The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

by Trevor Crafts, Sonia Manzano, Michael Davis

The official companion book to the feature-length documentary Street How We Got to Sesame Street, featuring previously unpublished photographs from the earliest seasons of Sesame Street and interviews with cast and crew This official tie-in book to the documentary Street How We Got to Sesame Street supplements the film’s exploration of the origins and legacy of Sesame Street with exclusive interviews and unseen photographs from the earliest seasons of the globally beloved series. Author Trevor Crafts, who was given unprecedented access to archival footage and photography, presents 150 of photographer David Attie’s behind-the-scenes images of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Matt Robinson, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and dozens of other pioneering puppeteers, animators, actors, and Muppets. Crafts uses Attie’s photos to expand upon the film’s story of how show creator Joan Ganz Cooney, along with Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett, director Jon Stone, and Muppet creator Jim Henson, took the values and goals of the civil rights movement and revolutionized children’s television.          The Unseen Photos of Street Gang is a tribute to the enduring achievements of a rebellious group of artists, educators, and freethinkers who believed that the values of equality, education, and inclusion should not just be championed but also made available to all—a dream that Sesame Street has carried forward for more than fifty years.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Pop Culture, Picture Books

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2021

Reviews

[BookDrunkard is on storygraph as bookdrunkard78 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all things Muppets and Henson. I felt overwhelming nostalgia reading this book. Wonderful pictures and interesting interviews.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

You want to know how Jim Henson, Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Oscar and all of the gang got to Sesame Street?
Check out this book! If you love puppetry, television history, Jim Henson, Sesame Street (for the adults who grew up watching it), you'll enjoy this very nearly coffee-table read of hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos of the kids, cast, and puppeteers of the Sesame Street gang like you've never seen it before.
A really in-depth look at the efforts and entertainment enrichment pushes that Jim Henson and CO. created for a new generation (after Mr. Rogers), with Sesame Street!

[Jifu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an absolute jewel of a book, packed full of high quality photos from the early years of Sesame Street and little behind-the-scenes remembrances from numerous people involved in the show's production. My main complaint is that somehow I only found about about this book just now, several years after originally watching the documentary for which it serves as a companion piece. Better late than never, though! Overall, I was extremely happy to add this to the "Muppets" section of my home library.

[EuroHackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent companion photo book for the documentary How We Got to Sesame Street. Reading it right after viewing the documentary was especially fun; it really highlights the first season of what would be a radical, long-running show. I was a child of the Street myself; I have fond memories of it and have really enjoyed learning about the production of the show, as well as those people behind my favorite blue Muppets :D I've enjoyed most of the retrospective photobooks about Sesame Street (though I admit finding Street Gang pretty dry). It only makes me sorrier to see what the show has become as it hits its half-century mark - it is barely a shadow of what it started as. Even as an avid consumer of the rampant nostalgia, I wish that kids these days had the OG version of the series, especially as kids in preschool are learning the very concepts the show teaches, so that they are ready to read(!) in kindergarten.

I would happily recommend the documentary and this book for those of us lucky enough to grow up on the original version of the Street - it will spark that unrepentant joy that the show brought us as kids!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not seen the documentary that this book is meant to be a companion to, but it didn't stop me from enjoying every word and photo it offered.

I am almost freakishly obsessed with Sesame Street, even more so now as an adult than I was as a child (and I loved it then, too!). My husband has to hear my thoughts on it almost daily as it plays in the background for our youngest daughter. I could gush forever on how inclusive and progressive and amazing it is. How it is exactly what I want my daughter(s) to see and understand and learn from. I can barely get through a full episode without tearing up at some point because I think it's so wonderful.

This book focuses primarily on the earliest days of Sesame Street ("How We Got to Sesame Street" should have been a dead giveaway on that), and it's so refreshing to hear that it was as inclusive and progressive and amazing when it started as it is today. There's a lot of scary things in the world, but Sesame Street feels like the safest of homes.

4 Stars
(may update this rating after watching the documentary)

[Leigh]

Lovely glimpses at the first season of Sesame Street, with an engaging story about how these photos were taken and how they were buried in the photographer’s archive for decades. Reading the forewords (from documentary director Trevor Crafts and photographer’s son Eli Attie) makes me reflect on what it takes to make a project happen, the role of coincidence, and the potential to take something lost and turn it into something new.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was the prime age when Sesame Street started, and I fell in love with the people and the Muppets. The documentary is AMAZING and this book and the previous book talking about how Sesame Street was created is wonderful. Many people were involved and obviously loved children and wanted them to have access to the world at large.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love for Sesame Street runs deep and this book was such a wonderful dive into the making of the show in the early years. This book accompanies the documentary, Street Gang, which I have yet to see but cannot wait to watch. The pictures were wonderful and the firsthand accounts from the writers, actors, and crew members of the show were fantastic.

[Amy Bergethon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sesame Street was groundbreaking in so many important ways. I loved how Sonia Manzano (Maria) put it at the end of the book: “Sesame Street grabbed me by the throat.” It was always so much more than just a kids’ show. This book was a nice companion piece to the documentary that shed light on why Sesame Street was such a pivotal moment in history.

[Chris]

If you want more, and of course you do, after a viewing of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.

Closing essay by Sonia Monzano (Maria) is perfect.

[Hoàng Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool!

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great behind-the-scenes look at a beloved show. Now I just have to watch the documentary!

[Abby Frye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the documentary so obviously I loved this book too.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any fans of Sesame Street will enjoy this book. Lots of great pictures. I enjoy seeing behind the scenes of movies and tv.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely companion to the documentary, this book felt like a small glimpse into the wonder behind the scenes of Sesame Street in the best of ways.

[I A · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read Street Gang or seen the documentary, you don't really need to read this book of unseen photos. Except, of course, to pay tribute to the photographer, David Attie.

[Telthor]

just the biggest most heartfelt hug for your heart.