Getting Ready to Read

Getting Ready to Read is a 1986 Sesame Street direct-to-video compilation.

The video promotes reading skills with various Sesame inserts, along with a new framing sequence where Big Bird operates his own "Reading Hotline."

Segments[]

Picture	Segment	Description
	FRAME 1	Big Bird has started his own “Reading Hotline”. Sam (a regular visitor) and his cat, Rocky, arrive to his stand, wanting to know what his box says. Big Bird reads it as “CAT FOOD” and teaches Sam to learn what it says instead of having to come to him all the time.
	Muppets	Grover talks about the word walk. He is accompanied by styrofoam letters that form the word walk, and they keep walking back and forth. (First: Episode 1692)
	FRAME 2	Ferlinghetti Donizetti fills in for Big Bird on a call before telling the viewer about rhymes. However, he overdoes it and can't stop! Note: A portion of this scene appears in Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
	Muppets	Ernie and Bert: Rhyming Game — Ernie gets Bert to participate in a rhyme game, but Ernie ends the game just as Bert is starting to enjoy it. (First: Episode 0798)
	Cartoon	In rhyme, a man points out animals who stole and/or ruined his clothing. (First: Episode 0778)
	Muppets	Instead of cookies, Cookie Monster recites a poem about galoshes -- or at least he tries. (First: Episode 1626)
	FRAME 3	A monster caller (Martin P. Robinson) asks Big Bird what rhyming has to do with reading. He puts him on hold as he calls Maria into his nest to ask the same question. As she demonstrates it, the monster caller gets fed up with waiting, hangs up and enters the nest himself, unnoticed. Big Bird tries to talk to the caller, but sees he’s gone and tells the monster next to him he must’ve gotten tired of waiting, causing the monster to faint.
	Muppets	"Fat Cat" (First: Episode 0536)
	FRAME 4	Big Bird answers another call and helps Pammy learn to read by using the word ending “OP” to make new words.
	Muppets	"The "OP" Family Song" (First: Episode 0146)
	Cartoon	HEN / PEN / TEN / MEN (First: Episode 1881)
	FRAME 5	Oscar the Grouch has set up his own reading hotline and tells his caller to learn to read by watching “Grouch TV.” The static on the channel fades away and reveals...
	Muppets	...Slimey and his band, "Earth, Rain and Mud", perform "Gimme Mud." Introduction and closing scenes cut (First: Episode 1549)
	FRAME 5 cont'd	The caller tells Oscar how much they hated the song and Oscar tells Slimey he has a hit!
	Muppets	Cookie Monster sounds out the word FOOD, then eats it. (First: Episode 0601)
	Muppets	Same Sound Brown shows Farley that "That's What Reading's All About." (First: Episode 1088)
	FRAME 6	Two Honkers try to get Big Bird’s attention, but since he’s on the phone he asks the viewer to use the skills they learned to help the Honkers sound out their word (HONK).
	Cartoon	B ... US! We're on the bus! (First: Episode 0784)
	Muppets	Two-Headed Monster: RUN (First: Episode 1446)
	FRAME 7	Sam and Rocky come back with various boxes of food, not to learn how to read, but to show off their reading skills. Tired, Big Bird decides to field one more call, which he gets Maria to answer again.

Releases[]

Notes[]

The video was re-titled "Learn to Read" for a 1994 UK release by The Video Collection. A new title card with the revised name was inserted into the animated opening sequence. The original title and opening were retained for the 1997 UK release by Disney Video.