LeVar Burton would like to revive Reading Rainbow on the web.
The 57-year-old actor served as host and executive producer on the series throughout its 23-year run on PBS. The popular show encouraged children to read, and each episode focused on a theme from a book or other types of literature.
The program was canceled in 2006, and relaunched as an app in 2012. Burton initiated a Kickstarter campaign Wednesday with the hope of raising $1,000,000 to revive Reading Rainbow on the web.
The mission seeks to put the program's library of interactive books and educational video field trips on the web for children to access. Many families are unable to use the app because they don't own tablets, and Burton wants to create a new version of Reading Rainbow on the Internet for free.
The host and his team also plan to build a special version for the classroom. The program would be distributed for free in over 1,500 classrooms across the country.
"We can genuinely change the world, one children's book at a time," Burton says in a video on the Kickstarter website. "Reading Rainbow is back, for every child, everywhere."
The fundraiser ends July 2, and has raised $111,000 so far.