The Ernie and Bert Book

by Norman Stiles, Joe Mathieu (Illustrator)

Two of Sesame Street's favorite Muppets in another humerous situation.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

24 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1977

About the author

Norman Stiles is a writer best known for his work on the show Sesame Street, eventually becoming the show's head writer for over 15 years.

Reviews

[Steffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother always refused to read this book to my sister and me, calling it "silly." Thus, it became one of our favorite books.

[Allan Chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single time I look into an existing feature/function/process at work, I feel like I'm Bert in this book.

It's a long trail of "well, you see, Bert" until you find out that it's a huge web of pain that needs to be fixed, one thing at a time.

I love this book so much, it's not even funny.

For those of you thinking that it's based off a sketch, you're right! Here's the youtube link:

http://youtu.be/W_2Ky_nU2ys

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are so funny and the story itself is so goofy! Ernie goes through a very long explanation as to why Bert needs to wear a pot on his head and ends up making a mess in the process. I read this over and over as a child.

[Uriah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a child. I'm glad I can share it with my daughter. She gets very excited and thinks the story is hilarious as Ernie continues to find new places to put things.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasantly silly sequence in which Ernie moves objects from one container to another to accommodate the previous contents, leaving Bert with a pot for a hat.

[Miss Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it as a kid! So many fun memories...now let's see if my 2-year old loves it the same way.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all time favorite childhood book. I’ve found, as an adult, that there is no more apt metaphor for life than the events in this story. I thought I was an Ernie but now I know I’m a Bert.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

classic, both me and my son still love this one

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quintessential Ernie antics and Bert's suffering as a result. Does not get much better than this with that pair.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a chaotic mess of a book. Yikes.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I value the ability to laugh at and invent the absurd, both in myself and others. This shaggy dog story is Ernie's extensive narration of apparently irrelevant rearrangements he has made that spiral out into cartoonish absurdity like And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street. This terminates with the anticlimactic punchline of why Bert has a pot on his head on the cover. Good stuff to hopefully spark a love for the absurd in a young reader.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of the books I read to my boys when they were young children. It reminds me of the song, "There's a hole in the bucket" Erine comes into the room and puts a pot on Bert's head. Bert asks why he put the pot on his head, which starts Erine on his silly explanations of why he put different things into other containers. This is a fun book to read to young children. I brought children's books out to read to my grandchildren.

[Alicia Krauchuk Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I belive this was based off the original Sesame Street sketch. Ernie gives Bert a pot to wear after explaining what happened to his cowboy hat. It all starts with the breaking of a piggy bank. Funny.

[Alyssa Calhoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of my favorite books of all time. I reference it often, and tell people to "put a pot on your head" when things are lost and going in a roundabout fashion. I wish I could find a copy to buy--its out of print!

[The Book Box]

I borrowed this book from Oma last night because I love Ernie and Bert. This book was my mom's when she was younger - and she remembered it once she started reading it to me! I like pointing to "Burd" and all the crazy things happening on each page.

[Lauren Farris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh! I love this book! It's one of my favorite kid's books! Our copy is like torn to shreds and really well-read, but I still enjoy reading it.

[Cheryll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for young children! I always loved this book as a child. It's hilarious!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughters favorite book in the whole wide world - we read this at least once every night forwards & backwards...

[Rachel Rizzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly & delightful. Reminds me of growing up in the 80's. Makes a great read aloud.

[Kate Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

and reading and reading and reading
this book my need to be "lost" sometime soon

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book when I was little!