I read this to my son about five nights a week - it's his favorite lately. If you think that Pete's intro here is didactic, you should read the printed version.
A year ago, when we first got the book, my son (2 and a half at the time) ran screaming from the room when we got to the page with Abiyoyo visible in front of the sun. Glad we tried it again recently.
Sadly, PBS made the decision to cut "Reading Rainbow" from their lineup.
A shrinking budget forced them to choose between shows that teach kids how to read and shows that show kids reading is fun. With the sorry state of public education, they opted for the former, thinking kids would find it more useful.
I remember being in 1st or 2nd grade and my librarian (who was one of those amazing elementary school ones that is perpetually jolly) reading this with such gusto and singing it. I can still see her face over 20 years later reading this book.