Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street Hardcover - 2008

by Michael Davis

The story ofone of the mostimportant andbeloved shows ontelevision-how itgot started, nearlyfailed, and wassaved by Elmo

When the first episode aired on November 10, 1969, SesameStreet revolutionized the way education was presented to childrenon television. It has since become the longest-running children'sshow in history, and today reaches 8 million preschoolers on 350PBS stations and airs in 120 countries.

Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of thecreation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culturelandmark, told with the cooperation of one of the show's cofounders,Joan Ganz Cooney. Sesame Street was born as the result ofa discussion at a dinner party at Cooney's home about the poorquality of children's programming and hit the air as a big bang ofcreative fusion from Jim Henson and company, quickly rocketingto success.

Street Gang traces the evolution of the show from its inspirationin the civil rights movement through its many ups anddowns-from Nixon's trying to cut off its funding to the rise ofElmo-via the remarkable personalities who have contributed toit. Davis reveals how Sesame Street has taught millions of childrennot only their letters and numbers, but also cooperation and fairplay, tolerance and self-respect, conflict resolution, and the importanceof listening. This is the unforgettable story of five decadesof social and cultural change and the miraculous creative efforts,passion, and commitment of the writers, producers, directors,animators, and puppeteers who created one of the most influentialprograms in the history of television.