In the landscape of children’s television in the 1970s, Sesame Street books enjoyed a unique creative freedom. Unburdened by test audiences and immediate online critiques, these books delved into complex themes, utilizing the show’s beloved puppets to impart important life lessons. As a parent navigating the world of children’s literature, I’ve found that the most impactful Sesame Street books often use these iconic characters to gently explore challenging subjects. Among these characters, none embodies poignant vulnerability quite like the furry blue monster, Grover.
On television, Grover is known for his charm, his endearing melancholy, and his knack for eliciting both laughter and sympathy. However, the Sesame Street books of the ’70s, such as the classic The Monster at the End of This Book, reveal an even more nuanced and relatable Grover. He emerges as the most insecure of the Muppets. Simply getting by isn’t enough for Grover; he craves universal love, acceptance, and resounding success. This deep-seated desire often leads him to experiences of disappointment and heartbreak throughout these literary adventures.
Grover frequently describes himself with positive affirmations – “cute,” “lovable,” “adorable,” “a friend” – highlighting his need for external validation. He vocalizes these comforting words, even if self-proclaimed, to reassure himself. This underlying insecurity is evident in book titles like Grover’s Bad, Awful Day and Grover’s Bad Dream, but it also permeates narratives seemingly unrelated to his anxieties. Even in stories with cheerful titles, Grover’s precocious anxieties and vulnerabilities are often central themes.
Consider Grover Learns to Read. In this story, Grover’s fear of his mother discontinuing their bedtime reading ritual drives him to conceal his burgeoning literacy skills. Similarly, in Grover Goes to School, Grover’s intense desire to fit in and be accepted by his peers makes him susceptible to manipulation, ultimately leading to tears. This pattern of seeking validation and encountering emotional setbacks is a recurring motif in Sesame Street Grover books.
Grover is perpetually close to tears or seeking solace in his mother’s comforting embrace. His mother is a constant source of support, offering a shoulder to cry on. In stark contrast, Grover’s father remains an absent figure, barely mentioned in the nearly half-century history of Sesame Street. The fleeting reference in The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover – where Grover’s mother uses “a funny old helmet that Grover’s daddy had brought home” to create his Super Grover costume – is a poignant reminder of this paternal absence. Even the origin story of the goofy superhero Super Grover is tinged with parental neglect and trauma.
Perhaps no book encapsulates Grover’s inherent sadness more powerfully than 1986’s Why Are You So Mean to Me. This book achieves a level of raw desperation rarely seen outside of adult contemporary dramas, yet it’s presented within the gentle context of Sesame Street.
The narrative begins with Grover in a state of optimistic anticipation. He wakes up excited about the school picnic, and his joy amplifies when his mother presents him with a baseball bat, envisioning himself as a future baseball star. “I will be a super batter!” Grover declares, showcasing his characteristic, albeit often misguided, enthusiasm. Grover doesn’t aim for mediocrity; he aspires to be exceptional, to be admired and celebrated. This ambition makes his inevitable failures all the more poignant.
True to Grover’s narrative arc, reality soon deviates from his aspirations. “Grover was not a super batter,” the story reveals. He strikes out, ending the game, and is met with ridicule from his classmates. Walking home, Grover’s innocent question, “Why did all my friends make fun of me?” underscores his confusion and hurt. “A big tear ran down (Grover’s) furry face,” the book continues, painting a picture of child-friendly sorrow.
In his self-pity, Grover encounters the ever-cheerful Big Bird, who proudly shows Grover a painting of him. Grover, in a fit of deflated rage, retorts, “That stinks! That does not look like me at all,” reducing Big Bird to tears. Big Bird’s heartbroken cry, echoing the book’s title, “Why Are You So Mean to Me,” prompts Grover to, in turn, burst into tears, recounting his baseball game humiliation.
Seeking comfort and reassurance, Grover asks his mother, “Mommy, will I ever be good at batting?” In a moment of genuine tenderness, Grover’s mother offers a realistic yet comforting response. She acknowledges he might improve with practice, but also gently suggests, “maybe you will not,” ultimately reassuring him that his worth isn’t tied to athletic prowess: “you will always be good at being Grover.”
A hallmark of Sesame Street books is their honest portrayal of emotions, including tears. For children, crying is often a natural response to frustration and disappointment. These books acknowledge this reality. While Grover’s stories often conclude with lessons learned and smiles replacing tears, the underlying sadness and experiences of rejection linger, making him deeply relatable.
In his most compelling stories, Sesame Street Grover is driven by a universal desire to belong, to excel, and to be accepted and loved unconditionally. However, he’s also motivated by fear. In the 1971 masterpiece, The Monster at the End of This Book, the monster Grover fears seems external, but it is ultimately a manifestation of his internal anxieties. In a meta-narrative twist, Grover, aware of the book’s title, becomes increasingly anxious about encountering the monster he believes awaits at the end. “Oh, I am so afraid of monsters!” he laments.
Monsters symbolize our deepest fears and anxieties. Grover’s desperate attempts to prevent the reader from turning the pages and reaching the “monster” reflect his avoidance of confronting his own fears. Like many, Grover is prone to catastrophic thinking, dreading the future and struggling against the inevitable. The revelation at the book’s end – that the monster is none other than himself, lovable, furry old Grover – is a powerful moment of self-acceptance.
Grover’s fear of external monsters mirrors his fear of his own perceived “monstrousness,” his insecurities and flaws. It is through accepting his true self, imperfections and all, that Grover transcends his fear and self-doubt.
In 2000, a sequel to The Monster at the End of This Book was released, Another Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover, and Equally Lovable, Furry Little Elmo. However, this sequel marked a departure from the original’s introspective depth. While Grover is filled with dread at the prospect of the monster, Elmo, embodying unwavering optimism, embraces the idea. Elmo suggests that monsters are never as frightening as our imaginations conjure them to be.
Elmo represents an aspirational ideal – cheerful, optimistic, and perpetually enthusiastic. But Sesame Street Grover, with his anxieties, his hopes, his vulnerability, and his yearning for acceptance, reflects our own human condition. This is why we connect with Grover. He is the most human, the most lovable, and perhaps the saddest of all the Sesame Street monsters, making him enduringly relatable across generations.
This article was originally published on streetsounds.net.
