© 2001 The Jim Henson Company.

This long-awaited new book is based on the eponymous exhibit at Manhattan's National Arts Club in 1996. As I was present at the kickoff evening of that show and visited the club several times during its run, I had a good chance to appreciate the original art on display. As most citizens of Planet Earth did not reside in Manhattan at that particular point in time, this book is an excellent way to get a sense of the exhibit whilst simultaneously escaping the perdition of subway transit.

Karen Falk, archivist of the Jim Henson Company, was kind enough to write the foreword to this new book. As the curator of the original exhibit she might easily have written the book herself, but the Henson/Abrams casting department selected Alison Inches, a former employee of Jim Henson Publishing. In her foreword, Karen was kind enough to say, "It is extremely gratifying to see this exhibit revived and expanded in book form, giving an even greater audience an intimate look at Jim Henson's creative process." Revived? Yes. Expanded? Well...

In terms of artwork, this book presents the audience with a reduced, rather than expanded, look at Henson's original works. Reduced, not only perforce in scale, but reduced in number. None of the handful of historic puppets on display at the National Arts Club, including the actual very first Kermit, has found their way into this book via photographs. And, unlike the exhibit, nothing more recent than The Muppet Show seems to be represented. So missing is an impressive later piece, sketched by Jim as a guide for veteran puppet builder Rollie Krewson (who had the wherewithal to have Jim autograph his circa 2' x 3' drawing on the spot).

In terms of the text, however, the book expands the original exhibit descriptions into something resembling a limited biography of Jim Henson. 'Limited,' that is, to his professional development and leaving his personal life aside. The Henson family initiated a biography project several years ago, but the project was aborted. Hence, the volume at hand may be the closest we'll have for some time to an official biography of the father of the Muppets. As such, this book has value beyond the obvious fascination of the touted "designs and doodles."