Vintage Sesame Street: The Together Book Teaches Comprehension and Cooperation

This morning, my friend Libbie and I went on a treasure hunt. No, we weren't panning for gold or running a metal detector along the beach in hopes of unearthing someone's long-buried valuables. We spent the morning meandering her block sale, hoping for treasures of a more sentimental kind. One of my favorite finds was The Together Book, a Sesame Street Little Golden Book first printed in 1971.

When I was growing up, I loved The Monster at the End of This Book and Oscar's Book, the first starring Grover and the second, Oscar the Grouch. Though Monster came out the same year as The Together Book, I was surprised by the look of the characters, perhaps because Grover pretty much has his book to himself. As one would expect from the title, The Together Book, which was written by Revena Dwight and illustrated by Roger Bradfield, is an ensemble picture book, with many residents of Sesame Street playing a part.

Although none of the characters is specifically identified, Sesame Street fans will have no trouble finding Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Grover and Cookie Monster. They'll have to look harder for Oscar the Grouch, but he's there. While a few characters, including all of the humans, are absent, some slightly less famous Muppets, like Betty Lou, Farley, Sherlock Hemlock, Little Bird and Herry Monster, make appearances. There are also several, such as a small purple monster in a baby bonnet and a blue fellow with a bushy white beard, that I don't recognize at all.

While contemporary Sesame Street books are very smooth-looking, this one has a rough, sketchy quality to it. The colors are a bit drab, and while the characters are always in full color, on several pages the backdrops are in black and white. This aspect of the illustrations is what most roots the book in the early 1970s. While I'm a fan of smooth, vibrant pictures, I love the retro look of this book, which makes me feel as though I've been transported back to the early days of my favorite classic kids' show.

The structure of this book is very simple. It begins with a question: "What do I have that needs a helper?" There are no quotation marks used throughout the book, but this particular question is repeated four times, from a different perspective on each occasion. Each time, this question is followed by something more specific, like "I have a double-thick malted milk... Who has something good for drinking?" Big Bird, Betty Lou, the purple monster, Ernie and Farley all receive an avalanche of offers from their friends, whose enthusiasm makes up for the impracticality of their contributions.

A note on the title page indicates a dual purpose for this book: to instill the value of cooperation and to encourage logical thinking by having children choose the most practical object for each occasion. On a more basic note, children can name the various characters and the things they carry. It might also be fun to discuss ways in which the other objects brought by the friends might be useful. For instance, while Farley solves Betty Lou's milkshake problem with a fistful of straws, Little Bird's flyswatter could be handy in keeping the bugs away from her delectable treat, and Grover's umbrella could offer welcome shade. Meanwhile, Herry, Big Bird, Ernie and Bert could combine their drum, washboard, pipe and silverware and form a band for some snacktime musical entertainment. It's amusing to guess at what might have inspired each character to contribute each item; perhaps my favorite oddball object is Little Bird's print of American Gothic.

Sesame Street lovers of all ages are likely to get a laugh out of this book, though I suspect that nostalgic adults may be most receptive to it. As is typical for the groundbreaking series, The Together Book combines outright silliness with important lessons, none more valuable than the example of an incredibly diverse group of friends eager to help each other out of a jam.