Big Bird Brings Spring to Sesame Street

by Lauren Collier Swindler

Big Bird plans to brighten up the dreary winter scenery along Sesame Street with the six flowers he has bought, but each friend he meets seems to need cheering up more than he does.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[DivaDiane SM]

Latest reread (2019): I must have read this book to my son 20 times, at least, since the first time as noted here on GR. He’s now past that age group (he’s 10) but a KidLit challenge to read a picture book prompted me to reread it. I chose this one, because Caroll Spinney, who play Big Bird on Sesame Street for 50 years passed away last week. Big Bird was one of my favorite characters.

This little book has it all (for little kids anyway)! Counting, colors, flower names, and our favorite Sesame Street Muppets and characters (minus Elmo). Not to mention that the story and the outcome are simply heart-warming and important for kids to learn - that we can do something to help the people we love out of selfless loving kindness. And they will probably do the same for us.

[Phoenix2]

Flowers, spring and Sesame street!! Loved the bright colours in this one. Plus, most of the Sesame street heroes are in this one.

[melinda]

such prescient politics..

[Christian West]

Big Bird thinks Sesame Street looks a bit sad in winter, so buys some flowers to cheer himself up.

This book has a bit too much text, but the pictures are bright and the flowers are distinctive enough that you can really tell what each is.

This goes on my eyebrow shelf because Bert has an amazing monobrow and The Count has very distinctive arched eyebrows. ONE eyebrow. Ha ha ha. TWO eyebrows. Ha ha ha.

[Gina]

The writing is pretty basic, but it has a good message about how sharing spreads joy. Kids who like the show should enjoy it, and may also be good for kids with the winter blahs.

[James Greening]

I really enjoyed this Little Golden Book's message and the way it was told. A great book for children!

[Cdupree2]

I like how big bird was nice and gave all of his flowers to his friends and at the end they gave flowers back.

[Amanda Becker wood]

Good book; has colors, counting, and the familiar faces of Sesame Street. It was a little long for small kids with short attention spans.

[millyreading]

Everyone looks out for and cares about one another on Sesame Street A Wonderful kind story about sharing and thinking of your friends. The illustrations are colourful, detailed and cheerful and as with all Sesame Street books bring the story is life. As we follow Big Bird along Sesame Street, the story talks about what we can and can’t do depending on the seasons, describes types of flowers, we count with Count Von Count, who has a great lounge room with fireplace!, and we empathize with Maria, Grover, Bert, Betty Lou and Ernie. Big Bird has a big heart and after all these years, re-reading this book this story still warms my heart

[Irish Blue Eyes]

Big Bird is feeling downcast due to the snow covering Sesame Street, which conceals his favorite places to play. To infuse his nest with the essence of spring, he purchases six vibrant flowers. He encounters friends who are in need: The Count, who requires some uplifting, Maria, who is busy shoveling, Grover, who is feeling disheartened about his scooter, Oscar, who is a wilting flower, Ernie, who is unwell, Betty Lou, and Bert, who has misplaced a paperclip. Big Bird generously offers each of them a flower. Once he has given away all his flowers, he returns to discover his friends joyfully holding the colorful blooms, transforming the entire street into a springtime scene. The central message emphasizes the importance of recognizing the emotions of others and responding with kindness, even when one has personal desires. This narrative elegantly illustrates that the act of giving can often bring greater satisfaction than retaining possessions. Big Bird realizes that happiness is not solely dependent on the weather, but rather on the warmth we foster in our relationships with others. The process of giving flowers subtly introduces children to the concept of subtraction as Big Bird's supply diminishes. Additionally, the variety of flower colors aids in color recognition. Big Bird's transformation from desiring spring for himself to creating a spring atmosphere for everyone exemplifies healthy emotional development and social skills.

[E]

This was one of my books when I was little, so I have a soft spot for it. But trying to be objective, this is a sweet simple story about kindness. The only thing holding it back is that it's pretty dependant on the child knowing the characters from the show.

[Rachel]

Powerful story about how giving is better than keeping things for ourselves. Little kids love it!

[Prijas Sera]

great

[Kylie Abecca]

I do like how this story ended up, though I do feel it could have been a bit more cheerful with better ideas on ways to stay occupied during the winter months.

[Mellanie C]

Big Bird buys flowers to brighten up his home in winter, but will they make it home with him?

[Delaney DeSpain]

A better story about sharing than The Rainbow Fish.

[Jamie]

There are so many awesome little details in this book. You could use the book as a lesson about seasons, sharing, counting, colors, basic math, ... The story revolves around Big Bird's idea for curing his "down in the dumps" -- he is going to buy some flowers to decorate his nest. The six different flowers are drawn with enough detail that they could be identified by even the average joe, and Big Bird names them in dialogue with other characters. A really cute and simple story.

[HeavyReader]

I bought this book to use as an art project. I plan to cut out the Sesame Street characters. I decided to read it first. It was a little slow going, but maybe that's because I'm not two years old and excited.

[Shannon]

"Shannon 1987." From Kmart's book department for 93 cents.

[Jennifer]

Kinda long, but the illustrations were good.

[Rachel]

Nothing like a spring flowers book on Sesame Street to bring a smile!