Just In Time For National Reading Month, Reading Is Fundamental Expands Its Suite Of Digital Offerings For Young Readers With LeVar Burton Kids' Award-Winning Skybrary

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Mar 06, 2019, 11:00 ET

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's largest nonprofit organization for children's literacy, announced today at SXSW EDU that it is the exclusive new home of LeVar Burton Kids' Skybrary, an interactive library of high-quality digital books and video explorations designed to engage young readers and foster a lifelong love of learning. Renowned actor and education advocate LeVar Burton's Skybrary is now part of RIF's unparalleled digital library of books and supplemental learning and reading resources. Burton will serve in an advisory role moving forward.

"RIF is committed to providing children with relevant and inspiring tools and resources to help them read and succeed," said Alicia Levi, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. "Skybrary provides an exciting array of opportunities for today's young learners to connect with fun and educational experiences that engage their minds and open their world to new possibilities. We are honored to continue to work with LeVar Burton to provide this exciting offering to millions of children nationwide."

"We developed Skybrary to give kids more opportunities to learn about and connect with the world around them. I believe that it is through knowledge and understanding that our children are smarter, more compassionate world citizens," said Burton. "RIF shares our commitment to help children realize their full potential and they are the ideal partner to bring Skybrary to new audiences."

Based on Reading Rainbow, the Peabody Award-winning television series hosted by LeVar Burton, Skybrary provides millions of children ages 2 – 11 with the opportunity to embark on their own reading adventures – going anywhere and being anything through this interactive and engaging service. Skybrary features the following assets:

900+ unique books, approximately 600 of which are animated, with new titles planned;
150 video field trips, many of which are hosted by LeVar Burton;
An easy-to-use Parent Dashboard to help track young readers' progress and find book recommendations;
Interactive Animations, which further enhance the reading experience by adding an extra dimension of fun for curious young minds; and
Skybrary School, an online supplemental reading service for grades K-3 featuring a carefully selected library of books, real-world video field trips, standards aligned lessons and easy-to-use teacher management tools.

To learn more RIF visit www.rif.org and to learn more about Skybrary visit www.levarburtonkids.com/skybrary.

RIF also provides additional resources to support National Reading Month through its national campaign Million Book March. Available online at RIF.org/millionbookmarch, the site provides parents, educators and caregivers with tools to engage young readers including an interactive book counter, reading event ideas and a special book collection.

About Reading Is Fundamental:

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is committed to a literate America by inspiring a passion for reading among all children, providing quality content to create impact, and engaging communities in the solution to give every child the fundamentals for success. As the nation's largest nonprofit organization for children's literacy, RIF has provided more than 415 million books to 50 million kids in all 50 states, inspiring generations to read, learn and grow.

SOURCE Reading Is Fundamental