About this item
From bestselling writer David Kamp, the engrossing, behind-the-scenes story of the cultural heroes who created the beloved children's TV programs Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Free to Be...You and Me, and Schoolhouse Rock! - which collectively transformed American childhood for the better, teaching kids about diversity, the ABCs, and feminism through a fun, funky 1970s lens.In 1970, on a soundstage on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a group of men, women, and Muppets of various ages and colors worked doggedly to finish the first season of a children's TV program that was not yet assured a second season: Sesame Street. They were conducting an experiment to see if television could be used to better prepare disadvantaged preschoolers for kindergarten.
About the Author
David Kamp is an author, journalist, lyricist, and humorist. Among his books are the national bestseller The United States of Arugula (Broadway Books, 2006) , a chronicle of America's foodways; the upcoming Sunny Days (Simon & Schuster, May 2020) , a history of the Sesame Street-Mister Rogers era of children's television; and, as co-author, Martin Short's bestselling memoir, I Must Say (HarperCollins, 2014) . A longtime contributor to Vanity Fair, he has profiled such figures as Johnny Cash, Sly Stone, Lucian Freud, Kerry Washington, Bruce Springsteen, John Hughes, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and the Brill Building songwriters. His work also appears regularly in the New York Times. His first outing as a lyricist for the stage, for the John Leguizamo musical comedy Kiss My Aztec!, had its world premiere at Berkeley Rep in the spring of 2019; the show is now New York-bound. David began his career at Spy, the legendary satirical monthly. He lives in with his family in New York City and rural Connecticut.
