The ‘Reading Rainbow Remix’ From PBS Is Full Of Great Advice [Video]

The 'Reading Rainbow Remix' is the latest piece of brilliance from PBS Digital Studios.  Unlike the Mr. Rogers (which was beyond awesome) and the Bob Ross remixes, the Reading Rainbow remix started an interesting conversation between my 5 year old and myself.

My son Narls is no dummy, and told me the other day that movies are way better than books.  I asked him why, considering he reads more than he watches TV, and he told me because the movie shows you how it's supposed to look.

I thought about it for a minute, and decided he was actually sort of right.  The movie can paint an exact picture for anyone, no matter what age, enabling the stories point to be understood by everyone.

The more I thought about his very valid point, the more I tried to explain that books were still better (because I can't be proved wrong by a 5 year old.)  Finally it hit me that the reason he was giving me saying that movies were better, was actually the exact reason why they are still a distant second to books.

The greatest thing about reading a book is that you don't have a pre-painted canvas in front of you while you read.  The scenery, characters, voices and so much more are open for you to interpret.  That's why it's so ease to become obsessed with a book, because it is literally growing inside your mind as you read.

You always here people say that the movie didn't live up to the book.  This isn't the fault of the actors or directors, it's a result of the reader building the story in their head as they read the book.  You add to each plot line, character, and hanging conclusion while you read and this makes the story bigger than just the book . . . it makes the story yours.

When I finished explaining this to Narls, I realized that he had left about halfway in and that I was now talking to our dog.  She looked interested but I think she just confused 'book' for 'bone' so I'm not sure she really got the point.  It's OK though, because the more he reads, the more he will realize that his brain can create better stories and images than anything he will ever see in a movie.

My dog will just realize that she didn't get a bone and probably poop on the carpet.