tonies LeVar Burton Audio Toy Figurine, Age Group 4+

My grandson didn't have the ability to grow up, to the ripe old age of five, with Reading Rainbow, as I did. That being said, I bought this, knowing that he would enjoy the story, and I would enjoy listening to Levar Burton read another book. I love the book that he wrote, and I love how he tells stories, as I did when I was a child. That was something that I was happy to be able to pass on to my grandson. We haven't put anything else on this creative Tony, but I will be looking for stories to put on it.

What a joy and honor to share Mr. Burton with my 6 year old! His voice and storytelling is just as magical as I remember from Reading Rainbow! My daughter adores the stories and recounts them in surprising detail! Really great stories and such a wonderful addition to her collection! We hope he doees more!

We love the original reading rainbow so I was stoked when I found he had a Tonie! We LOVE it. It has a wonderful story and morals.

LeVar Burton is a national treasure! I grew up with Reading Rainbow and was SO excited to find out he partnered with Tonies Box to tell these wonderful, heartfelt and thought provoking stories. To tell the truth, this Levar Burton Tonie was the reason I bought the Tonie Box in the first place. My 4 year old absolutely loves it. He completely identifies with the little boy and his magic blanket story. Watching him listens to it while snuggling HIS magic blanket is the best. Thank you!!!!

This is a great Tonie. It's a gentle and engaging as you hope it will be and there's room to add your own creative content. I hope more authors are lines up for this sort of thing. Can Mo Wellims be next?!!

This is a fantastic creative Tonie! We greatly enjoy storyline with LeVar & that we can add additional stories. Please create a reading rainbow type series

I didn't know previously that LeVar had a children's book and this was such a fun way to discover it! Love the concept of iconic voices having their own Tonie. He is so instantly recognizable with his comforting and engaging tone. Love this one!

Love LeVar's style of story telling. After telling the story, he dives in further to help kids explore the ideas in the story and ties them to something relatable for kids.

This Tonie gives me the warm and fuzzies. As an 80's kid, I grew up watching reading rainbow. This brings a bit of that back with one story and then gives you space to record your own. I recorded Children's stories and poems by black authors for black history month. A solid addition to our collection.

I ordered this for my son because we enjoy watching old episodes of Reading Rainbow. LeVar Burton is a familiar voice and a wonderful reader/presenter. His introduction, discussion, and all the tracks on this special tonie are great. However we had never read “The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm” and it turns out it's only an ok story and maybe not best-suited to this format. First, the plot involves a framing device of a little mouse being read a story by her father. My three-year-old was able to understand this since we were reading along with the picture book, but it might be confusing for a young child absorbing the audio story alone. And while the message of the book is lovely (encountering and coping with trauma, finding support, recovery) it has the didactic aspect of many children's books that address weighty subjects. In the very best children's books, the lesson is subordinate to the narrative, because little children relate to plot/character first and most immediately. The trend nowadays is to write “message” books that read a bit like a lecture, or have only the thinnest veneer of a story. Those stories don't stick with children as long or penetrate as deeply. If you have a child specifically coping with trauma, a more pointed book like this may be helpful, or I could see it being used in a pediatric therapeutic context to explain what recovery means. My son doesn't dislike the story, but I don't hear him returning to it often. He does listen to the other tracks, however.