cover image A Visit to the Sesame Street Library

A Visit to the Sesame Street Library

Sesame Street, Deborah Hautzig. Random House Books for Young Readers, $3.25 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-394-87744-0

Big Bird discovers that the book he wants to buy in the bookstore (All About Birds costs more than he has, so the bookseller wisely sends him off to the library. From there, the story falls mostly into a question-and-answer format, as Big Bird discovers that libraries have records, cassettes, story hours, films, arts-and-crafts sections and even (at this branch, anyway) toys and a cozy corner. Grover is the other Sesame Street star to put in an appearance in the book, which seems fairly heavy on text for its young slant. Apart from a strictly utilitarian approach and the fact that Big Bird shouts in the library and no one hushes him, this is a fairly straightforward sequel to A Visit to the Sesame Street Hospital and A Visit to the Sesame Street Firehouse. But for readers who aren't diehard Big Bird fans, Gail Gibbons's Check it Out! might be a better first look at libraries. (36)