But according to a new report from the Associated Press, the show's financial support has been waning in recent years, causing only four new episodes to be produced last season. Burton is making a plea for new donors to help keep the show alive.

"If you are a wealthy philanthropist out there, I'm not that difficult to find," Burton says. "We have pieced it together by hook or by crook every year."

An analyst for the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center says READING RAINBOW may have trouble attracting new support because corporate sponsors want to be attached to newer projects. In addition, the show does not have merchandising outlets like other children's programming, such as CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has traditionally helped the show but money is tight now, according to PBS programming chief John Wilson.

Burton says the money troubles could be a sign that it's time to quit, but a recent appearance at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, that included the audience singing the READING RAINBOW theme song to Burton makes it difficult to leave the show behind.

"Not a day goes by where someone doesn't come up to me and mention how important the show has been for their children or themselves in terms of encouraging them to read."

Read more about the show's woes here. You can reach READING RAINBOW on the web here.