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‘Affectionate and shrewd’ — Guardian
From the creaking marionettes of Watch With Mother
in the 1950s to the surreal landscape of Tellytubbyland, Ruth
Inglis looks at the world of children’s television in
Britain and North America. She discusses how commercial success
has vied with the need to educate, how programmes such as
Blue Peter tried to instil feelings of compassion as
well as entertain and how series such as The Magic Roundabout
set about cultivating fantasy in children’s minds. It
was, however, the groundbreaking Sesame Street that
really set the standard for teaching the ‘three Rs’
while remaining entertaining.
The Window in the Corner also includes discussion of
developments in animation techniques, from the string puppets
of The Woodentops, through the slicker ‘Supermarionation’
of the ever-popular Thunderbirds, to the computerized
‘cut-outs’ of South Park, and from the cartoon
animation of shows such as Yogi Bear to the Plasticine
Wallace and Gromit.
‘An absorbing book’ — Choice
RUTH INGLIS is a journalist specializing in educational psychology
and child development. She is a regular contributor to newspapers
and magazines in both Britain and the USA. She is the author
of Time to Read and Sins of the Fathers, both
published by Peter Owen. |
