#854: Tish Rabe — 200+ Children's Books, Getting Picked for Dr. Seuss, Lessons from Early Sesame Street, How to Write 300+ Songs, and More

It’s great to finally connect, thanks to our mutual friend Alon, and I’ve been excited for this one; with so many books and songs to your name, where did this all begin, and did college you ever picture this path?

I went to college to be an opera singer, but a lucky break at Sesame Street—thanks to my high school music teacher—landed me in music production, and soon I was singing with the Muppets, including my first big moment with Oscar.

What did it feel like to be on Sesame Street so early, and what was the creative energy like back then?

It was wildly inventive yet grounded in research, with Joan Ganz Cooney giving the team huge trust, and my first book came from pitching a childhood story that became a Bert tale about friendship mattering more than a teapot.

How did that creativity show up day to day—were people riffing nonstop or was it more structured?

We had a thick curriculum each season, but writers taught me to write the ending first so the whole story aims true, and Jim Henson modeled relentless work and warmth while the show layered jokes for adults so parents would watch and help kids learn.

Did your music training change how you worked on the show and beyond?

I’d count in pre-recorded songs so performers could hit their marks, learned from lightning-fast jingle sessions, and watched Carol Spinney nail a tough take only after becoming Oscar, which taught me timing, feel, and trust in character.

How did people react when you said you worked there, and what did those early auditions look like?

The gig felt miraculous compared to auditions where you sang a handful of notes and were waved off, and Sesame’s purpose—helping all kids start school on steadier footing—was already lifting classrooms as children arrived knowing letters and numbers.

Walk us from Sesame Street to the next chapters—what unfolded?

I kept writing for major houses, produced Big Bird in China, ran music and video projects, and at 3-2-1 Contact started writing science songs like a playful tune on animal gestation because it was faster and more fun to do it in-house.

When a song works for kids, how do you build it?

I define the teaching goal, write a verse with a clear B section so it travels and returns, and fit accurate facts into singable rhyme, keeping in mind Joe Raposo’s bold move with Kermit’s song that spoke plain feeling without end rhymes.

In a free-flowing place like that, how many ideas actually made it through?

Curriculum ruled and kid testing mattered, so even zany bits had to teach clearly, and focus groups with children shaped choices—right down to changing colors and cutting gags that confused the lesson.

How did Dr. Seuss enter your world?

Random House passed on my rhyming dinosaur because Seuss was their rhyme home, then immediately asked me to write his science-in-rhyme series for early readers, which launched with two books in four months and then many more.

You later wrote a prenatal Seuss book; how did that happen?

Audrey Geisel asked me to weave references from all 41 Seuss books into Oh, Baby, the Places You’ll Go!, and a quick rhymed bio line popped into my head in the car before it became a hit read to babies before birth.

With huge research piles, how do you pick what goes in and stay in Seuss’s lane?

I raid the children’s section to capture simplified facts, hunt for rhymes like migration with vacation, and keep Seuss’s strict meter and pure end rhymes, inventing playful words as needed to keep it musical and memorable.

Rhyme is a memory tool; have you always had that gift, and how’s your recall so sharp?

A stellar high school English teacher drilled forms like sonnets and limericks, and I trained my ear with a rhyme program until the pairings lived in my head—helpful when Pluto got demoted and I had to swap pizzas for nickels overnight.

How old are you now, and when did you launch your own company?

I’m seventy-four, turning seventy-five soon, and I started my company at seventy-one.

Where do you trace your drive and clarity back to?

My father survived a POW camp, my mother loved words, and they backed me when I stood up at seven and sang along at the piano and later announced I was skipping a backup plan to chase Broadway.

Music seems to sharpen minds and soothe hearts; how do you use it with kids?

Every book I create carries a song to a familiar public-domain tune, and I remind parents their own voice—croaky or not—is the one their child most wants to hear.

What made your bedtime book work, and how did it come together?

During COVID I partnered with Pajama Program to craft a soothing story plus rhymed tips parents remember—like starting the wind-down a good half hour early—and a lullaby kids now sing at home and in school.

Why start a company at seventy?

While my husband fishes off Mystic, I finally built the books I couldn’t get greenlit—like a dialogic board book with prompts—and learned the full stack from art and printing to e-commerce so I can also gift more books to kids who need them.

Tell us about your military family book and the pup named Alaska.

To honor my WWII-hero dad and today’s families, I partnered with United Through Reading, interviewed service members and kids for months, folded in practical tips like the doorframe high-five handprint, and added a shelter dog named Alaska who stars in the story and as a plush friend.

Where should listeners find the book and Alaska?

Everything’s at tishrabebooks.com, including the plush and easy checkout.

What else is new on your site?

There’s a cheerful money-smarts story with thrifty, saving, and spending bunnies, and a rhyming tour of Central Park arriving soon.

How did the local Mystic book and the Central Park project come to be?

A Chamber of Commerce coffee led to a Mystic book starring a seagull family I instantly pictured, and my editor, a trained Central Park greeter, pushed for a kid-friendly park guide we’re now crowdfunding to give free to first graders across all five boroughs.

What length and look do you aim for with kids’ books?

Twenty-four pages keeps bedtime gentle, we publish in Spanish too, and I match illustrators to the message so art and rhythm carry the read-aloud.

If you get stuck on a manuscript, what breaks you loose?

I pad my deadlines, step away when the rhyme won’t land, and sometimes reframe the whole thing—like turning a preachy health brief into playful Seuss-ian creatures that Audrey Geisel approved, later expanded with Michelle Obama’s support.

Give us a snapshot of making Big Bird in China in 1982.

We were the first big crew allowed in, dodged days of rain to protect hand-dyed feathers, survived without coffee, coaxed lines from a brilliant five-year-old who’d memorized old scripts, and still delivered a ninety-minute special that aired in full.

If you could put a message on a giant billboard for families and kids, what would it say?

Cherish children and choose kindness, because they carry our future, and read with them as often as you can.

What would you like to highlight as we wrap up?

A new book with Rotary called Kindness is Caring, Friendship is Sharing—set in Africa with a young zebra—invites families to practice small, daily good turns, and I hope it also nudges parents to find a local Rotary.

We’ll link everything, and I’ll encourage listeners to visit tishrabebooks.com, support the Central Park giveaway, and be just a bit kinder than necessary today—to others and to yourself.

I’ll leave you with what I tell kids: reading and writing are thrilling—pick up a book or start a story right now.