Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Music

STREET GANG

Michael Davis

The Complete History of Sesame Street

This is the New York Times bestselling account of the story behind one of the most influential, durable, and beloved shows in the history of television: Sesame Street.

Sesame Street is the longest-running-and arguably most beloved- children's television program ever created. Today, it reaches some six million preschoolers weekly in the United States and countless others in 140 countries around the world.

STREET GANG is the compelling, comical, and inspiring story of a media masterpiece and pop-culture landmark. Television reporter and columnist Michael Daviswith the complete participation of Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the show's foundersunveils the idealistic personalities, decades of social and cultural change, stories of compassion and personal sacrifice, and miraculous efforts of writers, producers, directors, and puppeteers that together transformed an empty soundstage into the most recognizable block of real estate in television history.

Michael Davis was a Senior Editor and family TV Columnist for TV Guide from 1998-2007. A Neiman fellow, he has also worked for the Baltimore Sun and Chicago Sun-Times.

Available products
Book Published 2008-12-01 by Viking
Book Published 2008-12-01 by Viking

Comments

This marvelous book reads like a novel and reminds us why and how Sesame Street came to be the national treasure it is...for all of America's children, even the ones my age.

Davis spins an evocative, insidery tale out of the wildly creative personalities and political ups and downs of the cozily delivered show.

What I appreciate about Michael Davis's new book on Sesame Street is the depth of his research and how he spotlights those people who deserve to have more light shed upon them for their great contributions to the show. And what's refreshing is how he does not run away from conflicts that sometimes occurred behind the scenes, which were part of the creative energy of the show. He has really captured the spirit of how Sesame Street came to be. A wonderful book.

STREET GANG has been made into a heartwarming documentary, one that promises to do for the show what Won't You Be My Neighbor and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood did for Mr. Rogers. The filmmakers are hoping for a theatrical release later in the year, and a release on HBOMax has been confirmed to follow.

Street Gang is informative, heartbreaking, hilarious, and often eye-opening, even for the most Sesame Street-wise... Davis is a sensitive and subtly brilliant writer who conveys the soul of the program that has earned more Emmys than any other in history while managing to stay true to its founders' idealistic vision: 'All children deserve a chance to learn and grow. To be prepared for school. To better understand the world and each other. To think, dream and discover. To reach their highest potential.'

Davis shows just how revolutionary [Sesame Street] was, from its tackling of taboo themes like death to its diverse cast and gritty urban setting. Boasting a panel of academic advisers, it was the first show to successfully teach kids letters and numbers in a way that was hip and raucous. Davis delves into the lives of the colorful folk who made it all happen, including Children's Television Workshop cofounder Joan Ganz Cooney and Muppets creator Jim Henson... Davis's chronicle is as joyfully compelling as Sesame Street itself.

It was a pleasure to spend some time back were everything's A-OK.

Well-researched details and an unflinching eye make Davis's book continuously fascinating.

Davis writes that when the show débuted, 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).

Anyone who has ever seen Sesame Street as parent or child - or both - will love the detail and exuberance of this book.

Davis tracks down every Sesame anecdote and every Sesame personality in his book... Finally, we get to touch Big Bird's feathers.