Coming Soon "A Very Fraggle Holiday" Book!

"A Very Fraggle Holiday," a new activity-filled storybook adaption of the Fraggle Rock: Back to Rock episode “Night of the Lights” will be released this fall. 

It’s the Night of the Lights at Fraggle Rock, and all the Fraggles are excited for the night’s festivities. The Ceremonial Lights are lit, Boober’s root cake is served, and each Fraggle makes a wish. Everyone keeps their wish a secret, except Wembley who wants to see the biggest, most special light ever! And so begins the night’s adventure down unknown tunnels, past the Gorgs, and into the dark where the Fraggles get lost! Will they find their way home and catch the biggest, most special lights?

"A Very Fraggle Holiday"  will be released October 28th and can be pre-ordered form Amazon.  

Note: We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Coming Soon "The Muppet Movie" Picture Book!

As The Muppets celebrate their 70th anniversary, they're making sure to highlight their biggest hits including their first blockbuster feature, The Muppet Movie, with a new picture book. 

Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and more move right along to make their dreams come true in this humorous officially licensed adaptation of the classic cult film, The Muppet Movie!

Kermit the Frog has a big dream: to go to Hollywood so he can sing, dance, and make people happy. On his journey to the West Coast, he finds a new friends: Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, the Great Gonzo, The Electric Mayhem, and more! They all share his dream. The new friends face their fears and stand up to bullies on their way to Hollywood, proving that teamwork can help overcome any obstacle standing in one’s way.

Join The Muppets in making dreams come true! Regain your love for The Muppets and introduce younger fans to Kermit and the gang in this delightful, officially licensed picture book of a classic film.

I'm not sure calling the 6th highest grossing movie the year it was released, that was nominated for an academy award, and still has broad, timeless appeal a "cult classic" is an accurate use of the term, but I digress.

The Muppet Movie picture book adapted by Heather Schwartz and illustrated by Cesar Samaniego will be released September 16, 2025.

It's available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Target, and more.

Note: We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Kohl's Cares Exclusive Sesame Street Books and Plush!

Kohl's has new line of "Kohl's Cares" Sesame Street books and plush with all proceeds going to charity.

The books available include:

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street The Monster at the End of this Book

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street Another Monster at the End of this Book

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street Big Bird's Red Book

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street My Name is Elmo

Kohl's Cares® Little Golden Books Sesame Street Oscar's Book

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street The Monsters on the Bus

Kohl’s Cares® Sesame Street "We're Different, We're the Same And We're Wonderful"

The assortment of plush include: 

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street Big Bird Plush

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street Cookie Monster Plush

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street Elmo Plush

Kohl's Cares® Sesame Street Grover Plush Toy

Each retails for only $5 each and all proceeds go to charity. You can get them in stores and online using the links above and at Kohls.com

Preorder Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show!

As we told you earlier this month, Craig Shemin's long-awaited book about Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show will be rereleased September 24 and is now available to pre-order through Bear Manor Media. 

We also now have the official description:

Long before Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, college students Jim Henson and Jane Nebel created a long-running daily local Washington, D.C. television program called Sam and Friends, where Jim developed his unique approach to comedy and introduced the world to a puppet named Kermit.

In this book, President of The Jim Henson Legacy and author of The Muppets Character Encyclopedia, Craig Shemin, explores the story behind Sam and Friends and creates an episode guide from surviving scripts and recordings.

Includes a foreword by longtime Henson collaborator Frank Oz, several complete scripts and more than 150 rare photos from The Jim Henson Company Archives. 604 pages.

The Museum of the Moving Image will celebrate the book's release on September 24th with a Sam and Friends screening, a discussion about the book with the author and Museum Deputy Director Barbara Miller, the presentation of a newly unearthed Sam and Friends episode and a book signing.

Pre-order your copy now through Bear Manor Media, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon in both Hard cover and paperback!

Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show Coming Sept 24th!

According to the recent Jim Henson Legacy newsletter, Craig Shemin's long awaited book Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show will be rereleased next month.

Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show, published by Bear Manor Media, is an in-depth exploration of Jim's groundbreaking local television show which ran on WRC in Washington, D.C. between 1955 and 1961.

Written by Jim Henson Legacy President Craig Shemin, the book was created with the cooperation of The Jim Henson Company and Disney, includes more than 150 rare images from the Jim Henson Company Archives, five complete scripts, and has a foreword by Frank Oz.

The Museum of the Moving Image will celebrate the release on September 24th (Jim Henson's Birthday) with a Sam and Friends screening, a discussion about the book with the author and Museum Deputy Director Barbara Miller, the presentation of a newly unearthed Sam and Friends episode and a book signing.

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Coming In December!

Not only is Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street available now on DVD and Blu-ray, and not only is a soundtrack being prepared, but a companion book of rare and previously unseen photos coming as well. 

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a hardcover book coming this December. 

Below is the official description and a sneak peak inside. 

The official companion book to the feature-length documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, featuring previously unpublished photographs from the first season of Sesame Street and interviews with cast and crew

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street expands on the film’s exploration of the origins and legacy of Sesame Street with exclusive interviews and previously unpublished photographs from the first season of the globally beloved children's series. 

Author and filmmaker Trevor Crafts, who was given unprecedented access to archival footage and photography, presents more than 150 of photographer David Attie’s behind-the-scenes images of Jim Henson, Will Lee, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, Frank Oz, Matt Robinson, Caroll Spinney, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and dozens of other pioneering puppeteers, animators, actors, and Sesame Street Muppets.

Crafts uses Attie’s remarkable photos and additional interviews from the film to dive deeper into the story of how show creator Joan Ganz Cooney, along with Sesame Workshop cofounder Lloyd Morrisett, director Jon Stone, and Muppet creator Jim Henson, took the values and goals of the civil rights movement and revolutionized children’s television.

The book is a tribute to the enduring achievements of an ingenious group of artists, educators, and television pioneers who believed that the values of equality, education, and inclusion should not just be championed but also made available to all—a dream that Sesame Street has carried forward for more than fifty years.

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street will be released December 7 and can be pre-ordered now through Amazon. 

Coming in December: The Unseen Photos of Street Gang!

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, a companion book to the upcoming Sesame Street documentary will be released in December.

The official companion book will feature previously unpublished photographs from the earliest seasons of Sesame Street as well as interviews with cast and crew.

Below is the official description: 

This official tie-in book to the documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street supplements the film’s exploration of the origins and legacy of Sesame Street with exclusive interviews and unseen photographs from the earliest seasons of the globally beloved series. Author Trevor Crafts, who was given unprecedented access to archival footage and photography, presents 150 of photographer David Attie’s behind-the-scenes images of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Matt Robinson, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and dozens of other pioneering puppeteers, animators, actors, and Muppets. Crafts uses Attie’s photos to expand upon the film’s story of how show creator Joan Ganz Cooney, along with Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett, director Jon Stone, and Muppet creator Jim Henson, took the values and goals of the civil rights movement and revolutionized children’s television.

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang is a tribute to the enduring achievements of a rebellious group of artists, educators, and freethinkers who believed that the values of equality, education, and inclusion should not just be championed but also made available to all—a dream that Sesame Street has carried forward for more than fifty years.

Contributors include: Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney, head writer Norman Stiles, lyricist and composer Christopher Cerf, cast members Roscoe Orman (Gordon), Sonia Manzano (Maria), Emilio Delgado (Luis), Bob McGrath (Bob), Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar), Brian Henson, and Sesame Street’s first female puppeteer Fran Brill.

 

About the authors: 

Trevor Crafts is an award–winning producer whose works include Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street and Lantern City, based on his own BOOM! Studios comic-book series. He is the CEO of Macrocosm Entertainment and lives in Los Angeles, California.

David Attie was a fine art and commercial photographer whose work appeared in Time, Harper’s Bazaar, Playboy, and Newsweek during the course of his more than 30-year career. His relationship to Sesame Street dates back to 1970, when he photographed the second
season of the show on assignment for Amerika, a Russian-language magazine published by the US and distributed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Michael Davis was a senior editor and family television columnist for TV Guide from 1998 to 2007. A Neiman Fellow, he has also worked for the Baltimore Sun and Chicago Sun-Times. He is the author of Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street (Penguin, 2008). 

The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street will be released December 7, 2021 and is available to pre-order through Amazon. 

Heroes Wear Masks: Elmo’s Super Adventure Coming Soon!

A new Sesame Street book "Heroes Wear Masks: Elmo’s Super Adventure" aims to "help children calm school anxiety and understand new and different routines they may experience” during our time of COVID. 

Superheroes wear masks! Come along in this Elmo book as he gets ready to go off to school and be a mask hero!

Today is going to be a SUPER day! Elmo is heading to school, and he wants to be a school superhero! Young children will join Elmo as he gets ready like a hero and learns about wearing masks and washing hands. With the help of Elmo and his mommy, this all new story from world-renowned education brand Sesame Workshop will help children calm school anxiety and understand new and different routines they may experience, such as:

• Wearing a kids face mask
• Anxiety about leaving home
• Washing hands frequently
• Social distancing
• Not being able to give hugs or high-fives to friends
• Staggered schedules
• Why some friends may not be at school
• Temperature checks
• New classroom seating arrangements

Below are a few sample pages:

Check out this CBS This Morning segment on the book:

"Heroes Wear Masks is a sweet and educational mask book for kids that reminds readers it's super to help everyone stay healthy and safe! It's the perfect pandemic book with tools to discuss important topics as kids go back to school, preschool, daycare, or out in any public setting where they'd need a face mask."

This Sesame Street book also includes bonus tips for grown-ups with language parents, caregivers, and educators can use with young children to talk about staying healthy!

"Heroes Wear Masks: Elmo’s Super Adventure" will be in stores September 15, 2020 and is available for preorder from Amazon. 

Coming This Fall The Dark Crystal: Touch and Feel Book of Opposites!

The Dark Crystal: Touch and Feel Book of Opposites a PlayPop board book is coming this fall from Insight Kids. 

Learn about opposites like light and dark in this engaging interactive board book inspired by Jim Henson’s classic film The Dark Crystal!

In the age of wonder, Jen, Kira, and their adorable companion Fizzgig must heal the Dark Crystal to bring balance to the world of Thra. This colorfully illustrated board book will guide children to help Jen and his friends learn about opposites by pointing out the differences between the kind Gelflings and the evil Skeksis. Concepts like fast and slow, light and dark, big and small will be revealed through touch and feel elements. Jim Henson fans young and old will delight in this engaging board book that teaches real world observational skills while engaging with the fantastical world of Thra.

Illustrated by Bill Robinson, The Dark Crystal: Touch and Feel Book of Opposites will be available October 20 and can be pre-ordered now through Amazon.  

The Dark Crystal Bestiary Coming This Fall!

Insight Editions will offer Dark Crystal fans a look at the creatures that inhabit the world of Thra, in this fall's The Dark Crystal Bestiary.

The book will draw from not only what we've seen in movie and the Netflix prequel, but all the worldbuilding that's continued in the comics and short stories. 

These stories will further flesh out Thra's long history, and the ages-old tussle between the Skeksis and the Mystics.

Here’s what the book has to say about the Ursen the Monk, who’s only previously been mentioned in tie-ins about the history of the urRu:

Little is know about urSen the Monk, but that alone demonstrates the unassuming nature of his life. Shortly after the urRu exiled themselves to the Valley of the Mystics, urSen sought further seclusion, moving to a cave on the region’s outskirts. According to urSol the Chanter, it was possible that urSen had witnessed a premonition of his own death and spent the last hundred trine of his life quietly contemplating his impending fate.

Below are few sample pages about the Gelflings, Landstriders, Nurloc, and more. 

Below is book's official description:

The Dark Crystal Bestiary is an immersive in-world guide that brings to life the world of Thra and its incredible creatures.

The Dark Crystal Bestiary is the definitive in-depth exploration of the flora and fauna found in the world of Thra. Created by Jim Henson for his 1982 puppet masterpiece, Thra is a remarkable realm in which all living things are connected and the lines between animal, vegetable, and mineral are blurred—rocks can sing and trees can walk! For the first time, this deluxe volume delves into the many creatures, plants, and beings created for the Dark Crystal universe, from the original film through to the expanded universe of novels and comics, and Netflix’s TV series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Filled with beautiful illustrations of the many specimens, each accompanied by in-world commentary on their unique biology, The Dark Crystal Bestiary is the ultimate guide to the world of Thra and its inhabitants.

The Dark Crystal Bestiary: The Definitive Guide to the Creatures of Thra is set to hit shelves on October 13, and is available to preorder now from Amazon.

Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America!

A new non-fiction book about Sesame Street coming very soon. In fact, "Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America" by Vanity Fair contributor David Kamp was released today!

From bestselling writer David Kamp, the engrossing, 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 collectively transformed American childhood for the better, teaching kids about diversity, the ABCs, and feminism through a fun, funky 1970s lens. 

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 Avenue admen; and more, including The Electric Company, ZOOM, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. 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. 

Kamp conducted rigorous research and interviewed such Sesame Street figures as Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, and Frank Oz, along with Free to Be’s Marlo Thomas and The Electric Company’s Rita Moreno—and in Sunny Days, he explains how these and other like-minded individuals found their way into children’s television not for fame or money, but to make a difference.
Fun, fascinating, and a masterful work of cultural history, Sunny Days 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’s both a rollicking ride through a turbulent time and a joyful testament to what Americans are capable of at their best.

Here's are some early reviews:

"Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America" includes a foreword by Questlove and is available on book, audio book, and Kindle now through Amazon. 

The Pursuit of Grouchiness!

Oscar the Grouch has a new self help book on the way. 

In "The Pursuit of Grouchiness", Oscar the Grouch "teaches you how to lose friends and grouchily influence people."

There’s no greater expert on celebrating a crummy day than Oscar the Grouch. After complaining about cheerfulness for decades from his trash can on Sesame Street, Oscar now shares his secrets for making sure you’re as curmudgeonly as possible, all day, every day. 

It's the perfect gift for your grouchy friends, your annoyingly upbeat friends who could stand to be a little grouchier, and even just yourself—because a bad day can always get worse. 

Now get lost! And have a rotten day!

The cover will even feature an image that changes when tilted:

"The Pursuit of Grouchiness" can pre-ordered now through Amazon and other book stores, and can be found in stores April 9th.

It's Saturday Morning - Muppet Babies!

It may be Friday, but "It's Saturday Morning" is a new coffee table book that focuses on Saturday morning TV series. 

The book is arranged by decade as you can might guess, Muppet Babies gets a major presence in the 80's section. 

Also, as you can see above, one of the images they use is from the season 8 episode "Nice to Have Gnome You." The episode featured a parody of Labyrinth and footage from The Witches. That's like 3 Henson references in one! The image even has Baby Gonzo dressed as Hoggle.

Unfortunately, no other Henson Saturday morning series such as Little Muppet Monsters, City Kids, Dog City, or the animated Fraggle Rock are mentioned. Maybe they're saving them for volume 2.
 

You can pick up the book at your local Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.