Book In Review

This children’s picture book does a wonderful job of describing a young man’s desire to turn his hobby into a career that would ultimately change the world through a combination of entertainment and education using the media tool of television.  Puppetry is known to be a behind the scenes type of job.  What I truly enjoyed about this book was the story of Jim Henson’s life as he evolved as a person and a trail blazer in the world of puppetry.

As a young boy of sixteen, he was able to get a job on television doing puppets (marionettes).  This was a precursor to his evolution of creating/making his own puppets which he and his partner, Jane Nebel,  from a puppetry class created something called Muppets (a name blending puppets and marionettes).  Jane Nebel eventually became his wife and Muppets have taken a hold in the hearts of children and their families ever since.  Today, there is a whole industry of toys, movies, puppets, novelty items, clothing lines bearing the likeness of Muppets and so on.  In fact, there is a website called Muppet Central.

What I find fascinating is the perception held by both Jim Henson and most people of the pre-televised program of Sesame Street era is that puppets were merely for children.  Puppetry has the ability to entertain, teach, inspire both children and adults.  It took a trip to Europe to develop a respect for puppetry beyond its ability to entertain children.  In Europe he met people who loved puppetry and used it in a wide field to create awareness, to open dialogue and debates and used it in public ceremonies.  He threw himself into his art and created a whole new industry just by using his skills and talents and combined those with other like minded people.

Jim Henson’s puppets had personality and they influenced generations of learning and fun through characters like Big Bird, Oscar the grouch, Bert and Ernie, the Count, Miss Piggy and of course, Kermit the Frog.  Interesting fact, Jim had a real life friend with the name of Kermit.    Public television was now being used in a way similar to teaching techniques in pre-school programs around the nation.   These puppets have become dear friends to generations that have grown up with Muppets as companions to their childhood…and Jim Henson & his co-workers are to be appreciated; this book helps us to do that.

The pictures in this book are fun and colorful.  It is an interesting read for both parent and child.  Written by Kathleen Krull and the paintings in the book were done by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher; the book was published by Random House and copyrighted in 2011.