Sesame Street Got the Need to Read

Information technology's the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, and we want to honor our favorite residents of the best street in New York City…how else? With books.

Grover, Cookie, and the residuum of the gang star in many books themselves. Authors accept used Sesame Street characters to address topics like racism and friendship, perseverance, and kindness, also as educational basics similar the ABCs and 123s.

For Sesame Street'due south 45th anniversary in 2014, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Sesame Workshop collaborated on a major exhibition that offered fans of all ages the opportunity to experience what information technology's like to create an episode of the bear witness.

This year, we've come up with some personalized reading recommendations for Grover, Cookie, and the balance of the gang. As metropolis residents, of class they have library cards and can check out these books for gratis!

Big Bird

This giant yellow feathered marshmallow is an eternal kid, with a guileless sense of wonder and playfulness and everything practiced in the world.

Adult selection: Kindness is the name of Large Bird'due south game. He's e'er learning something new about how to be a good denizen, a truthful friend, or a meliorate helper. To that stop, we think he'd love Gmorning, Gnight!, a compendium of little Twitter pep talks written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (a frequent Sesame Street contributor!) and illustrated by Jomny Dominicus.

Kid pick: On the Twenty-four hour period You Were Born by Debra Frasier has always evinced the same sense of wonder and miraculousness that Big Bird inspires.

Snuffleupagus

We always suspected that Big Bird's best friend—a shaggy brownish elephant-like creature with a trunk—would exist a serious book-lover. (We always knew y'all were existent, Snuffy.)

Developed pick: Essayist and poet Mary Reufle wrote a meditative reflection, On Imagination, that gathers together unexpected and varied sources to assemble a "curio cabinet" of creative voices and ideas.

Kid pick: Then many great kids' books feature imaginary (or not) friends that information technology'south hard to choose just ane, simply we'll get with Confessions of an Imaginary Friend by Michelle Cuevas. This beautifully illustrated centre-grade novel features a protagonist, Jacques, who's either Fleur's twin or a figment of her imagination.

Oscar the Grouch

The meditation craze might give trash-loving Oscar some much-needed relief from his ever-present acrimony. Take a jiff, buddy.

Adult choice: Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn. You can do it, Oscar!

Kid pick: Oscar must become pretty stiff from sitting in that can all the time, and so we suggest he put a lid on information technology and duck down beneath to exercise with Y'all Are a Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Tae-Eun Yoo.

Cookie Monster

It'south time for Cookie to accept matters into his own hands and learn to feed his ain habit. Literally.

Adult pick: A massive, 438-page homage to cookie-baking from America'southward Test Kitchen: The Perfect Cookie: Your Ultimate Guide to Foolproof Cookies, Brownies, & Bars. And an honorable mention for this The Cookie Collection: Artisan Baking for the Cookie Enthusiast past Brian Hart Hoffman, considering "enthusiast" is an understatement.

Child selection: Of course, nosotros need to start with If Yous Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff—which might also encourage Cookie to share. And the rest of the series might help him broaden his palate. He could give a Moose a Muffin...a Pig a Pancake…a Dog a Donut…

Grover

This lovable, furry blueish monster steals our hearts on the regular. (Remember the 1971 classic, The Monster at the End of This Book? Information technology holds upwardly beautifully and volition notwithstanding make your toddler lol.)

Developed choice: Grover may be a less-than-stellar server—his most frequent profession—and we think he'd find kindred spirits in two beautifully written novels about the behind-the-scenes life in a restaurant: Last Dark at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan and Sweetbitter past Stephanie Danler.

Child pick: Super Grover, a.k.a. Grover Kent, is probably Grover'southward most popular job among kids, then we're recommending another unconventional superhero: Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt past Ben Clanton, a graphic novel virtually finding your inner superhero and using your powers to help your friends.

Bert

This lovable, neurotic mess of a muppet has two obsessions that make him our easiest recommendations customer.

Developed choice: The Perfection of the Paper Clip: Curious Tales of Invention, Adventitious Genius, and Jotter Obsession past James Ward. Bert has a beloved paper clip collection, and we know he'd capeesh a closer await into the invention of one of his most treasured possessions—and other fascinating objects, too.

Kid choice: Pigeons are the only thing Bert loves more than newspaper clips! He definitely needs Mo Willems' pigeon series, starting with Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Double-decker!

Ernie

Happy-go-lucky Ernie is everyone's pal. He loves Bert, rubber ducks, bubble baths, playing the saxophone…then many books to cull from.

Kid pick: A selection of bathroom books might help Ernie love his tub time even more: How to Requite Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps by Nicola Winstanley; art by John Martz is a great start.

Adult choice: Remember that episode when Ernie and Bert re-enacted "The Gift of the Magi"? Ernie traded his rubber duck for a cigar box where Bert could keep his paper clips, but Bert traded his clips for a soap dish for Ernie'due south duck? And then Mr. Hooper gave them both dorsum?! What a moment. Maybe Ernie wants to read the original, and more of O. Henry's classic short stories.

Count von Count

Things have changed since the Count showtime came on the scene, and it no longer seems as unproblematic as i peanut-butter sandwich, ha ha haaaa. Delightfully, he'south recently discovered information technology's okay to make mistakes when you're doing math! We're here for information technology.

Developed pick: With that in heed, we'd like the Count to check out A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You lot Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley. It addresses the psychological piece of the puzzle, including math anxiety, learning styles, and how to train your encephalon to view numbers differently.

Child pick: The Count would positively revel in number-focused books for kids. Our favorites are Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno andDoggies: A Counting and Barking Book past Sandra Boynton.

Rosita

Rosita is Sesame Street'southward first major bilingual character, and she frequently presented the Castilian Give-and-take of the Twenty-four hours, so we wanted to offering some vocabulary-edifice picks in both languages.

Adult pick: We bet Rosita would dear Mango Languages, a free database for language-learners. If she'd already maxed out the Spanish runway, she could become tri-lingual and check out one of the 70+ other languages—Arabic, Standard mandarin, French, Greek, Korean, and more.

Child pick: There are then many kids' resource for learning Castilian that information technology's hard to choose merely one…how nigh this cool Spanish Film Dictionary or the sweet board book, Little Sunny Sunshine = Sol Solecito by Susie Jaramillo.

Elmo

This is the vocal! La la la la! Elmo and his song might grate on adult nerves from time to time, merely kids become bananas for this hirsuite red preschooler.

Adult pick: Taking a pass on this one. Imagining Elmo as a grown-up is nearly impossible, particularly at present that the Elmo's World theme song is stuck in our heads. We're lamentable. Here, check out the DVDs.

Kid pick: Elmo has a pet goldfish named Dorothy, then nosotros think he'd love My Best Friend Is a Goldfish past Mark Lee, art by Chris Jevons.

Abby Cadabby

Another sweet kiddo in the Muppet-verse! Abby is in training to be a fairy, and she can do magic.

Adult choice: A grown-upward fairy needs a slightly darker story, correct? Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver features fairies—and other magic— with a decidedly adult twist.

Kid pick: Abby could encounter her comrades in the super-popular young reader series by Daisy Meadows. Jade the Disco Fairy, Jennifer the Hairstsylist Fairy, Kayla the Pottery Fairy, Monica the Marshmallow Fairy…the sparkly covers and consistent storylines are irresistible to readers who are just starting chapter books. Abby and Elmo could bond over Molly the Goldfish Fairy!

Bonus pick: Abby herself appears in Love from Sesame Street, written by the Sesame Workshop for the youngest readers. It'south all almost the different kinds of love in the world, and Abby's contribution—"Love is magical and total of wonder"—seems perfect for her.

Maria, Bob, Luis, & Gordon

Expect, no one's in this for the humans. But we idea Sesame Street'southward resident non-puppets deserve book recs also. (Don't fifty-fifty talk to us about Mr. Hooper; we tin can't handle it.)

Developed selection: Sonia Manzano, who played Maria and wrote for the show for decades, penned a 2015 autobiography titled Condign Maria: Dear and Chaos in the Due south Bronx. Check information technology out in English or Spanish.

Kid pick: How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander has not bad advice for all ages. Who doesn't want to go to a behemothic book party?

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Photos past NYPL's Jonathan Blanc, from the 45th anniversary LPA exhibition.

For more book-related Sesame Street fun, cheque out a wide array of books past and virtually the whole Street gang.

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen past NYPL staff members and are not intended to exist comprehensive lists. We'd dear to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you'd recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!

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Source: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/11/10/books-for-sesame-street-characters

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