Released very late last year on those merriest of days December 26, Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street was the kick-off to the 40th anniversary marketing buzz. And what a way to begin. Street Gang is one of the best books I've ever read. While a bit on the long side, it reads like a work of fiction and provides a brutally honest look at Sesame Street's history.
Initially, I was fully immersed by Street Gang. The book offers an extensive look at what it's like to work on the show and how all these people came together. A lot of information is given that has never really been repeated elsewhere. A lot of people were interviewed and it all intertwines together perfectly. Being a child of the 1990s, I was happy to see how the development of the Around the Corner era of the show (1993-1998) came about and the creation of the character of Zoe. Also interesting is the info on Northern Calloway’s extensive illness. When you watch the footage of Calloway in the 1980’s, it’s amazing that you can barely tell Calloway was so ill. It’s pure tragedy his life ended up the way it did.
On the minus side, the book is not some much The Complete History of Sesame Street but more The Complete History of Children's Television. The first near-100 pages of the book are devoted to the likes of Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Captain Kangaroo. This section tends to drag and the book only picks up steam when the pilots of Sesame Street start filming, it goes off without a hitch into the eras of the show from the beginning to the new era as the show hits 40. Stories ranging from funny to depressing (much time is spend focusing on the deaths of Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Jon Stone, Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss).
When you get right down to it, Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street is a great text companion to Jim Henson: The Works and Of Muppets and Men. More wordy than the two coffee table books, obviously, but it is still a book just as filled with loads of information as any Henson book is. Pick it up ASAP.
Tomorrow: An even better Sesame Street book!
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