS in Buffalo. “Reading Rainbow” was designed to address the decline in reading skills seen over summer breaks from school. The series premiered in 1983 and went on to become one of the longest running and most impactful PBS children’s television series, in the company of “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“Reading Rainbow” earned 26 Emmys and a Peabody award, but most importantly, it sparked the passion for reading in generations of children.
Creating Reading Rainbow, published by North Country Books/Globe Pequot/Rowman & Littlefield (June, 2024), gives readers an inside look at the foundational work, origin, and history of the beloved television show that still inspires readers today.
More information is available here.
Submitted by: Barbara Irwin, PhD, emerita professor, Department of Communication
