Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed AmericaFrom 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. With a foreword by Questlove 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. What they didn’t know then was that they were starting a cultural revolution that would affect all American kids. In Sunny Days, bestselling author David Kamp captures the unique political and social moment that gave us not only Sesame Street, but also Fred Rogers’s gentle yet brave Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood; Marlo Thomas’s unabashed gender-politics primer Free to Be...You and Me; Schoolhouse Rock!, an infectious series of educational shorts dreamed up by Madison Avenue admen; and more, including The Electric Company, ZOOM, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. It was a unique time when an uncommon number of media professionals and thought leaders leveraged their influence to help children learn—and, just as notably, a time of unprecedented buy-in from American parents. Kamp conducted rigorous research and interviewed such Sesame Street figures as Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, and Frank Oz, along with Free to Be’s Marlo Thomas and The Electric Company’s Rita Moreno—and in Sunny Days, he explains how these and other like-minded individuals found their way into children’s television not for fame or money, but to make a difference. Fun, fascinating, and a masterful work of cultural history, Sunny Days captures a wondrous period in the US when a determined few proved that, with persistence and effort, they could change the lives of millions. It’s both a rollicking ride through a turbulent time and a joyful testament to what Americans are capable of at their best. |
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User Review - mcelhra - LibraryThingAs the subtitle suggests, Sunny Days chronicles the children’s television revolution that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Television was still a fairly new medium and up to that point ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - VioletBramble - LibraryThingIn the early 1970s a group of people got together to create an experiment known as Children's Television. Their primary goal was to see if television could be used to better prepare disadvantaged ... Read full review
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Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America David Kamp Limited preview - 2020 |
Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America David Kamp No preview available - 2021 |
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actor adults American animated appeared asked Author interview became become broadcast called cast CHAPTER character child Children’s Television City Cooney create early educational Electric Company episodes father figure five Fred Free girl going head Henson House idea included Joan John joined kids kind later learning letters live Long looking Magic meeting Morrisett mother Muppet named Neighborhood never noted original parents performed played positive president production recalled received Robinson Rock Rogers role Roosevelt season serve Sesame Street short show’s singing song station Stone teachers teaching thing Thomas thought told took turned viewers voice wanted watching woman women Workshop WQED writing wrote York young Zoom
Bibliographic information
| Title | Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America |
| Author | David Kamp |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster, 2020 |
| ISBN | 1501137808, 9781501137808 |
| Length | 352 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / United States / 20th Century Performing Arts / Television / History & Criticism Social Science / Media Studies |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |