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

Trevor Crafts

Hardcover | 23.5 x 2.54 x 26.16 cm | 176 pp

Abrams | 2021 | 9781419758409

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.

The book presents exclusive interviews and unseen photographs from first two seasons of this 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 story of how show creator Joan Ganz Cooney, along with Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett and director Jon Stone, took the values and goals of the civil rights movement and revolutionised children’s television.

Contributors include: Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney, head writer Norman Stiles, lyricist and composer Christopher Cerf, cast members Roscoe Orman (Gordon), Sonia Manzano (Maria), Emilio Delgado (Luis), Bob McGrath (Bob), Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar), Brian Henson, and Sesame Street's first female puppeteer Fran Brill