MAY 2009 - Historical Influences on Children

There are many people in history who have changed children’s lives for the better: from heroes to teachers, writers to mentors and politicians to parents. This month I want to highlight four people who have made a long lasting impact on entertainment for children in the United States and the world.

Shigeru Miyamoto’s first video game for Nintendo had an unusual storyline: an ape named Donkey Kong has kidnapped a young woman and Mario must avoid numerous obstacles to rescue her. We probably all remember when that hit the arcades in 1981 and what a great game it was. The difference was that the game was driven by its interesting characters and the players controlled the action and figured out solutions. This type of game was unlike any other before it and kids could not spend their quarters fast enough. Donkey Kong, The Legends of Zelda and the Super Mario Bros. series created the first joystick generation and shaped how millions of children spent their downtime.

Theodore Seuss Geisel, known to all of us as Dr. Seuss, was a successful cartoonist before he was approached with an interesting challenge: create an illustrated children’s story using 220 simple vocabulary words. Geisel had done a few projects that were kid related, but this book, The Cat in the Hat, changed his and millions of children’s lives. This book and the thirty nine others he wrote and illustrated have increased the enjoyment of reading for every generation. Seuss eventually was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, three Caldecott Honor Awards and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award plus awards for his film and TV work.

Joan Ganz Cooney is not a name that most of us are familiar with, but she made big changes in the life of children since 1969. Cooney wanted to know if educational TV could capture a mass audience of children. She believed it could and in 1968 she co-founded the Children’s Television Workshop which oversaw the creation of Sesame Street. Sesame Street debuted in 1969 and has run continuously every since. This show alone has brought loyal young viewers to Public Television. Sesame Street has won more than 100 Emmy Awards and has taught us all that learning and laughing can go hand in hand.

This list would be incomplete without Walt Disney. In 1928 Disney created a mouse that would become an American icon. But, at the time cartoons were simple and had no sound. So, Mickey was just another cartoon like Felix the Cat. Walt Disney began to change things to make his cartoons stand out. First, he synchronized his cartoons with sound and them to life with music. This launched both him and Mickey into stardom and neither of them ever looked back. Snow White was released in 1937 and was the first full length animated movie. Disney died in 1966, but through his theme parks and multiple movies he will always be alive in the hearts of children.

Searching, you can find lots of people who have touched the leisure lives of children, but few have done so as strongly and continuously as those mentioned here. Have you touched a child’s life today?