Reviews

This is a fascinating and very well researched book about the man who created The Muppets. Jim Henson was only 53 years old when he died and I can't even begin to imagine what else he might have done had he lived longer - his imagination, spirit and energy appeared endless. I first 'met' muppet characters on Sesame Street and imagined that that's where they began, but the first muppets actually began performing on TV in 1957. I love this quote 'Jim would discover, there was a kind of magic, a wonderful kind of freedom, involved in letting a character at the end of your arm give voice to sentiments one might not feel comfortable expressing while wearing the guise of, as Jim called them, “ordinary people.”' Jim and his wife Jane were the muppets' first puppeteers. Although the couple separated and spent the last decade of Jim's life living apart, they remained close and each had a great relationship with their five children. Jim sadly died before the deal to sell The Muppets to Disney had been finalised. The author's words best sum up the lasting effect Jim left on the world: 'Simply, Jim Henson’s greatest legacy will always be Jim himself: the way he was, and the way he encouraged and inspired others to be—the simple grace and soft-spoken dignity he brought to the world (and expected, sometimes fruitlessly, of others), as well as his faith in a greater good that he believed he and his fellow inhabitants of the globe were capable'.

alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

sr_yancey's review against another edition

Go to review page

I read this one more to understand some of the people in my life more than Jim Henson himself. I grew up around all things Henson, so I kind of took for granted how much puppets changed things in the world. Reading about Jim Henson’s own life felt different, too. He reminds me so much of my dad :)

sydneyrp143's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

More...