Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Together Book

Sesame Street The Together Book
Revena Dwight ~ pics Roger Bradfield ~ Western Publishing, 1971


This must be the week for licensed characters here at the VKBMKL headquarters. (Full disclosure: "headquarters" being the garage office behind my house.)

Though I hold true to my vintage book snob etiquette, I would be remiss if I didn't share the entirety of my childhood experience with my son... which being a child of the 70s means Sesame Street. My son (oh ye of little TV viewing), does not watch the current incarnation of Sesame Street, though he does watch the "Old School" version on DVD occasionally along with a few views of The Muppet Movie and sometimes a chapter or two of the first season DVD set of The Muppet Show. That said, it is mainly through books that my son has gotten to know the Sesame Street gang. Peruse his shelves and you will find nary an Elmo giggle, but what you will find are all the books of my own youth: How To Be a Grouch circa 1976, Oscar's Book circa 1975, Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum circa 1974, The Monster at the End of This Book circa 1971, and of course, The Together Book.

I love the disclaimer in the front cover that reads the book was... "created to entertain your child as he (1) tests his logical thinking by choosing the object that will prove useful in each set of circumstances, and (2) discovers that things go more smoothly when we cooperate with each other".

Each page has a person and/or monster who is trying to do something that requires something else to actually do it, for instance...

What do I have that needs a helper?
I have a hill piled high with show...(turn page)
Who has something good for sliding?... (turn page)
One, Two, Three -- and down we go!


Really, I am always on the lookout for SS books published before 1980, so thanks for humoring me down memory lane. Now I feel really old. I think I'm gonna go hit the box wine.

Also by:
There's an Elephant in My Bathtub
Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery
Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum
The In and Out and All About Sesame Street Coloring Book
The Many Faces of Ernie
The Great Cookie Thief
Sesame Street 1,2,3 Storybook
The Amazing Mumford and His Amazing Subtracting Trick
The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook

5 comments:

  1. I loved this book when I was little. Man, would I love to get my hands on a copy.

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  2. They are available for cheap all over the web... here's two on ebay. bye!

    http://cgi.ebay.com/SESAME-STREET-Together-Book-Little-Golden-Book-1st-Ed_W0QQitemZ350149614893QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090106?IMSfp=TL090106116008r11711

    http://cgi.ebay.com/A-LITTLE-GOLDEN-BOOK-SESAME-STREET-THE-TOGETHER-BOOK_W0QQitemZ270204099598QQcmdZViewItem

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  3. I see that this is one of the Sesame Street books illustrated by Roger Bradfield! Have you ever read any of his books? "Pickle Chiffon Pie" and "The Flying Hockey Stick" have been reissued and they are both fantastic, but there are many more of his 60's books that are out of print and wandering around the secondhand book universe.

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  4. somebody introducted me to your website and i have a childhood flashback everyday...the book today just took me right back to age 5!!!! thank you!

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  5. When cleaning out my parents' basement, I found my beloved copy of this book. I have just started reading it to my 2.5 year old son, who LOVES it. I did a google search for the book (to buy another copy) and your blog came up. What a great idea for a blog! Thanks for helping me remember more of my childhood favorite books. =)

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