One of the "Best Books" of the year from The Smithsonian, The
Washington Independent Review, and more!
From bestselling writer David Kamp, the "fun, fascinating, and
surprisingly touching," (People) 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 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 Ave admen; and more, including The Electric Company and
ZOOM. 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.
"Sunny Days is full of such nostalgic jolts...it makes the era a
pleasure to revisit" (The Wall Street Journal) and 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 is "a lively and
bewitching recounting of a particularly ripe period in television and
cultural history" (The New York Times Book Review) and, as the Los
Angeles Times notes, "a sublime book about a variety of creative people
coming together not in the pursuit of fame or money, but to enrich the
lives of children."
