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Man dressed as a clown with face paint, bald on top with big tufts of hair on the sides, and a bulbous nose.
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The Strangely Enduring Appeal of Bozo the Clown

How a clown won over several generations of children.
by Jeffrey Allen Smith via Made By History on December 9, 2021

Come On and Zoom-Zoom

The original “Zoom” burst joyfully out of Boston in the 1970s, and is still beloved by older members of Generation X.
by David Kamp via The New Yorker on May 11, 2020

A Brief History of the Great American Coloring Book

Where coloring books came from says something about what they are today.
by Phil Edwards via Vox on September 2, 2015
Marlo Thomas holding hands with children.

'Free To Be You and Me' 40th Anniversary: How Did a Kids Album By a Bunch of Feminists Change Everything?

Forty years ago this fall, a bunch of feminists released an album. They wanted to change … everything.
by Dan Kois via Slate on October 22, 2012
Richard Dreyfuss plays shark expert Hooper in Steven Spielberg’s classic 1975 film, “Jaws.”

The Stories Hollywood Tells About America

How three movies set on the Fourth of July reproduce popular myth, but reveal even more through what they leave unsaid.
by Emily Tamkin via New Lines on July 4, 2024
Television with LeVar Burton holding book and surrounded by rainbows.

How An Untested, Cash-Strapped TV Show About Books Became An American Classic

Despite facing political headwinds and raising 'suspicion' among publishers, 'Reading Rainbow' introduced generations of American kids to books.
by Jonathan Taylor via Los Angeles Times on July 11, 2023
Goofus and Gallant characters and quotations.

The Comic Strip That Explains the Evolution of American Parenting

What eight decades of "Goofus and Gallant" illustrate about society’s changing expectations of children.
by Julie Beck via The Atlantic on June 28, 2023
Sonia Manzano and the Muppet Grover launch the Super Grover sandwich in honor of the 4,000th "Sesame Street" episode on Feb. 27, 2002, at a New York City deli.

I Was the First Latina on Sesame Street. Now I Have My Own Ideas About Bringing Representation to TV

"I thought, surely after the success of 'Sesame Street' and my contribution to it, all kinds of Latinx talent would flood the media. Not so."
by Sonia Manzano via HuffPost on June 4, 2023
Elin, a puppet character who uses a wheelchair on “Sesamstrasse,” the German version of “Sesame Street.” (Axel Heimken/AFP/Getty Images)
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Should Children’s Entertainment Be Tweaked to Reflect Today’s Norms?

Children’s entertainment always embodies local values.
by Helle Strandgaard Jensen via Made By History on April 11, 2023
Cast members of the television show "Sesame Street" circa 1969, pose on the set with some of the puppet characters. From left: Will Lee, Matt Robinson, Bob McGrath and Loretta Long, along with Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, Ernie, Bert and Oscar the Grouch. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Mississippi Banned ‘Sesame Street’ for Showing Black and White Kids Playing

In 1970, an all-white state commission thought Mississippi was "not yet ready" to see a racially integration depicted on television. The backlash was swift.
by Kristin Hunt via Retropolis on February 5, 2023
Looney Tunes "That's all Folks" on a TV screen.

HBO Max’s Great Looney Tunes Purge

Hundreds of classic cartoons vanished without warning. How can you raise your kids on favorites you can’t access anymore?
by Sam Thielman via Slate on January 11, 2023
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The Life of Song

What the surprising career of Bob McGrath teaches us about popular music.
by Kathryn Ostrofsky on December 14, 2022
A still from "Ulitza Sezam" with the cast and puppet characters sitting around a table.

When the Muppets Moved to Moscow

A new book details the tangled tale of "Ulitsa Sezam," a "Sesame Street" spinoff that aired until visions of Russia's democratic future faltered.
by Brigit Katz via Smithsonian on October 14, 2022
Drawing of a group of young boys around a table, entitled "Mischievous Matt," from a story paper.

Dime Novels and Story Papers for Kids

The rise of popular literature for children put a story, a role model, and a set of values in a young boy’s pocket.
by Michael Denning, Betsy Golden Kellem, Sara Lindey, Margaret Cassidy via JSTOR Daily on June 23, 2022
Sheet music cover for Civil War marching song "The Bonnie Blue Flag," featuring two flags used by Confederate states.

We Are a Band of Brothers

Why are so many songs of the Confederacy indelibly inscribed in my Yankee memory?
by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on April 9, 2022
Actor Jim Boyd, dressed as a grumpy clown, looks in a mirror.

50 Years Ago, 'The Electric Company' Used Comedy to Boost Kids' Reading Skills

In October 1971, The Electric Company flipped a switch and hit the public TV airwaves, aiming to use sketch comedy and animated shorts to teach kids to read.
by Elizabeth Blair via NPR on October 25, 2021
Woman wearing red radio hat

Can Radio Really Educate?

In the 1920s, radio was an exciting new mass medium. It was known for providing entertainment, but educators wondered if it could also be used for education.
by Donna L. Halper via JSTOR Daily on September 15, 2021
Charles Schulz sketching Peanuts comics

Charlie Brown Tried to Stay Out of Politics

Why did readers search for deeper meaning in the adventures of Snoopy and the gang?
by Scott Bradfield via The New Republic on June 2, 2021
A women with her hands on the car horn
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Her Crazy Driving is a Key Element of Cruella de Vil’s Evil. Here’s Why.

The history of the Crazy Woman Driver trope.
by Genevieve Carpio via Made By History on April 2, 2021
Pocahontas characters overlaid onto a landscape.

Deconstructing Disney: Queer Coding and Masculinity in Pocahontas

Disney gets inventive when they need to circumvent white people’s historical responsibility for genocidal atrocities — and queerness is a useful scapegoat.
by Jeanna Kadlec via Longreads on April 1, 2021
A collage including Betty Boop.

The Mixed-Up Masters of Early Animation

Pioneering cartoonists were experimental, satiric, erotic, and artistically ambitious.
by Adam Gopnik via The New Yorker on December 21, 2020
Stan and Mardi Timm show off Johnson Smith novelties they’ve collected. Stan wears X-Ray Spex and holds a Tark Electric Razor. Mardi wears a sailor’s hat that says “Kiss Me Honey I Won’t Bite” and holds a Little Gem Lung Tester and Bust Developer.

Fun Delivered: World’s Foremost Experts on Whoopee Cushions and Silly Putty Tell All

The Timms provide the history behind their collection of 20th century mail-order novelty items.
by Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on March 17, 2020

My Friend Mister Rogers

I first met him 21 years ago, and now our relationship is the subject of a new movie. He’s never been more revered—or more misunderstood.
by Tom Junod via The Atlantic on November 12, 2019
Sesame Street cast

Psychiatry, Racism, and the Birth of ‘Sesame Street’

How a black psychiatrist helped design a groundbreaking television show as a radical therapeutic tool for minority preschoolers.
by Anne Harrington via UnDark on May 17, 2019

The Surprisingly Sad True Story Behind 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'

Copywriter Robert L. May dreamed up Rudolph during a particularly difficult time in his life.
by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on December 20, 2018

What the Popularity of 'Fortnite' Has in Common With the 20th Century Pinball Craze

Long before parents freaked over the ubiquitous video game, they flipped out over another newfangled fad.
by Clive Thompson via Smithsonian on November 29, 2018
Game board with squares about life events.

Board Games Were Indoctrination Tools for Christ, Then Capitalism

The very weird tale of how American board games used to teach you how to get to heaven, and later, how to make bank.
by Robert Rath via Waypoint on November 30, 2017

The Racial Symbolism of the Topsy-Turvy Doll

The uncertain meaning behind a half-black, half-white, two-headed toy.
by Julian K. Jarboe via The Atlantic on November 20, 2015
Puppeteer Burr Tillstrom poses with puppets and a small Christmas tree on the set of his television program.

Together With the Kuklapolitans

In the middle of the past century, a gentle crew of puppets united the TV watchers of America.
by Jacqui Shine via Slate on February 16, 2015

Reimagining Recreation

How the New Left, urban renewal, safety concerns, and child psychology affected the design of New York playgrounds.
by James Trainor via Cabinet on April 18, 2012
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