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New book shows exactly how to get to ‘Sesame Street’

PROFILE. Like a perfectly chilled glass of Kool-Aid or a well-placed Slip ‘n Slide, an episode of “Sesame Street” can catch you off guard. How can something still be so great, so completely refreshing, years after you learned long division?

The answer is complicated, but Michael Davis finds some answers in his 379-page definitive guide, “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street” (Viking).

 “Sesame Street,” which debuted in 1969 and is still on the air, was no ordinary kiddie show, but a carefully crafted program with many social and educational agendas.

“It’s an amazing story — it was a confluence of genius,” says Davis of the show’s conception at a dinner party hosted by cofounder Joan Ganz Cooney in 1966. “How many times in life can you have that many people come together in the same room with the same goal?”

Davis — who spent five years writing “Street Gang” and was even granted an interview with his favorite Muppet, Grover — attributes much of the show’s staying power to its ability to engage both children and adults. “From the very beginning they went after a bimodal audience. They brought on an incredible array of celebrity guests: It’s like the list of lists in arts, politics, music,” he says of a roster that has included everyone from Feist to Kofi Annan.

All of this while working in such difficult material as the ABCs, diversity, counting to 10 and social justice. “They wrote to amuse themselves. It’s an exceptional thing to write funny for someone who’s 3 or 4,” says Davis. “It’s really hard, especially when you’re trying to demonstrate an educational concept.”

Of course, there have been changes, as Cookie Monster knows all too well — his favorite snack is now a “sometimes food.”

“You can’t take Cookie’s obsession away entirely, otherwise you’ve neutered him,” says Davis of the updated menu. “But I do worry about childhood obesity so I think it was a smart thing to do.”
Chocolate chip binge or no chocolate chip binge, “Sesame Street” has no problem winning over new viewers. Says Davis, “I wish I could tell you why babies coming out of the womb say ‘Elmo.’ How do they know about Elmo —  is it intrauterine?” 

Michael Davis
“Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street”
Thursday, 7 p.m.
Harvard Coop
1400 Mass. Ave., Cambridge
617-499-2000