GROWING UP HAPPY by Bob Keshan...

GROWING UP HAPPY by Bob Keshan (Berkley: $4.95, illustrated). Back in 1955, when Sesame Street still was unpaved and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was so much undeveloped real estate, Bob Keshan introduced the innovative “Captain Kangaroo,” a gentle, mildly didactic children’s program that was never preachy or dull. Keshan’s philosophy was deceptively simple: “Children are intelligent and we would cater to that intelligence; and children are of potentially good taste and it is incumbent on us to help develop that good taste.” “Growing Up” combines an account of the earliest days of children’s television (Keshan created the role of Clarabell on “Howdy Doody” in 1948) with the author’s philosophy of rearing children. Not surprisingly, he stresses the importance of kindness, respect and honesty, and pays special attention to the problems of single parents and children brought up in poverty. A warm souvenir from a man who helped to shape the tastes of two generations of American children.