The incomparable Barbara Seuling sent me a link to a petition circulating in an attempt to save the beloved Reading Rainbow program; WNED-TV, which currently produces the show, can’t afford to renew the rights to the Reading Rainbow books.

This is a real loss for children and education. The television show that brought books to life in the homes and schools of millions of children—many of them without access to books of their own—is over; the show stopped recording new episodes in 2006 and its reruns ceased airing on August 28 of this year. The show won 26 Emmy awards and a Peabody Award for excellence in children’s programming over the course of its 26-year history.

I thought many of you authors, illustrators, editors, teachers, librarians, and booksellers—not to mention publishers, who hold the rights to these books, *cough*—might be interested in reading the petition and perhaps signing it, and contributing in other ways to the survival of a very worthy resource for children.

Here’s the brief petition text; you can read more about Reading Rainbow at the PBSKids website and at the Reading Rainbow website of GPN, the company that conceived and developed the show.

The Care2 petition site‘s text reads:

Between August 27 and September 1 over 500 people signed Part 1 of this petition, which is now closed and on its way to PBS. It contains many thoughtful and heartfelt comments from librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, parents, grandparents, young people who grew up with the the program, and other supporters. Won’t you join them? If you would like to add your name and comments, please sign Part 2, which will be delivered on Friday, September 18. Here’s why: On Friday, August 28, many public stations had to close the book on the Emmy-winning children series ‘Reading Rainbow,’ hosted by LeVar Burton. ‘Reading Rainbow’ — which halted production in 2006 when funding ran out — officially ended, 26 years after its 1983 premiere when its contract expired at the end of the week. This excellent program supports caring for the Earth and values diversity, and of course encourages reading in an attractive and unique format. It should be included in all public stations’ daily lineup.