Reading Rainbow: "My America, A Poetry Atlas of the U.S."

Appearing on PBS channels since 1983, Reading Rainbow is a children’s video magazine program hosted by Levar Burton. The program is designed to inspire children to read through a variety of themed segments and book reviews by children. The episode "My America, A Poetry Atlas of the U. S." first aired in 2001. Written by Susan Kim and directed by Ed Wiseman, the episode celebrates the geographical diversity and beauty of America through poetry.

PBS maintains a website for Reading Rainbow that features literacy resources for teachers and families. The "My America, A Poetry Atlas of the U. S." episode is available on VHS and DVD, and the content has also been turned into a companion book of the same name. The book contains fifty-one poems by forty poets. The poems are grouped by region and some were commissioned specifically for the book. Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Nikki Giovanni, David McCord, X. J. Kennedy, and Myra Cohn Livingston are among the poets featured in this collection.