"Sesame Street" and the Reform of Children's Television

Author: Robert W. Morrow
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2008-12-08
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1421407108

“[An] accessible, well-researched introduction to the people and principles behind the show’s creation . . . Essential.” —Choice (An Outstanding Academic Title of the Year) By the late 1960s more than a few critics of American culture groused about the condition of television programming and, in particular, the quality and content of television shows for children. In the eyes of the reform-minded, commercial television crassly exploited young viewers; its violence and tastelessness served no higher purpose than the bottom line. The Children’s Television Workshop (CTW)—and its fresh approach to writing and producing programs for kids—emerged from this growing concern. Sesame Street—CTW’s flagship hour-long show—aimed to demonstrate how television could help all preschoolers, including low-income urban children, prepare for first grade. In this engaging study Robert W. Morrow explores the origins and inner workings of CTW, how the workshop in New York scripted and designed Sesame Street, and how the show became both a model for network television and a thorn in its side. Through extensive archival research and a systematic study of sample programs from Sesame Street’s first ten seasons, Morrow tells the story of Sesame Street’s creation; the ideas, techniques, organization, and funding behind it; its place in public discourse; and its ultimate and unfortunate failure as an agent of commercial television reform. “An insightful look at American children's television.” —Library Journal

Children's Learning From Educational Television

Children's Learning From Educational Television
Author: Shalom M. Fisch
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2014-04-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135645078

Volume examines the work assessing the impact of educational television, thus presenting the positive effects that television can have on children's lives. For scholars in media studies & effects, education, media ed, child dev/dev psych. & related areas

G Is for Growing

G Is for Growing
Author: Shalom M. Fisch
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2014-04-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1135664943

This volume--a collection and synthesis of key research studies since the program's inception over three decades ago--serves as a marker of the significant role that Sesame Street plays in the education and socialization of young children. Editors Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. Truglio have included contributions from both academics and researchers directly associated with Sesame Street, creating a resource that describes the processes by which educational content and research are integrated into production, reviews major studies on the impact of Sesame Street on children, and examines the extension of Sesame Street into other cultures and media. In the course of this discussion, the volume also explores broader topics, including methodological issues in conducting media-based research with young children, the longitudinal impact of preschoolers' viewing of educational versus non-educational television, and crosscultural differences in the treatment of educational content. As the first substantive book on Sesame Street research in more than two decades, "G" is for Growing provides insight into the research process that has informed the development of the program and offers valuable guidelines for the integration of research into future educational endeavors. Intended for readers in media studies, children and the media, developmental studies, and education, this work is an exceptional chronicle of the growth and processes behind what is arguably the most influential program in children's educational television.

We're Different, We're the Same (Sesame Street)

We're Different, We're the Same (Sesame Street)
Author: Bobbi Kates
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2021-03-16
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0593378164

Who better than Elmo and his Sesame Street friends to teach us that though we may all look different on the outside—deep down, we are all very much alike? Elmo and his Sesame Street friends help teach toddlers and the adults in their lives that everyone is the same on the inside, and it's our differences that make this wonderful world, which is home to us all, an interesting—and special—place. This enduring, colorful, and charmingly illustrated book offers an easy, enjoyable way to learn about differences—and what truly matters. We’re Different, We’re the Same is an engaging read for toddlers and adults alike that reinforces how we all have the same needs, desires, and feelings.

Learn at Home the Sesame Street Way

Learn at Home the Sesame Street Way
Author: Sara Bonnett Stein
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Total Pages: 290
Release: 1979
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780671224820

"Learn at Home the Sesame Street Way" is a book meant as a guide for applying the teaching principles used on Sesame Street in the home. Tom Cooke provides original artwork amongst a myriad of illustrations taken from other sources and a number of black and white photos.

Sunny Days

Sunny Days
Author: David Kamp
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1501137816

"David Kamp takes readers behind the scenes to show how ... programs [such as Mister Rogers' Neighboorhood, Sesame Street, and Schoolhouse Rock] made it on air, ... [explaining] how ... like-minded individuals found their way into television, not as fame- or money-hungry would-be auteurs and stars, but as people who wanted to use TV to help children ... [The book] captures a period in children's television where enlightened progressivism prevailed, and shows how this period changed the lives of millions"--

Street Gang

Street Gang
Author: Michael Davis
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2008-12-26
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1440658757

Now an acclaimed documentary from Screen Media, 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. “Davis tracks down every Sesame anecdote and every Sesame personality in his book . . . Finally, we get to touch Big Bird's feathers.” —The New York Times Book Review 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 Davis-with the complete participation of Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the show's founders-unveils 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.