The blog of In My Footsteps Podcast host and author Christopher Setterlund. It contains a buffet of topics. The wackiness of daily life with Initial Impressions 2.0. There is a link to the weekly In My Footsteps Podcast. Poetry collections, life topics, some history, and more. There is something for everyone here much like with the podcast.
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Sunday, April 25, 2021
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Child of the 1980's - Early Educational Television Shows
I don’t know about anyone else, but few things got me more excited during my elementary school years than walking into a classroom and seeing a television. The big old television sets on the rolling cart meant that we were going to get to watch some sort of video. Granted it was an educational video, but a video nonetheless. Sometimes we would get the retro filmstrips with the audio that didn’t quite line up but mostly it was one of a few educational television shows geared toward kids between 6-10 years old. As a child of the 1980’s these three shows coming up were a huge part of those classroom video days. Do you remember them?
For the younger children of the 1980’s, born during the latter half of the decade The Electric Company might not have been on your itinerary for classroom viewing. The sketch comedy show meant for kids began with its iconic ‘Hey, you guys!’ opening line.
Airing from 1971-1977 it helped establish people like Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Irene Cara, and Bill Cosby. The show helped kids with spelling and grammar in addition to educational yet humorous sketches. Created by Samuel Gibbon Jr. The Electric Company won an Emmy and a Grammy during its 780 episode tenure. Though crossovers from some of the Muppets from Sesame Street helped, the show was ultimately canceled despite being very popular. It was a staple during my first few years of school but was ultimately replaced by two other more contemporary shows.
Focusing more toward the scientific realm came 3-2-1 Contact in 1980. Despite it also being created by Samuel Gibbon Jr. it initially was a flop. The first season showcased college students discussing science in a place called ‘the workshop.’ It would be shelved for nearly three years before coming back in 1983 retooled with several different child hosts. This was another show that immediately caught the eye of kids with its catchy intro.
It kept our attention with scientific content mostly created by Dr. Edward G. Atkins along with memorable sketches like the Bloodhound Gang who solved mysteries using their knowledge of science. Airing until 1988 over the span of 225 episodes 3-2-1 Contact was usually the show of choice by my teachers, except for possibly one exception.
When it comes to 1980’s educational television few things come to mind before Reading Rainbow. It had perhaps the catchiest theme song with the unique Buchla synthesizer playing over lyrics sung initially by Tina Fabrique. ‘Take a look, it’s in a book.’
Created by and starring LeVar Burton, who was only twenty-six when the show debuted in 1983, this series encouraged children to read. Every episode would feature recommendations of books to read, though Burton would always say we didn’t have to take his word for it. There would be celebrity readers as well during the show’s 155 episodes which ran from 1983-2006. All in all Reading Rainbow would be the third longest running children’s series behind only Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and Sesame Street. It would claim twenty-six Emmys including eleven for Outstanding Children’s Series before it was said and done.
Few things made school more fun than getting to watch television as part of your learning. These three shows were a huge part of 1980’s educational television, but I am sure there are more. What was your favorite early educational television show? Was it on this list? Stay tuned for more sweet 1980’s memories!
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Sunday, April 18, 2021
Child of the 1980's - Introduction to Reading
One of the first accomplishments of any child along with walking and potty training is learning to read. According to WebMD children often start to learn to read in First Grade. Granted what they learn to read is very simple, usually a few words mixed with lots of colorful images. These books can end up being very special to children as they are associated with a positive achievement. I don’t know about anyone else but I can still remember the first books I learned to read on my own. I am here to share a few of my favorites. Let’s see how many great memories come flooding back with these titles, authors, and photos.
My First Grade year in school was 1984. I do not remember when exactly I first learned to read, that is a question my mother could answer. However when I stop and think of the books I enjoyed as a child a few come to mind immediately.
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| One of Richard Scarry's Busytown Books |
There is a name that should be very familiar to all children of the 1980’s. In my mind those old enough to have had concrete memories from the decade count, so basically 1975-1985 is your date range, anything after you’re a child of the 1990’s, sorry. Anyway, that name is Richard Scarry. Scarry was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1919, close to my home of Cape Cod. His most well known books concerned that of Busytown, a place inhabited by anthropomorphic animals like cats, dogs, pigs, foxes, and others like the popular Lowly the Worm who rode in an apple car. These books were published from the mid-1970’s on, right in the wheelhouse of all 1980’s children.
Ironically even though Scarry gained a lot of his notoriety through his Busytown, including two animated series, his career began in 1949 as an illustrator for the equally beloved Little Golden Books. In total Scarry would publish more than 300 books during his forty-five year career which ended with his death in 1994. These books have sold more than 100 million copies and are still readily available today for all parents who loved them as children and want to keep that tradition alive.
The other books I wanted to mention were by a man named Roger Hargreaves. The name might not ring a bell but if I mentioned Mr. Men and Little Miss it might come flooding back. The British author, born in 1935, created the Mr. Men series first beginning in 1971 with Mr. Tickle. The books were simple and to the point. Each was based around one particular characteristic of the man or miss. Some of the Mr. Men characters included Mr. Greedy, Mr. Happy, Mr. Silly, Mr. Lazy, and Mr. Funny. The books would tell a story focused around that one character trait. The brightly colored main characters stood out and their colors and shapes changed to fit the special trait the book was about.
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| Mr. Tickle by Roger Hargreaves |
Hargreaves had gotten the inspiration for the series when his son Adam, who is now also an author, asked him what a tickle looked like. That question led to thirty-nine Mr. Men books being released between 1971 and Hargreaves’ death in 1988. Little Miss books followed in 1981 beginning with Little Miss Bossy. There would be twenty-four Little Miss books published before his death as well.
After Roger’s death his son Adam took over the franchise and is still publishing books to this day. Total there are now eighty-five books between the two series which have combined to sell more than 100 million copies. The new books as well as the classics are still readily available as well for those looking to stroll through childhood again.
Those are just a few of the books I remember truly enjoying during my first few years of reading. I am sure there are many others I have not mentioned. What are your favorite picture books you remember during your childhood? What made them special to you? Do you share them with your children?
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Be sure to check out my website: Christopher Setterlund.com
Zazzle Store: Cape Cod Living
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