"Reading Rainbow" returns with local art teacher as creative director

PLATTSBURGH | Amy Guglielmo has been in education for over 20 years. She was first introduced to Steven Beer, the executive producer of "Reading Rainbow Live", when she taught Beer's son, Max. That was over 20 years ago, and now what was once a show that Guglielmo used as a teaching tool has reunited the Beers and Guglielmo. "Reading Rainbow Live" is based on the show "Reading Rainbow" that aired on PBS for the first time in 1983 and is geared toward children aged four through eight. "'Reading Rainbow Live' is an interactive, musical book party. Through new technology, viewers will have the ability to pop into the action on stage. The event will still feature a storytime and take inspiration from a book to inspire and inform viewers," Guglielmo said. Each episode of "Reading Rainbow Live" will be 25 minutes and will feature a different theme that is designed to engage and inform viewers. Guglielmo explained that Reading Rainbow live shares the same core values as its predecessor, "'Reading Rainbow Live' shared the classic 'Reading Rainbow' concepts, 'I can go anywhere,' and 'I can be anything,' and books can take us there." While the books that will be featured on the show have not been announced yet, the "Reading Rainbow Live" team is working with a national advisory panel of librarians, educators, childhood literacy experts, parents, and children to select books that reflect the lives of all young people. "Our mission is to engage readers to learn about the world around them and to allow them to see themselves in books. Our goal is to share and promote books that reflect the lives of all young people," Guglielmo stated. Guglielmo was brought into this project early in 2021 by the executive producer. The team was looking for someone who could help with choosing books and themes for the episodes, and as an educator and an author, Guglielmo was a good fit. "I'm thrilled to be working on the next chapter in this iconic series. I used 'Reading Rainbow' in my classroom when I taught kindergarten," said Guglielmo. Beer saw the need for "Reading Rainbow Live" during the COVID-19 lockdown. Parents were looking for new ways to engage and entertain their children. Beer was a fan of the original "Reading Rainbow," and first grasped the role of creativity with learning when watching his son's class taught by Guglielmo. Beer recruited Guglielmo and Mark Harris, the founder of a television and film production company, Ohana Pictures, to help develop and present the show to Nancy Hammond, an executive vice president and chief operating officer of Buffalo Toronto Public Media, and her "Reading Rainbow" team. Guglielmo said, "Covid quarantine presented challenges for parents with young children, we saw a need for more education programming to engage young readers." "Reading Rainbow Live" will feature a rotating cast and plans to have six to eight hosts, or Rainbows as they're called on the show. Currently, there are four Rainbows cast for the show: Bella Wager, Rohit Gopal, Kendall Joseph, and Jade Walker. Joseph and Walker both studied at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. "Reading Rainbow Live" will be available for streaming on Looped, a virtual venue that hosts live one-on-one virtual video meet and greets and exclusive Livestream events. Participants will need to purchase an interactive ticket to participate in the interactive portion of the show. Tickets will be required for all audience members. The live events will be streaming early in 2022 on https://www.loopedlive.com. Guglielmo is serving as the creative director for Reading Rainbow Live, with Mustapha Khan as the director. Beer's son, Max, is also helping out with the show by writing the music. Guglielmo is the co-founder of Outside Art: Plattsburgh Public Art Project and is a teacher locally.

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"Reading Rainbow" returns with local art teacher as creative director

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