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Sesame Street and the Reform of Children's Television

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By the late 1960s many were criticizing the quality and nature of children's television programming: from this criticism emerged Sesame Street, a blend of entertainment and education aimed at reaching a wide audience of preschoolers. Here the origin and politics of the Children's Television Workshop which fostered Sesame Street to success is told in chapters which consider how it emerged to became a flagship of good network programming. Archival research and a study of sample programs from the show's first ten seasons survey its ideas, organization, and what made it stand out from the crowd. At first glance this would seem of interest only to avid show fans; but look again: any student of film, television, sociology and American history will find it intriguing and educational.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

I began skimming the book, "Sesame Street and the Reform of Children's Television" in an effort to offer guidance to my daughter and her friend with a school project. Before I knew it, I found myself grabbing the book and taking it along with me whenever I knew I would have a few moments to read it. I was totally engrossed in this journey through the evolution of educational television from the 1950s to the mid 1990s. This book is extremely thought provoking. If you are simply a connoisseur of Sesame Street, or are an educator of young children, you will need to read this book.