The Reading Rainbow App was released the other day and I had the pleasure of attending a sneak preview event in NYC the day before the release. You can read all about the Reading Rainbow App at JustChildrensBooks.com.
I don’t know about you, but I always wanted to be of the kid book reviewers featured on the show!
The excitement started on the train ride when I tweeted that I was on my way and LeVar Burton retweeted me! That totally made this Reading Rainbow and Star Trek fangirl’s day … until I was later able to snag a quick photo opp and exchange pleasantries in person.
But I became a huge LeVar Burton fan when he emotionally came on stage and told us the story behind the App’s launch while wiping away tears. Reading Rainbow and children’s literacy are his lifelong passions and you can tell.
One of my favorite moments of the event was when Burton introduced us to Tina Fabrique. She’s the original singer of the Reading Rainbow theme song. After so many years, they had just met for the very first time. But that didn’t stop them from singing the theme song together live and then getting all of us to join in.
The quality isn’t great because I was not prepared to film anything but I managed to catch the special moment on video:
After the presentation we were all surprised by a room filled with children reading and playing with the new Reading Rainbow App and a cake from the famous CakeBoss! Thankfully, there were iPads set up for the adults to use too. I doubt the kids would have given their iPads up, they were having way too much fun!
The tablet side of the cake was very good. It was a red-velvet with a cream cheese filling. Yum!
While there, I couldn’t help but admire the view from Studio 450. I risked looking like the tourist that I was and snapped a few pics. I didn’t know it at the time, but the view below shows part of High Line Park and a mural that was completed not long ago by JR, a French street artist. The paper mural is titled “Brandon Many Ribs, Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota,” and is part of the Inside Out Project.
After the event, I walked around NYC a bit and had lunch with Barbara of Homeroom At Home and her adorable daughter – my traveling buddies for the day!
And don’t ya know it, Barbara suggested we visit High Line Park. I was expecting a regular park but was pleasantly surprised! A much to my delight, I had just unknowingly took a picture of it part of it.
The park is built on an old elevated freight rail line and is definitely the most unique park I’ve ever visited. It’s gorgeous in both its architecture and natural landscaping. This is a view from the park of the Chelsea neighborhood.
After looking this mural up online, I found out that it’s new too and was completed just a day or two before I happened upon it. Nice! This Kissing Sailor remix was done by Eduardo Kobra, an artist from Brazil. Lucky me getting to see both of these fresh and fantastic murals in person.
Such a fun and beautiful day all around.