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Actor LeVar Burton has devoted 30 years to promoting literacy and encouraging children to read with his TV show -- and now the app -- "Reading Rainbow." Here are some of his thoughts on the importance of reading:
On "Reading Rainbow," Burton often took viewers on "field trips" based books. " 'Reading Rainbow' was a matter of introducing the idea that books can be a terrific way to entertain and inform yourself, and that picking up a book will introduce you to the myriad wonders of the world in which we live," he says.
The TV show, which aired from 1983 to 2009, often drew celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg. Here, Goldberg and Burton promote "Amazing Grace" by Mary Hoffman as well as the actress' own book "Alice."
" border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto004" width="640"/>It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood when the "Reading Rainbow's" Burton and Fred Rogers met. Rogers hosted the public television show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" from 1966 to 2001.
Kwame, the character Burton voiced on the '90s children's cartoon "Captain Planet and the Planeteers," could often be found with his nose in a book.
Burton signs his sci-fi novel, "Aftermath," at a Los Angeles bookstore in 1997.
Burton reads to elementary school students in Land O' Lakes, Florida, in 2005.
" border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto008" width="640"/>"There is no system that can imprison you or dominate you with darkness or ignorance if you have the capacity to read in at least one language," Burton said. "It's a very serious idea to me, freedom through literacy." The actor appears here at the TV Land Awards in 2007.
Burton first appeared as himself on the TV show "Community" in 2010. The character Troy, played by Donald Glover, was such a fan that he couldn't speak while in Burton's presence -- and cried when the actor sang the "Reading Rainbow" theme song.
"In a children's book, you combine the visual and the written word. It is made whole by the storyteller," Burton told CNN. "You bring the human element into it, and it makes that two-dimensional object a three-dimensional object of magic." Here, Burton reads during a "Let's Read. Let's Move" summer reading event in Washington in 2012.
When a new film version of "The Great Gatsby" arrived in 2013, "The Colbert Report" featured a comedy sketch in which neither host Stephen Colbert nor actress Carey Mulligan, who played Daisy in the film, had read the F. Scott Fitzgerald book. The solution? Burton gave them the "Reading Rainbow" version.
Burton reads to children during the "Reading Rainbow's" 30th anniversary celebration in Los Angeles in June 2013.
"What I've learned from 'Reading Rainbow' is that everybody's got a story," Burton said. "People are infinitely interesting. We are entertainment, information, insight and inspiration." Here, Burton speaks from the children's stage at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in April.
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- "Reading Rainbow" is off the air, but LeVar Burton continues to promote child literacy
- "Reading Rainbow" app lets users read books, watch videos featuring Burton
- New data show children read for pleasure far less than in the past
- Children's Book Council will honor Burton for "instilling a lifelong love of reading" in youth
(CNN) -- "Reading Rainbow" made its TV debut in 1983 with a simple idea: Use television to keep kids reading during summer by urging them to "take a look" in a book.
The popular public television show ended its run in 2009, but host and actor LeVar Burton hasn't stepped away from children's literacy, or the ideas behind the beloved show.
"If you are a reader, then you have the ability to educate yourself," Burton said. "When you have the ability to be a lifelong learner, there are no limits on what you can acquire in terms of knowledge and information. It represents the ultimate freedom of mankind."
This week, Burton will be recognized with the Impact Award for his efforts to instill "a lifelong love of reading in children" at the seventh Children's Book Week Gala hosted by the Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader. While Burton has drawn critical and popular acclaim for his acting in "Roots" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation,"he said he wants "Reading Rainbow" to be his legacy.
After all, what makes a good story hasn't changed much since "Reading Rainbow's" debut, Burton said. Technology has.
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Looking for great reads for young people? "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures," written by Kate DiCamillo, is the 2014 Newbery Medal winner. Click through the gallery to see the rest of the American Library Association's Youth Media Award 2014 winners for children's and young adult literature.
"Locomotive," illustrated by Brian Floca, is the 2014 Caldecott Medal winner.
Authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack are the winners of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
"P.S. Be Eleven," written by Rita Williams-Garcia, is the Coretta Scott King author award winner.
"Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me," illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the Coretta Scott King illustrator award winner.
"When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop," illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner.
"Midwinterblood," written by Marcus Sedgwick, is the 2014 Printz Award winner.
"A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin," written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for children ages 0 to 10.
"Handbook for Dragon Slayers," written by Merrie Haskell, is the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for middle school readers ages 11-13.
"Rose under Fire," written by Elizabeth Wein, is the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for teens.
"Brewster," written by Mark Slouka, is one of 10 books to win the Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences.
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"Lives of Tao," written by Wesley Chu, is one of 10 books to win the Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences.
"Mother, Mother: A Novel," written by Koren Zailckas, is one of 10 books to win the Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences.
"Relish: My Life in the Kitchen," written by Lucy Knisley, is one of 10 books to win the Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences.
"The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel," written by Katja Millay, is one of 10 books to win the Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences.
"The Universe Versus Alex Woods," written by Gavin Extence, is one of 10 books to win the Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences.
Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard, producers of "Bink & Gollie: Two for One," are the Carnegie Medal winners.
Markus Zusak, author of "The Book Thief" and "I Am The Messenger," is the 2014 Edwards Award winner.
"Mister Orange," written Truus Matti and translated by Laura Watkinson, is the 2014 Batchelder Award winner.
Brian Selznick, author of "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," will deliver the 2015 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.
"Scowler," produced by Listening Library, is the 2014 Odyssey Award winner for audiobooks.
"Niño Wrestles the World," illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales, is the Pura Belpré illustrator award winner.
"Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass," written by Meg Medina, is the Pura Belpré author award winner.
"Parrots Over Puerto Rico," written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore and illustrated by Roth, is the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award winner.
"Beautiful Music for Ugly Children," written by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, is one winner of the 2014 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award.
"Fat Angie," written by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, is the second winner of the 2014 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award.
"The Watermelon Seed," written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli, is the Theodor S. Geisel Award winner.
"Charm & Strange," written by Stephanie Kuehn, is the 2014 William C. Morris Award winner.
"The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi," written by Neal Bascomb, is the 2014 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults winner.
Coretta Scott King Virginia Hamilton Award
Coretta Scott King author award
Coretta Scott King illustrator award
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award
Schneider Family Book Award
Schneider Family Book Award
Schneider Family Book Award
May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture
Pura Belpré illustrator award
Pura Belpré author award
YALSA award for nonfiction for young adults
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Photos: ALA Youth Media Awards
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Burton said he realized the power of TV as a medium for educating and informing viewers when he played Kunta Kinte on the "Roots" miniseries, based on Alex Haley's novel about slavery and African-American history. The story captured the nation as millions tuned in to watch the miniseries during the late 1970s.
Decades later, after reading a book on an iPad for the first time, he saw the potential to create an interactive reading experience. Burton acquired the rights to the "Reading Rainbow" brand and created his company, RRKidz. He envisioned an app that could interact with the audience in ways the show never could.
He launched the "Reading Rainbow" app in 2012, and in its first 18 months, users read 10 million books, making it the No. 1 free educational app in the iTunes store for two years.
"I wanted to put in the hands of kids a library of books and videos, like the TV show did, all in the service of inspiring a love of literature and exploring the world -- connecting the real world to the literature that kids are reading," Burton said.
Burton's efforts come at a time when researchers and educators are trying to figure out how to use technology to encourage reading. Since 1984, the proportion of adolescents who read for pleasure once a week or more has dropped from 81% to 76% among 9-year-olds, according to research released this week by advocacy group Common Sense Media.
Among 13-year-olds, rates of reading for pleasure have dropped from 70% to 53%. Among 17-year-olds, the rate dropped from 64% to 40%. The proportion who say they "never" or "hardly ever" read has gone from 8% of 13-year-olds and 9% of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22% and 27%, respectively.
"E-reading has the potential to significantly change the nature of reading for children and families, but its impact is still unknown," said the Common Sense Media report "Children, Teens and Reading."
On the TV show, Burton became a trusted friend to children, parents and educators, recommending a variety of books and taking viewers on book-related field trips. He invited kids to recommend books in a segment, using the famous line, "but you don't have to take my word for it."
"The books were enhanced by the show and the show brought people to read the books," said Starr LaTronica, president of the Association for Library Service to Children. "It sort of lays the groundwork for research later in life because LeVar always took those books, found out something about them and went further."
In the new incarnation of "Reading Rainbow," children navigate the app in a virtual hot air balloon, traveling to themed islands and discovering books they might like to read. The app hosts more than 500 books and video field trips with Burton. Userscan interact with the stories like it's a game and receive rewards for each book they read.
Parents are encouraged to use the app along with their children, filling in youngsters' interests for reading recommendations or exploring lessons and themes within the books together. Kids can read by themselves, with their parents or have Burton narrate. The app is free to download, with a $9.99 monthly or $29.99 six-month fee for accessing and downloading unlimited books to read.
"Elementary school-age children are at a juncture where you have such a great opportunity to capture them as readers at that point," said Nicole Deming of the Children's Book Council. "The app has struck that ideal balance between enhancing the storytelling without being distracting."
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Burton said he hopes to expand beyond the "Reading Rainbow" app available now. The next move? Creating a version for teachers to use in the classroom, including lesson plans and tools to track student progress.
Burton said he also would like to see more diversity in children's literature. "Reading Rainbow" will continue to share a variety of books, just as he did on the show, he said.
"I firmly believe that seeing oneself reflected in the popular culture is critically important for developing a solid and healthy sense of self," he said. "Unless the publishing industry is proactive, this will be one of the causes of its demise. I don't understand the reluctance. Here is a sector that is woefully underserved, with an opportunity to target a market that is thirsty for literature."
Still, not everything has changed. Just as Burton's mother nurtured his interest in reading, parents and children can bond through books, whether on paper or tablets.
"There is nothing more powerful to me than that elemental experience of storytelling: being read to aloud, following along, seeing the story in the pictures and feeling it in your heart," Burton said. "It is really beautifully, brilliantly embodied in the sharing of a children's book."
What were your favorite books as a young reader? Share your memories in the comments, on Twitter @CNNschools or on CNN Living's Facebook page.
