Emily Perl Kingsley

 Emily   Perl   Kingsley  is a writer  who joined the  SESAME STREET  team in  1 9 7 0 , & has been  writing  f or the  show  ever since.

Her son, Jason  , was born with Down syndrome in  1 9 7 4. She wrote a widely read article on t he subject, " Welcome to Holland , " in 1 9 8 7  , & has been an activist for chil dren with special need s for over 30 y ear 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 . B y 1 9 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  the  i 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 a re 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 o n  h is  lap , right in the wheel chair , give s  him  a kiss & say s , " H i  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 h as won 2 1   Emmy s  & 9| 9  nomination s through her work w it h  SE SAME STREET , 3| 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 2 00 6  ' s  O ' Neill Puppet ry Conference , w i t h  Muppeteer s   Amanda Maddock  ,  Ryan Dillon  , Lorraine Gilman , & Stefano Brancato.

T V & Video s

 *  SE SAME STREET  - Write r  (  1 9 7 0  - 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  &amp;  LITTLE   BIRD  ’ s  BIG  &amp; 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 o f Heart s " Welcome to Holland "
 * Vault . com article
 * Creative Par ent s inter view