Joe Mathieu

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Self-portrait of Joe Mathieu.

Joe Mathieu is an artist who has provided illustrations for Sesame Street books and merchandise since 1972, one year after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design.^[1]

Some notable titles include Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree, The Ernie & Bert Book and The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover which was adapted into a video storybook. He also provided artwork for the adaptation of Sesame Street episode 1839 published as I'll Miss You, Mr. Hooper and the 1978 special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.

His most extensive contributions have been to The Sesame Street Dictionary in 1980, and hundreds of features and covers for Sesame Street Magazine over the years. The dictionary features illustrations for 1,300 words over the coure of 250 pages. When the book was redistributed in volume form, Mathieu provided additional artwork for that as well. It has been printed in a Dutch translation and was reissued in English in 2004.

Perhaps most visible in Sesame Street’s publishing history, is Mathieu's bookend illustrations for titled series. These include The Sesame Street Library (for which he also provided covers), The Sesame Street Treasury, and Sesame Street Start-to-Read.

As an early illustrator for Sesame Street, Mathieu helped set a precedent for character style. This is evident in the 1979 Character Style Guide which was put together as a reference point for licensors on how the Sesame Street Muppets should be rendered. Around 2004, Mathieu made the transition from his traditional reflective art, to a digital medium. Most of his work for Sesame Street books after this time has been digitally rendered at some point in the creation process.

He has also illustrated other Sesame Street merchandise, such as the lyrics posters for Sing Yourself Silly! and Monster Hits, Sesame Street Live program booklets, and a 1983 collectible Christmas plate made by Gorham.

Other children's books have included The Eye Book (1998) and The Tooth Book (1989) by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Theo. LeSieg. He also illustrated books based on The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: The King's Beard and The Gink. His affection for Sesame Street is evident in Busy City, a non-Sesame Street book written by Mathieu featuring a set visit to the CTW production. In Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book from 1996, Mathieu drew Baby Natasha reading one of his books, Big Joe's Trailer Truck from 1974.

Books

* indicates co-illustrator

Gordon of Sesame Street Storybook * 1972	The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook * 1973	Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum 1974	The Sesame Street ABC Storybook * 1974
Big Bird's Busy Book * 1975	See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil 1975	Grover's Little Red Riding Hood 1976	I am a Monster 1976
The Sesame Street Book of Fairy Tales 1976	Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree 1977	The Ernie & Bert Book 1977	The Sesame Street Mix or Match Storybook 1977
What Ernie and Bert Did on Their Summer Vacation 1977	The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook * 1978	The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover 1978	The Sesame Street Library (series) * 1978
Ernie's Work of Art 1979	The Sesame Street Dictionary 1980	Christmas Eve on Sesame Street 1981	Ernie's Big Mess 1981
Nobody Cares About Me! 1982	Bathtime on Sesame Street 1983	Bert and the Missing Mop Mix-Up 1983	Ernie's Little Lie 1983
The Sesame Street Treasury (series) * 1983	A Visit to the Sesame Street Firehouse 1983	The Adventures of Big Bird in Dinosaur Days 1984	Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? 1984
I'll Miss You, Mr. Hooper 1984	My Doll Is Lost! 1984	Two Wheels for Grover 1984	Big Bird Says... A Game to Read and Play 1985
Big Bird Visits the Dodos 1985	Big Bird's Copycat Day 1985	I Want to Go Home! 1985	A Visit to the Sesame Street Hospital 1985
A Visit to the Sesame Street Library 1986	Susan and Gordon Adopt a Baby 1986	Big Bird's Big Book 1987	Goldilocks and the Three Grouches 1987
A Visit to the Sesame Street Museum 1987	Wait for Me! 1987	It's Easy! 1988	Sesame Street Fire Trucks 1988
Trucks in Your Neighborhood 1988	A My Name Is Alice 1989	On My Way with Sesame Street Volume 3 * 1989	On My Way with Sesame Street Volume 6 * 1989
On My Way with Sesame Street Volume 11 * 1989	On My Way with Sesame Street Volume 12 * 1989	On My Way with Sesame Street Volume 14 * 1989	Ernie and Bert's New Kitten 1990
Grover's Bad Dream 1990	The Sesame Street Pet Parade 1990	Big Bird Plays the Violin 1991	Bird Watching with Bert 1991
How to Get to Sesame Street 1991	Elmo Wants a Bath 1992	Pop Goes the Santa! 1992	Rain Forest Adventure 1992
We're Different, We're the Same 1992	Around the Corner on Sesame Street 1994	Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book 1994	Elmo's Little Glowworm 1994
Knock, Knock! Who's There? 1994	Where, Oh, Where? 1994	Sesame Street Stays Up Late 1995	Window on Sesame Street 1995
B is for Books! 1996	Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book 1996	Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? 1997	ABC and 123: A Sesame Street Treasury of Words and Numbers * 1998
Learn About Numbers 1998	Sesame Street Lift-and-Peek Party! 1998	Elmo's Wishes 1998	Ernie's Wishes 1998
Elmo's Busy Baby Book 1999	Brought to You By the Letter B 2000	Ernie's Joke Book 2001	If You're Happy and You Know It... Clap Your Paws! 2001
Brought to You by... Sesame Street! * 2004	First Sesame Street Library * 2004	Just the Way You Are 2004	The City Sings a Song! 2005
Fun with Friends 2005	Stop 'n' Go Safety! 2005	Big Block Party! 2006	Come Play with Elmo 2006
Eat Your Colors 2006	S is for School! 2006	My First Book About Dogs 2006	My First Book About Things that Go 2006
Elmo's Favorite Places 2007	Field Trip! 2007	Elmo Animal Mix & Match 2008	Everybody Dance! 2008
Elmo & Friends Picture Stories 2008	Abby Mix & Match Nursery Rhymes 2009	Plant a Tree for Me! 2010

Merchandise

The Count's Coloring Book (coloring book) 1976	Who's Who on Sesame Street (coloring book) 1977	Sesame Street Story Time (album) 1978
Sesame Street Presto Magix c. 1980	The Case of the Missing Rara Avis (program) 1980	Big Bird's Super Spectacular Totally Amateur Show (program) 1981
Sesame Street Gorham Plates 1983	Sesame Street game 1985	The New Who's Who on Sesame Street * (coloring book) 1989
Let's Be Friends (program) 1994	1-2-3 Imagine! (program) 1996	Let's Make a Word! (CD-ROM game) 2001
Thanks & Giving All Year Long 2004	tin canister unknown date