From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Caroll Spinney (carollspinney.com), the voice of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch and winner of the Library of Congress's Living Legend Award, here narrates journalist Davis's gentle yet often surprising look at Sesame Street, the world's longest-running (40 years) and widest-reaching (120 countries) children's show. This will be a sure-fire hit in just about every library; highly recommended. [Includes a bonus interview with Davis and Spinney; the Viking hc was recommended "for all reference and browsing collections," LJ 12/08; visit www.streetgangbook.com for a bonus chapter profiling Roscoe Orman, who played Gordon on the show.โEd.]โJoseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base Lib., Lompoc, CA
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From
In this history of ?Sesame Street,? Davis writes that when the show d?buted, in 1969, the goal of its creators was nothing short of righting ?the inequities in our society? through the education of lower-class preschoolers. Such populist choices as an urban setting, a multiracial cast, and a catchy brand of ?edutainment? reflected both the mood of the era (it should ?jump and move fast and feel and sound like 1969,? a producer said) and painstaking research: a series of seminars held in the summer of 1968 was attended by developmental psychologists, television-industry insiders, and children?s authors and entertainers (Maurice Sendak endured boring sessions by making X-rated doodles; Jim Henson?s sandals and beard sparked fears that he was a Weatherman). The book?s strongest sections are culled from extensive interviews with Joan Ganz Cooney, who oversaw production for more than twenty years, but the narrative loses steam once the show hits the air.
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