Learning About Letters is a 1986 Sesame Street direct-to-video compilation in the "My Sesame Street Home Video" line.
It's Alphabet Day on Sesame Street. Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus plan to go through every letter of the alphabet, read words, and afterwards, Luis will read them a story. Snuffy goes searching for something that begins with the letter A, while Telly Monster gets the gang organized to talk about the alphabet.
Segments[]
Picture | Segment | Description |
---|---|---|
FRAME 1 | Big Bird and Snuffy welcome the viewer and announce that today, they'll be going over the alphabet, even reading some words. Snuffy doesn't quite remember how the alphabet goes, but soon realizes the correct order with the help of a song... | |
Muppets / Celebrity | Lena Horne and the Anything Muppets sing "The Alphabet Song." (First: Episode 0575) | |
FRAME 1 cont'd | Following the song, Snuffy remarks how great the alphabet is and reveals the first letter - A. He then leaves to find things that start with A. As he leaves, a voice beckons Big Bird outside. | |
FRAME 1 cont'd | The voice is that of Telly Monster's, who hurries Big Bird along, hoping everything goes smoothly while talking about the alphabet. He shows off some A words, followed by some B words, then a C word - cow (Kevin Clash). | |
Muppets | Cookie Monster sings "C is for Cookie." (First: Episode 0372) | |
FRAME 2 | Now at the letter D, Telly drags in a dentist (Pam Arciero), who wishes to speak about flossing before she's shoved off. Telly then knocks on Oscar's trash can; not to see Oscar, but his elephants. | |
Cartoon | Frances Fairy displays several F words. (First: Episode 0335) | |
FRAME 3 | Telly and Big Bird now show some F words. Buster the Horse illustrates a G word - gallop. The word itself follows suit. | |
Cartoon | Speech Balloon: G-gorilla (First: Episode 0085) | |
FRAME 4 | Buster zooms past the letter H, for horse. | |
Cartoon | Consonant Sound Limerick: H - Horse (First: Episode 1167) (beginning edited) | |
FRAME 5 | Oscar displays the letter I, for Irvine holding a fish-topped ice cream cone, which Luis finds icky. | |
FRAME 5 cont'd | Telly does some jumping to show the word "jump." The word does the same. | |
Cartoon | Speech Balloon: K - Key (First: Episode 0040) | |
Muppets | Ernie and Bert sing "La, La, La." (First: Episode 0321) | |
FRAME 6 | Big Bird shows a baby Honker the L in the CLOSED sign of the Fix-It Shop. He goes on, saying letters can be found everywhere. | |
Film | City alphabet (Joe Raposo instrumental with kid voiceover) (First: Episode 0132) | |
Muppets | Kermit draws the letter M on-screen with his magic finger. Grover asks what Kermit has drawn, and Kermit says it's the letter M. "Mmmmm!" Grover agrees. (First: Episode 0451) | |
Muppets | "M-M-M Monster Meal" (First: Episode 0380) | |
FRAME 7 | In Big Bird's nest, the young Honker takes a nap. | |
Cartoon | O for orange Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 0673) | |
FRAME 8 | Telly displays his piggy bank, which has a sole quarter. | |
Cartoon | A wizard turns into R things. (First: Episode 0369) | |
FRAME 9 | Telly shows some words that start with S and T (including his name). The letter U (Clash) prefers to speak for himself. | |
Cartoon | The Villain in the Panama Hat (V) (First: Episode 0507) | |
FRAME 10 | The gang wraps up the alphabet - Big Bird has a waffle, the dentist has an x-ray, Luis has a yo-yo, and an embarrassed Buster appears dressed as a zebra. | |
Cartoon | Madrigal Alphabet Animation by Jeff Hale (First: Episode 0615) | |
FRAME 11 | Luis is about to read a story to the group when an Anything Muppet boy (Clash) notes that the book doesn't have any pictures. Luis explains how the letters work together to make words which make the stories, and proceeds to read the story of "The King Banishes the Letter P." (First: Episode 0712) This segment is edited, replacing Luis' original narration scenes with linking footage. The next and final appearance of this segment would include this edit of the segment. | |
FRAME 11 cont'd |
Big Bird returns to his nest to find Snuffy, who's brought an apple and is ready to move onto B. Big Bird explains they've already finished, making Snuffy sad. Big Bird cheers him up, promising that they'll simply start everything again. He tells the gang his plan and Telly frantically gets everyone organized. Big Bird announces the sponsors from A to Z. |
Releases[]
International releases[]
Booklet[]
Scans of the activity book from the original VHS release.
DVD Chapters[]
- The ABC's
- C is for Cookie
- Frances Fairy
- The Letter "L"
- Letters Everywhere
- The Letter "M"
- ABC Song
- Storytime: "The King Banishes the Letter P"
Muppet Cast[]
- Linking Footage:
- Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, Buster the Horse, Oscar the Grouch, Irvine, Letter U, a cow, a dentist, a little boy, Henrietta Honker, Fluffy, Sophie, Blitzen, and Schopenhauer
- Inserts:
- Cookie Monster, Herry Monster, Ernie, Bert, Kermit the Frog, Grover, King Peter the Persnickety, Princess Penelope, King Peter's pet porcupine, Oscar the Grouch, Farley, Monsters, Fenwick, Billy, Anything Muppets
Cast[]
- Starring Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar
- Jim Henson's Muppets:
- Luis: Emilio Delgado
- Special Guest: Lena Horne
Credits[]
- Writer: Sara Compton
- Songs by Joe Raposo and Jeffrey Moss
- Directed by Jon Stone