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Sesame Beginnings is a line of products and a video series, spun off from the children's television series ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'', featuring baby versions of the characters. The line is targeted towards infants and their parents, and products are designed to increase family interactivity.


Product line

The line was launched mid-2005 in Canada, with a line of products exclusive to a family of Canadian retailers that includes
Loblaws Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companies Limited, C ...
,
Fortinos Fortinos is a Canadian supermarket chain that was founded in Hamilton, Ontario. It operates 23 stores across the western Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. It is owned by Loblaw Companies Limited. History In 1961, Italian immigrant steelwork ...
, and
Zehrs Zehrmart Inc. (doing business as Zehrs Markets or simply Zehrs ), is a Canadian supermarket chain in southern Ontario. The chain has 43 locations and is a part of Loblaw Companies Limited which purchased the Zehrs chain in the mid-1970s. Hist ...
. The initial offering included apparel, health and body, home, and seasonal products. Soon after, the line expanded to products, including
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
books, available in the United States.
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
is the primary retailer for the items in the US. Other ''Sesame Beginnings'' licensors include Crown Crafts (bedding),
Fisher-Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depressio ...
(infant toys),
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(footwear), Children's Apparel Network (department and specialty store layette, newborn and infant apparel), Hamco, Blue Ridge, Baby Boom, and AD Sutton. All products in the ''Sesame Beginnings'' line are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5. Products ranked Level 1 are for birth to 6 months, Level 2 are for 6 to 12 months, Level 3 for 12 to 18 months, Level 4 targets 18 to 24 months, and Level 5 aims for 24–36 months.


DVD series

The first ''Beginnings'' videos were in stores April 23, 2006. In the Netherlands,
Dutch FilmWorks Dutch FilmWorks B.V. is a Dutch film distributor founded in 1998, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films theatrically, on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. They are also a publisher and distributor of books and ma ...
teamed up with Sesame workshop beginning in the said day. In Spain Planeta Junior also teamed up with Sesame Workshop. ; ''Beginning Together'':
Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
and her daughter Sy'rai appear in the video. ; ''Make Music Together'':
Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
and his daughter Maile appear in the video. ; ''Exploring Together'':
Matt Lauer Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
and his daughter Romy host the video. ; ''Moving Together'':
Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...
and her friend Sophia appear in the video.


Cast

*
Kevin Clash Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1984 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', '' Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and various ...
as
Baby Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...
*
Bill Barretta William Paul Barretta (born June 19, 1964) is an American puppeteer, actor, producer, writer, and director, who is best known for providing the puppetry and voice of characters such as Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo ...
as Elmo's dad "Louie" *
Fran Brill Fran Brill (born September 30, 1946) is an American retired actress and puppeteer, best known for her roles on ''Sesame Street'', as well as playing Sally Hayes in the Hal Ashby film ''Being There'' (1979), Dana Mardukas in the Martin Brest film ...
as Baby Prairie Dawn *
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Leslie Carrara, sometimes credited as Leslie Carrara-Rudolph or the misspelling Leslie Carrera-Rudolph, is an American actress, performer, puppeteer, speaker, singer and artist. She is probably best known as a Muppet performer on ''Sesame Street' ...
as Prairie Dawn's mom * Matt Vogel as Baby Big Bird *
Pam Arciero Pamela Arciero (born May 8, 1954) is an American puppeteer and voice-over artist. She has performed for ''Between the Lions'' and ''Sesame Street'', playing Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend Grundgetta in the latter. In addition to performance wor ...
as Big Bird's aunt "Nani Bird" *
Tyler Bunch Tyler Bunch, also known as H.D. Quinn, is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, director, and actor. Career In addition to his work for the Jim Henson Company, Bunch has created and performed puppets for PBS, Nickelodeon and Disney's The Mu ...
as Baby Cookie Monster *
Rickey Boyd Rickey may refer to: Surname or given name * Anna S. Rickey (1827–1858), American poet * Branch Rickey (1881–1965), Major League Baseball executive * Branch Rickey Jr. (1913–1961), son of Branch, also a Major League Baseball executive * B ...
as Cookie Monster's grandma *
Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. E ...
as Big Bird's grandma "Granny Bird"


Crew

* Jocelyn Hassenfeld, producer * Dionne Nosek, producer *
Kevin Clash Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1984 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', '' Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and various ...
, co-producer, director * Christine Ferraro, writer * Liz Nealon, Executive Vice President, Creative Director, Sesame Workshop * Rosemarie T. Truglio, Vice President Education and Research, Sesame Workshop * Anna E. Housley Juster, Director of Content, Sesame Workshop * Sandblast Productions * Handcranked Productions


Books

There were some ''Sesame Street'' books published before ''Beginnings'', starring the characters as babies. These books included photography of puppet-like models created of the characters. In contrast, ''Beginnings'' books feature flat colour illustrations of the characters. * '' Cookie Kisses'' (with Baby Cookie Monster, level 1) * '' Sesame Beginnings to Go: At the Store'' (with Baby Grover, level 2) * '' Sesame Beginnings to Go: Away We Go'' (with Baby Zoe, level 2) * '' Sesame Beginnings to Go: In My Stroller'' (with Baby Elmo, level 1) * '' Sesame Beginnings to Go: Time to Eat'' (with Baby Cookie Monster, level 1) * '' Snap! Button! Zip!'' (with Baby Zoe, level 3) * '' Cookie Rhyme, Cookie Time'' (with Baby Cookie Monster, level 4) * '' Hello! Good-bye!'' (with Baby Ernie, level 3) * '' Clang-Clang! Bang-Bang!'' (with Baby Grover, level 1) * '' So Big!'' (with Baby Elmo, level 2) * '' Baby Faces'' (with Baby Zoe, level 1) * '' Cookie See! Cookie Do!'' (with Baby Cookie, level 3) * '' Pat-A-Cake and Other First Baby Games'' (with Baby Elmo and Baby Zoe, level 4) * '' Peekaboo! I See You!'' (with Baby Big Bird, level 2) * ''
Sing a Song of Sixpence "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is an English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 13191. The sixpence in the rhyme is a British coin that was first minted in 1551. Origins The r ...
'' (with Baby Zoe and Baby Ernie, level 5) * '' It's Naptime, Little One'' (with baby Elmo, Prairie Dawn, Cookie Monster, Grover, Curly Bear, and Big Bird, level 3) * '' Eyes & Nose, Fingers & Toes'' (with Baby Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Zoe and Grover) * ''At the Zoo'' (with Baby Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Zoe) * '' Bubbles, Bubbles'' (with Baby Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Ernie and Bert) * ''Nighty Night'' (with Baby Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Zoe, Ernie, Bert and Snuffleupagus)


History of the line

Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President comments: "Our own research showed that Sesame Street videos were among those frequently viewed by the under two set, in spite of the fact that the content and curriculum of Sesame Street is designed for ages 2-5. With the Sesame Beginnings DVDs, we're providing parents and caregivers of children under two with content specifically designed to use media as a tool to further adult/child interaction." The same "underviewing" of ''Sesame Street'' is what had earlier inspired show producers to add in the very young-targeted ''
Elmo's World ''Elmo's World'' is a segment that is shown at the end of the long-running American children's television program ''Sesame Street'' which premiered on November 16th, 1998, as part of a broader structural change to the show. It originally lasted ...
'' segment. The concept of the ''Sesame Street'' cast as babies was not entirely new, as "baby-ized" versions of characters were available as toys since 2002. Many likened the line to previous series like '' Muppet Babies''.


Controversy and criticism

The production of DVDs and other screen-based media for children under the age of two is extremely controversial. The
American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...
recommends that children under two be kept away from screen media and Sesame Beginnings has been criticized by a number of early childhood development experts who point to research suggesting that television viewing by babies can harm language development and sleep patterns. An April 23, 2006 article in
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
quoted
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
psychologist Susan Linn as saying "There is no evidence that media is beneficial for babies, and they are starting to find evidence that it may be harmful. Until we know for sure, we shouldn't risk putting them in front of the television." Sesame Street Kids’ Guide to Life has countered such criticism by pointing to their partnership with Zero to Three, a respected American nonprofit child-development and advocacy organization, to produce the DVDs and also that they were extensively researched and tested by respected experts in childhood development. However, one of Zero to Three's original founders, noted pediatrian T. Berry Brazelton, was among the signatories of a letter of protest that was submitted to Zero to Three calling on the organization to disassociate itself with the project.


Advisory board

''Beginnings'', like all Sesame Workshop and Kids’ Guide to Life projects, included an advisory committee of "national child development and media experts" *
Daniel R. Anderson Daniel R. Anderson (born 1944) is an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Anderson specializes in developmental psychology and was involved in the creation of children's television series includ ...
, Ph.D.,
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
* Rachel Barr, Ph.D.,
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
* Lori A. Custodero, D.M.A., Teachers College,
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
* Claire Lerner, L.C.S.W.,
ZERO TO THREE 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...
*
Kyle Pruett Kyle D. Pruett is an author of books and columns on parenting, and is a professor of child psychiatry at Yale University. This researcher and practicing psychiatrist was the host of the TV series ''Your Child Six to Twelve with Dr. Kyle Pruett''. ...
, M.D.,
Yale University School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...
* Claudia A. Saad, M.A., CCC-SLP,
American Speech–Language–Hearing Association The American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA) is a professional association for speech–language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. It has more tha ...


References


External links


Sesame Beginnings
official site


Zero to Three
production partner

* NPR Talk of the Nation
'Sesame Beginnings' Targets Baby TV Viewers
3 April 2006 {{Sesame Street 2006 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s American children's television series 2000s preschool education television series American preschool education television series American television shows featuring puppetry American prequel television series Sesame Street Direct-to-video television series Television series about children