Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

Today we are celebrating Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary. The series has had a huge impact on preschool education. Think of the difference between the styles of Romper Room, which was the televised preschool education of the late 50s and early 60s, and that of Sesame Street which debuted in 1969. What the children were learning didn't change as much as how they were learning it. Sesame Street did away with the desks and the wall charts and brought in furry monsters and humor. Different versions of the show appear in 140 countries, each similar, but based on the local culture. Sesame Street can certainly be considered a global phenomenon. As for the impact the show has had on our library - a catalog search shows that we have approximately 150 items either featuring the Muppets or created by the Children's Television Workshop, the nonprofit agency that created Sesame Street.