The Muppet Gallery is a 1978 booklet designed to assist caregivers in how the Sesame Street Muppets demonstrate instructional goals. Each of the show's main characters (and some minor ones) are featured, accompanied by a synopsis of a Sesame Street episode.
Joe Bailey, Tony Geiss, Emily Kingsley, David Korr, Jeff Moss, and Norman Stiles are credited for the original episodes, the synopses of which have been edited by Candace Early. The final pages include a series of after actions that caretakers can engage in with children after watching the show or reading the synopses.
“Nearly every child in America knows that Cookie Monster loves cookies and that Snuffle-upagus is Big Bird's friend. There are probably few parents of Sesame Street age children who haven't heard of Oscar the Grouch or Grover. What parents may NOT know is that Big Bird and the other Muppets who live on Sesame Street are more than just colorful characters in funny stories. Each Muppet has been designed not only to be entertaining and colorful, but to personify characteristics with which children can identify. For example, children can easily understand Grover's fantasy as Super Grover, Oscar's love of junk or Ernie's fondness for his rubber ducky. Equally, each Muppet story illustrates a particular learning skill appropriate for the preschool child.
To make Sesame Street a part of every child's world, a variety of regional and ethnic dialects and slang is heard out of the mouths of Muppets. This enhances a child's confidence in his own language and ability to communicate.
This booklet is designed to give parents and other child care-givers a better understanding of how the Muppets illustrate Sesame Street instructional goals. It focuses on the important affect/ social goal areas that teach viewers about emotions-what they are and how they function - about feelings and how they influence behavior, and about how individuals work together within society.
Each segment on Sesame Street contains one specific instructional goal, and may include additional goals that naturally accompany or aid in the instruction of the highlighted goal. For example, a story which illustrates coping with failure may also show the importance of understanding emotions.
All the major Muppets are included in this gallery, along with a few of the popular minor characters. For each Muppet you will find a brief character sketch and a read-loud story from the show illustrating how the Muppet makes the instructional point.
We hope this Muppet Gallery will give all those involved in the growth and education of children increased understanding of ways to learn and have fun with Sesame Street.”