LeVar Burton To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award At Children's Emmys

“Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton is about to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Children’s & Family Emmy Awards.

The “Roots” actor was the host of “Reading Rainbow” for more than 23 years and has become a literacy advocate. He also has a YouTube series entitled “This Is My Story,” which highlights racism in the United States.

The Emmy-award-winning actor is also known for his role in “Star Trek: Next Generation” and currently hosts the podcast “LeVar Burton Reads.” He is also a director, author, and educator who won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. He has received the Fred Rogers Award and several other accolades.

The City of Sacramento dedicated the LeVar Burton Park in his name and he was appointed to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences under then-President Bill Clinton.

As reported by CBS News, Burton will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the very first Children & Family Emmys, which will be held in Los Angeles in December 2022. The National Academy of Television of Arts & Sciences revealed that this will be the first Emmys expansion since the awards were first handed out in 1979.

Sir David Attenborough is also said to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award for Documentary Television. Judy Woodruff will receive one for News Television, and another will be given to the home improvement series “This Old House.”

Burton responded to the news on Twitter, simply writing, “Woah.”

Last month, Burton took part in a Reddit AMA to answer questions from fans throughout the day.

When one fan asked, “do people ask you to sing the theme song to Reading rainbow all the time? If no, could you?” Burton jumped into all caps to give his response.

“I SING IT ALL THE TIME,” he wrote. “IT MY RINGTONE.”

“This made my life!” another fan replied.

Another fan asked, “What books do you read over and over, if any? Do you have any feelings about whether it's good to keep moving on to new discoveries, or returning to familiar stories?”

“These days, it’s whatever makes you feel better!” Burton answered. “For me it’s the balance of new stories with those that are familiar and in that sense, comforting. We’re all under considerable stress these days and whatever healthy ways we can employ to keep our sanity intact I’m very much in favor thereof.”

Another fan asked, “Any obscure reading suggestions for black teenagers who seem to have read everything already?”

“I believe it is our passions that govern our reading appetites! Folks ask me all the time, ‘How do I get my kid to read more?’ I ask them two questions in return,” Burton replied. “1) How often does your child see you reading? That modeling is critically important. 2) What is your child passionate about? If your child loves superheroes then I recommend buying your kid some comic books!”

When asked if he has a bias towards digital books on a screen of traditional printed books on paper, Burton revealed that he did not have a bias.

“I don’t believe I have a bias. Bound books, digital books; I simply want to read! One of the miracles of the modern age is that I literally carry around a library on my tablet. A WHOLE LIBRARY! I didn’t see that coming,” he replied.