“It’s in a book” — How Levar Burton inspired this children’s book author to write his own story – Reckon

If you experienced life prior to social media and streaming services taking reign, you probably remember PBS and some of their most culturally significant shows like “Sesame Street” or “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.” Perhaps among the most notable was “Reading Rainbow.” As soon as that rainbow rolled across the screen and you heard that song too catchy not to sing along, it was like a portal to a world we seldom saw represented on tv—children of various backgrounds being enamored with books. But it was the show’s easy going and relatable host, Levar Burton, who really brought the magic to “Reading Rainbow.” Prior to that, Burton was best known for his groundbreaking roles in “Star Trek” and the miniseries, “Roots.” As the host and executive producer of “Reading Rainbow,” he earned 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award.

Writer, director, and animation producer Ezra Edmond, who was previously featured as one Black Joy’s Black and Jewish icons, also grew up watching “Reading Rainbow.” Like so many others, he was greatly impacted by what Levar Burton gifted children — particularly children of color — through that show. But what makes Edmond’s experience even more special was his opportunity to meet Levar as a child. Flash forward to adulthood, Edmond has written a children’s book inspired by that moment. In “My Friend Levar,” Edmond immerses us into the experience of a Black boy seeing a Black man on tv who feels like a dear friend and who also makes reading an exciting adventure.

“It felt just like Levar was an uncle or a cousin or friend. He just had such a warm personality . . . just the way he put himself forward and would find the books and be excited and the way he talked into the camera. It just made it feel like he was doing that just for you.”

During our conversation, Edmond shares what it was like watching Burton on tv, his favorite episodes of “Reading Rainbow,” the pivotal moment in his childhood of meeting Burton and the importance of uplifting diverse experiences in books.

What did it mean for you as a little Black boy to see a Black man on TV showing tenderness and kindness to children while also getting them excited about reading?

It felt just like Levar was an uncle or a cousin or friend. He just had such a warm personality . . . just the way he put himself forward and would find the books and be excited and the way he talked into the camera. It just made it feel like he was doing that just for you.

Do you have a favorite Reading Rainbow episode or memory of the show?

So, I remember the “Galimoto” book, which I thought was really cool. That was one of my favorite books. . . and I love that one because it was about these kids, I think in the Caribbean, who would make these little toy trucks and cars out of wire [with] one long wire that went up where you could push it down the beach and I thought that was really, really cool because the art was great and you could see clearly how the kids were making these things. And I’m just someone who also really likes making things [and] I wanted to try to make my Galimoto so I remember that one a lot.

And then I also remember an episode. It might have been an Easter episode about different books about eggs [and] at the very end, Levar went to a place, and it didn’t have to do with the book. It was just like an extra thing. He went to a place where they had a bunch of eggs on pallets, like a processing plant or something like that. And he was talking about how strong eggs are. And they put one pallet, and they put another pallet on top. And he was saying, “You can’t crush an egg.” And then he stood on the pallet. I remember that being really cool. I hope this is an accurate memory, but it’s so clear in my head [for] me as a little kid. Whether it happened or not, I have a very clear memory of Levar Burton standing on three little pallets of eggs saying, “you can’t break an egg” and then showing us.

Why was it important for you to write this book about your experience?

There’s so many books and stories, especially when you get into non-white spaces that focus on the exact same thing all the time. And it’s not to say that those things don’t need to be focused on and not that those aren’t all really good stories, but sometimes you look at books that the characters aren’t diverse and there’s just so many stories that aren’t being told. You look at movies and you’re like, “Okay, well, where’s all the Black sci-fi Adventure movies? There could be more.

“He was just as sweet as he was on TV, but of course he had never met me before, and I saw him every day in my house.”

So, in thinking about just that and what made me feel compelled to write a story—if there’s a story that exists that I like already, I want to go read that one. I don’t need to make my own version of what that one is. So, I really wanted to do something that was a different story and Levar having that moment where I met him in real life and felt like I had known him already. Like I said before, like on the TV. And then you see him in real life and you’re like, “Oh my God!” And this guy’s like, “I don’t know you,” but not in the mean way. He was just as sweet as he was on TV, but of course he had never met me before, and I saw him every day in my house.

So, I thought that was just a nice way to tell a story. I love reading. I love encouraging people to read. “My Friend Levar” calls out so many books that I love, and there’s also a shout out to the respective “Reading Rainbow” episodes for each one. And each “Reading Rainbow” episode has three books that they’re talking about in it. If a kid reads this or more likely a parent reads this to a kid ‘cause they’re more nostalgic about it and they want to share that. Maybe they go to the library afterwards and they get those books that I say or maybe they go watch those “Reading Rainbow” episodes. Then they go and get three books from each episode and read that.

So now, I’m doing that thing, and it just felt like a good jumping off point to tell a story where everybody’s just having fun going on their own adventures through books. I always really liked “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats and I like that because my name’s Ezra. So I was like, “Oh, cool.” I know there was like some flak for it when it came out because Ezra Jack Keats is a white Ashkenazi Jewish guy and people were like, “Well, how do you know about what a Black experience is?” And you know, my grandpa was a white Ashkenazi Jewish guy from New York, like Ezra Jack Keats and he would always tell me stories. So reading that it kind of felt like, “Oh, he’s telling stories kind of like my grandpa’s and his name is my name.”

“Writing this story just made me think fully about the joys of childhood overall.”

That book was in an episode of Reading Rainbow as well, and I remember reading about Ezra Jack Keats living near all these Black kids that he saw playing in the snow. And he was like, “No one’s writing stories about just a Black kid having a fun time in the snow in the winter in New York. . .” And he wanted to tell that so the representation could be there not because he was trying to appropriate or tell some fake story. And that totally resonated with me. . . So, there’s a little shout out in the back of the book that does mention that some of the authors aren’t necessarily the specific heritages of [characters] in the books that they’re writing. But that’s what we had. And the representation was meaningful.

Aside from meeting Levar, what was the most joyful aspect of writing this book?

I remember going to the library and coming home with just such a big stack of books and we really wanted to be in the illustrations [of “My Friend Levar”] because I just couldn’t wait to come home from school and read those books or go out in the yard and garden and play with my dog and grow pumpkins for Halloween and just make things, learn about things, reading books that have recipes in the back. And then, trying to cook them with my parents. Writing this story just made me think fully about the joys of childhood overall. There’s not any downer moments in this book. It’s just exciting memories and fun times. That’s all it’s trying to be.

“He hasn’t been out there just making decisions that seem off the cuff. It feels very much like everything he chooses to do has an intentionality, and it means something to people.”

What would he say to Levar Burton if he had a chance to meet him again today as an adult?

I would say thank you for taking the time [and] making such important choices in [your] career. You look at him playing Geordi La Forge as one of the first Black people on a sci-fi TV show. You look at him in “Roots” as Kunta Kinte and everything that that brought to just the conversation and culture. And that’s so iconic. You look at “Reading Rainbow” and how he committed to so many years of going out and sourcing different books about different cultures, different places around the world, and making sure that kids read them, and they resonate.

He hasn’t been out there just making decisions that seem off the cuff. It feels very much like everything he chooses to do has an intentionality, and it means something to people. . . He’s really making sure that he’s just adding to people’s experiences and trying to make life better and fairer.

So, that’s one of the things that I want to do with this book. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I didn’t have this photo with him. Just him being at the drug store and him being cool with us taking the picture and he approved the book as well too. He’s letting that exist and tell that story. And I would like to, in my career, do things as intentionally as him or Mr. Rogers have [with]their careers because that’s the point of storytelling, to inspire people and really connect with them. And I think Levar does such a really good job of that.