Reading Rainbow Season 7, Episode 1: Humphrey the Lost Whale: A True Story

Stay Away from the Junkyard!

LeVar decides it's time to clean out the things cluttering up his house. What he finds is only memories of his entire life. None of this is junk, as it turns out. Michelle Mariano reads the story of a young girl visiting relatives who befriends the local junkyard manager, even though the rest of the town avoids him and spreads rumors.

30 min

Little Nino's Pizzeria

LeVar makes a pizza, while "The Wonder Years" star Josh Saviano reads a story about about a boy who's father runs a pizzeria.

30 min

Ludlow Laughs

Ludlow is a big grump who never laughs or even smiles. One night he has the funniest dream ever. When he starts laughing, the whole world laughs with him. Also includes LeVar "Clowning Around", Stand Up Comic and book reviews for Pig William, Shake My Sillies Out and The Make Me Laugh! Joke Books.

Dinosaur Bob and his Adventures with the Family Lazardo

It's spring 1989, and LeVar gets in the training camp of the Oakland Athletics (back when it was Tony LaRussa, Dave Stewart, Mark McGwire and Terry Steinbach) for a program on baseball. Edward Asner reads the story of a family who meets a dinosaur who they soon find out loves to play baseball.

30 min

Dive to the Coral Reefs

Within the sea, lies a combination of scuba diving and (just slightly) snorkeling as LeVar and a friend of his dive beneath the ocean to explore a living coral reef and the life around it. Fran Brill narrates Dive to the Coral Reefs, a book that shows the life and structures of the beauty that lies beneath the sea.

30 min

Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus

LeVar explores the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, photographing its natural environment and learning about how animals in the desert adapt to this kind of climate. Philip Basco narrates the feature book on the natural world of the famous desert cactus, the giant saguaro.

30 min

Tooth-Gnasher Superflash

LeVar, the jack of all trades, becomes a garage mechanic for this episode. Much of it fantasizes about dream cars. Then comes a real dream car, which a man has decorated, followed by stock footage of an assembly line and a piece on a solar-powered car named the Sunraycer. Victoria Jackson narrates Tooth-Gnasher Superflash, the story of a family that buys a car that is not like any other.

30 min

Bored-Nothing to Do!

Focusing on planes in this episode, LeVar takes a flying lesson and flies a plane himself. Also included: the activities of a top-notch airline in flight, as well as a look at the people who made the dream of flying come true, like Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindburgh. Alex Borg and David Hyman read the story of two boys who decide to build their own airplane, using household items, after their mother sends them outside to play when they complain of being bored.

30 min

Sports Pages

Levar Burton works out in a gym and talks about the determination it takes to succeed in sports. Burton narrates two poems from "Sports Pages" by Arnold Adoff. Burton visits with a young Olympic gymnast who talks about the preparation she must go through before competition. Burton talks to a brother-sister figure skating team, the skaters show how hard they must work to achieve their goals.

30 min