'Reading Rainbow' comes to a close

The classic PBS show, "Reading Rainbow," has been cancelled. The last episode of the show was Friday morning.

The reason the show ended was lack of funds. "Rainbow" ran for 26 years on PBS and was hosted by actor LeVar Burton. While on air, it won over two dozen Emmys and is the third longest running public television children's show.

John Grant, who is head of content for the show, blames the recession, claiming that no one will put up the money to help renew the show's broadcast rights. The importance of the show, according to Grant, wasn't that it was showing kids how to read, rather why to read.

As reported on NYDailyNews.com, "Every episode of 'Reading Rainbow' featured a children's book Burton would expand into an adventure. The episodes also featured kids' own reviews of books, which Burton set up with the trademark line, ". . . but you don't have to take my word for it."