Emily Perl Kingsley

 Emily   Perl   Kingsley  is a writer  who joined the  SESAME STREET  team in 19 70, & has been  writing  f or the  show  ever since.

Her son, Jason , was born with Down syndrome in 1974. She wrote a widely read article on t he subject, " Welcome to Holland , " in 1987 , & has been an activis for chil dren with special need s for over 30 year s.

Her son ' s story became the topic of a n hour - long NBC special in 1 9 77, title d  This Is My Son , & Jason c o -  wrote  the book Count  U s   In :   Growing   Up   With   Down Syndrome . By 19 8 1, the du o was making over 100 appearance s a y e a r f o r various group s. Though Kingsley had written script s for disable d chil dren in t h e past, her experience s with Jason increased her desire to main stream the use of different kind s of peo ple , including Jason himself in occasional segment s , as well a s guest star s like Itzhak Perlman & Christopher Reeve , & the integration o f Tarah Schaeffer a s a full cast member : " No one look ed like my family . They were all so health y , so perfect . I felt totally isolate d , like I had just dis appear e d . It was something I wanted t o change . "

" W e had a very explicit segment with Christopher Reeve where he talked about his accident & he showed the chil dren how the wheelchair worked . When I interviewed him, I told him I ' d like to use his son   in the segment . He asked me to tell him why , to convince him because he & his wife didn ' t put thei r son in the media. I explained to him how important it was to show that peo ple with a disability have live s, they are par ent s , t h ey have spouse s , & th ey have children. They have real live s. He agree d. I n the scene, his son say s to BIG BIRD t h at " W e ' r e going to the library , " & when his father arrive s , he climb s up on h is lap , right in the wheel chair , give s him a kiss & say s , " Hi Da d ! " It demonstrate s so clearly the ordinary warm Dad - son relationship between Chris & his son. "

Kingsley has written over 20 chil dren ' s book s, hundred s o f  SESAME STREET  songs , & 2  SESAME STREET  ho me video release s (  Elmo  Learn s to Share &  Elmo  Say s BOO ! ). She write s for other companies as well, & recently contribute d to Disney Interactive C D - ROM s.

She has won 21 Emmy s & 9 nomination s through her work w it h  SE SAME STREET , 3 EDI s ( Equality , Dignity , Independence Award ) & a Grand EDI f rom Easter Seal s , & an award from the National Theatre of the Deaf.

Kingsley recently began a more direct foray into puppetry when she performed her piece  In a Contemplative Fashion  at 2006 ' s O ' Neill Puppet ry Conference, w i t h Muppeteer s  Amanda Maddock , Ryan Dillon , Lorraine Gilman , & Stefano Brancato.

TV & Video s

 *  SE SAME STREET  - Write r  ( 19 70 - present )
 *  Elmo  Learn s to Share - Write r
 *  Elmo  S a y s BOO ! - Write r
 * Five  SESAME   STREET  Stories - Video adaptation

SESAME STREET Book Credit s

 *  BIG   BIRD  Follow s the Sign s
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Fairy Tale s
 * The Exciting Adventure s of  Super   Grover 
 * The Little Red Hen
 *  Farley  Goes to the Doctor
 * The Great Cookie Thief
 *  BIG   BIRD  &  LITTLE   BIRD  ' s  BIG  & Little Book
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Bed time Story book
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Pet Show
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Circus of Opposite s
 * What Do You Do ?
 * Every one Make s Mistake s
 *  I  Can Do It  Myself 
 * A Baby Sister for  Herry 
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Bed time Treasury
 * A Sitter for Baby Monster
 * The Song s of  SESAME   STREET  in Poem s and Picture s
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Bed time Treasury
 *  BIG   BIRD  ' s Busy Book
 *  Cookie   Monster  ' s Story book
 * T he  SESAME   STREET  1, 2 , 3 Story book

Note s

 * On some early record s, she is credit e d as Emily Kaplin.

External l ink s

 * Journey of Heart s " Welcome to Holland "
 * Vault . com article
 * Creative Par ent s inter view