Customer Reviews

Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets, and Songs

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a 70s kid who watched the show in its HEYDAY, the era of the clumsy baker and the number painter, the period of Number Pinball, Roosevelt Franklin, and Hair Gordon, when David and Maria were sweethearts (They say. I thought they were just very good pals), Mr. Hooper was alive, and Snuffy was perceived as Big Bird's fantasy, I have to say this book is excellent!!! It has enough memories to fill Cookie Monster's cookie jar, Big Bird's nest, Oscar's trashcan, and Susan & Gordon's apartment combined. IT'S JAM PACKED WITH ENOUGH MEMORIES TO CHOKE A SNUFFLEUPAGUS! I recommend it highly to anyone who remembers the Alligator King and the King of 8!!! Just one complaint about the book -- IT WAS A LITTLE TOO SHORT!!

A fantastic overview of the Sesame Street continuum, this heavily-illustrated tome has songs, behind-the-scenes information, a giant picture of Count Von Count laughing maniacally (worth the price of entry along), and lots of neat information with which to dazzle your friends (apparently Oscar the Grouch was originally brown).

The only drawback is a confusion of purpose - it's not sure whether it's a guide for kids or grown-ups, and the information is therefore fairly light (there's no episode guide, for example, and Buffy Saint-Marie is never mentioned fully by name). Still, it's a great thing to have around, and you can dip into it every so often for a new fact.

Best of all, it'll make you want to watch the show again, if you aren't already - it's one of the finest things on television anywhere, and anything that encourages people to watch it is a Good Thing in my opinion.

In this, the first Sesame Street book for adults, We can see a history of the show from it's begining to its 30th birthday.

I have fond memories of this show and am distressed that this fine book has become out of print so quickly.

It has a history of the many characters on the show, including ones who were nixed for various reasons. Anybody remember Don Music or Gladys the Cow?

How about the day Mr. Hoopers's death was announced. I missed that part and probably would not have remembered it as I would have only been 3 at the time.

As I look back to my childhood years, I have many fond memories of the show and would want to see this book reissued.

This book is not meant to be a definitve history of Sesame Street, but rather a picture-rich fan appreciation of the series that entertained and educated children for over thirty years. Those of us who grew up on this show can revel in our memories of such characters as Sam the Robot, Mr. Hooper, and other's who are no longer with the show. The book includes many good quotes from the producers and actors involved, biographies of the principal actors, and little factoids throughout.

If you are looking for a good, critical read about Sesame Street, this is not it. But the book is entertaining fluff, a good book to leave on the coffee table when your 25 - 35 year old friends come over. You can watch as they laugh and share what is in the book.

I found out about this book from a website. It shows a lot of secret facts about the origins of such characters and their names, and describes some old clips, most of which are still used on the show.
But the show has changed a little since the book was published and some details are slightly outdated or not included, for instance the producer's name changed in 2000, Mr. Handford no longer runs Hooper's Store(what happened to him?), Gina became a vet in 2001, and the Fix-it Shop became the Mail-it Shop in 2002.
Buy it and you'll have plenty of flashbacks of the show!

I picked up this book at the library one day and brought it home with me. Although it was a day or two before I looked inside, once I did, it drew me into times and places I haven't thought about in years. It brought back lots of good memories for me of things from my childhood, and I spent quite a while laughing over all my favorite parts. There are a few sad parts, but I think I enjoyed every part of this book. A good book for anyone who ever watched the show.

Published in 1999 for Sesame Street's 30th anniversary, it is chuck-full of facts, trivia, pictures, lyrics... This is the second-best thing to a DVD best-of release, and is a great companion to the Songs from the Street CD box set.

This book is a great trip down memory lane. This is why it's more interesting for us people born before 1980 than for the Elmo generation. Still, if you want to grasp what the early years were like, this is the book to read! And if you remember Mr. Hooper, I dare you not to cry when reading the transcript of Big Bird learning of his passing away.

Hopefully, there will be a updated and expanded reprint of this book for this year's Sesame Street 35th anniversary, so that people who missed it when it came out 5 years ago can still enjoy it.

I am 21 years old and can remember vaugely hearing about Mr. Hooper's death, and reading this book gave me a chance to catch up on everything witin the past 30 years.

Before the addition of Elmo (and MTVish marketing) this was one of the best children shows of all time. I used to love watching this show as a little girl and think it is rather unfortunate that today's youth is treated so shodily (it is assumed they will not understand unless they are really spoken down to) than previous generations.

Although there is some Elmo in here, he is not the prime focus and the readers can see the composite history of the show. I honestly believe this book is targeted for the generations of Americans who grew up with Sesame Street, remember it as an Elmo-free product, and want the youth of today to have those same memories.

I can believe how much this book captured the wonder of Sesame Street so completely and wonderfully. While I'm not 30, only 19, the book was still a memorial item to read. I remembered everything except for Big Bird and Oscar's transformations and Mr. Hooper's or should I say Looper's death simply because I wasn't born yet or too young. I even still watch the show occasional because I love the muppets so much and the book helped to bring all my favorite childhood memories back. Ernie and the clay statue of Bert was one of my favs. And all the little stories and cute facts about the muppets and human cast made the book the best.

Reading Sesame Street Unpaved was like taking a joyful walk down memory lane. A fan of the show since I was a toddler, I savored each and every page of this lovingly crafted retrospective. I really appreciated how the book managed to be sweet, sentimental, and witty all at the same time. It is obvious that the folks behind Sesame Street are not only geniuses, but also endowed with a keen sense of humor.