“Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high . . . have a look, it’s in a guide“: Studying Rainbow, PBS’ iconic youngsters present, is again after 20 years off the air. This time round, it’s hosted by beloved TikTok librarian Mychal Threets.
However you don’t have to take my word for it. The information was introduced on September 29 by way of an Instagram post shared by Threets, the official Studying Rainbow account, and Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Episodes of the brand new collection will premiere at 10 a.m. ET each Saturday throughout October on the KidZuko, a youngsters’ YouTube channel from Sony Photos Tv, as well as on Reading Rainbow’s website.
Studying Rainbow was first launched in 1983 as a response to “summer season loss phenomena,” during which “a baby loses a few of his or her studying talents as a result of they have an inclination to not learn in the course of the summer season,” Studying Rainbow’s web site explains. Every episode featured a distinct kids’s image guide, usually narrated by a star, in addition to visitor interviews and guide evaluations.
Over the course of the present’s 26-year run, it turned the most-watched PBS program within the classroom, incomes awards together with the George Foster Peabody Award and 26 Emmys.
A big a part of Studying Rainbow’s success was due to host LeVar Burton, whose charismatic persona and comforting cadence set the present’s tone. Burton’s successor, Threets, has already cultivated a loyal viewers of his personal for his love of books and pleasant communication model.
Right here’s what to know as Threets steps in to take viewers alongside the Studying Rainbow.
Who’s Mychal Threets, a.ok.a. Mychal the Librarian?
Threets, identified on social media as Mychal the Librarian, has spent the previous couple of years amassing a large following (together with 829,000 followers on TikTok and 895,000 on Instagram) by sharing his love for studying with the world.
When Threets first began his social media pages a number of years in the past, he was working as a librarian in Solano County, California, on the similar library that cultivated his personal ardour for studying. In 2024, he stepped down from that position and took up a brand new place as PBS’ resident librarian, a place that enables him to proceed producing movies that encourage youngsters to develop wholesome studying habits.
A few of Threet’s hottest movies embrace heartwarming storytimes about his experiences as a librarian, book reviews, and calls for viewers to invest in their local libraries—all delivered along with his signature smile.
“Expensive Solano County Library, I simply wish to say ‘Thanks,’” Threets begins in one TikTok publish with over two million views. “Thanks for elevating me as a homeschool library child. That is the place the place I’ve all the time felt secure, I’ve all the time felt like I belong, I’ve all the time felt like I’ve mates.”
Now, Threets is bringing that very same sense of security and belonging to fellow “library youngsters” by way of the Studying Rainbow reboot.
“I used to be raised on Studying Rainbow, LeVar Burton is my hero,” Threets wrote in an Instagram post about the series. “I’m a reader, I’m a librarian as a result of LeVar Burton and Studying Rainbow so powerfully made us consider we belong in books, we belong in every single place. I’m so pleased for all of us that Studying Rainbow is returning! YOU all did this! We’re flying twice as excessive, butterflies within the sky!”
