The following is a list of Muppet Mentions made in books outside of the Henson/Sesame fold, which are too brief or minor to constitute having their own page in the Book Mentions category.
A Child's Introduction to Ballet[]
This instructional picture book written by Laura Lee and illustrated by Meredith Hamilton includes a line of trivia on the back cover: "Which famous ballet dancer did a duet with Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show? (page 81)" The answer is Rudolf Nureyev.
Cinegeek[]
Cinegeek is a 2017 book of "Fun Trivia Tidbits Celebrating the Cinematic World" written and illustrated by Pluttark. Page 10 consists of "Animated Films Featuring Puppets: Not Recommended for Younger Viewers" and includes The Dark Crystal as well as Team America and Meet the Feebles (which are not animated but do feature puppets). Page 50 features "Actors Who've Played Gods in the Movies" including Whoopi Goldberg as The Boss in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made[]
2013 non-fiction book written by Greg Sestero documenting the troubled production of the 2003 cult film The Room, along with his relationship with the eccentric but mysterious director Tommy Wiseau.
In Chapter 1, Sister recalls patrons at the Palm restaurant trying their best to pinpoint Wiseau: "Gene Simmons after three months in the Gobi Desert? The Hunchback of Notre Dame following corrective surgery? An escaped Muppet? The drummer from Ratt?”
Eleanor & Park[]
In the 2012 novel by Rainbow Rowell, while talking to Park on the phone, Eleanor says she and her brother were watching Fraggle Rock.
Ghostwritten[]
Chapter 3, "Hong Kong", of this novel by David Mitchell contains a couple of mentions. In particular, one evening the narrator (of that chapter) notes one liasion during which Sesame Street is on the television in the background. (It specifically mentions watching Big Bird, Ernie, and Bert sing a song about a magic E that makes the A say its name. See page 90 to 91 of the paperback version of the book. Also the word Fraggle is used in Chapter 9 "Night Train", see p. 384 of the paperback version.
Illustration of the "Muppets Make Manhattans" cocktail
Gone With the Gin[]
Tim Federle's 2015 book of movie-inspired cocktail recipes includes "The Muppets Make Manhattans".
Goodnight Gorilla[]
In Peggy Rathmann's children's book, the armadillo at the zoo has an Ernie doll in his cage.
The Harvard Mystique[]
On the front cover of the book, the title briefly read "The Harvard Mystique: The Power Syndrome That Affects Our Lives, From Sesame Street To The White House".
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks[]
Kevin Clash is mentioned among the notable people who were raised in Turner Station, Maryland.
Inside Larry & Sergey's Brain[]
In Richard L Brandt's biography of Larry Page and Sergey Brin there are at least two minor Muppet mentions. On page 3 he writes describing Larry Page "He rarely volunteers to answer questions unless specifically asked to address them. When he does, it's with a methodical intonation that sounds like a baritone version of Kermit the Frog". Then on page 53, while describing the formation of Page and Brin's company Google he writes "The first person they brought in, Craig Silverstein, is a computer geek in their own spiritual image. He looks the part. Short and slender, with a Stan Laurel chin and a usually shy demenour, in his spare time he runs an online fansite about Muppets."
Kids Are Weird: And Other Observations from Parenthood[]
A page from Jeffrey Brown's comedy book features a child's reaction to the Elton John episode of The Muppet Show.
King Dork[]
A 2006 young adult novel by Frank Portman, King Dork follows the adventures of a high-school sophomore named Tom Henderson during the craziest semester of his life.
While watching two competing goth metal bands at his high school's Festival of Lights, Tom tells the reader that "both singers were trying as hard as they could to impersonate the Cookie Monster".
Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy[]
"Hate - Roasting Miss Piggy" is featured on pages 205 to 206. The author prefaces his comments by stating that "Jim Henson is a genius, not a word I use lightly." He goes on to describe Frank Oz and his various Muppet performances. In regard to Miss Piggy, he states that she is the "... most popular Muppet and the least funny, most obnoxious yet bland, culturally influential of Henson's creations." He also laments her "trilled catchphrase" — Moi? — and comments that he would "like nothing more than to see her roasted on an invented garbage-can-top platter held aloft by Oscar the Grouch, a rotten apple stuffing her mouth into silence."
Little Brother[]
In chapter 12, the main character, Marcus, purchases "a T-shirt that had a Photoshop image of Grover and Elmo kicking the grown-ups Gordon and Susan off Sesame Street," as part of the growing "Don't Trust Anyone Over 25" popularity.
Never Can Say Goodbye[]
Subtitled Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York, this 2014 book includes 27 essays from famous personages (mostly writers) about New York City. In "City of Mundane Fantasy", Elliott Kalan writes of his childhood affection for the mundanities of Manhattan life: commuting on the subway, working in an office, wearing a suit and tie. He relates that his first exposure to this was in The Muppets Take Manhattan, when Kermit the Frog was afflicted with amnesia and became mundane businessfrog Phil.
New York 2140[]
Kim Stanley Robinson's 2017 science fiction novel features the following exchange when two characters wonder how they fit into the collection of personality types living in their building:
- "So who are we?" Jeff says.
- "We are the wise old geezers, Jeffrey."
- "But that's Gordon Hexter," Jeff points out.
- "No, we're the two old Muppets on the balcony, cracking lame jokes."
- "Lame-ass jokes," says Mutt. "I like that." "Me too."
The Order of the Stick[]
The Order of the Stick is a webcomic but a handful of books have been published, some with original content.
Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales[]
In a parody of Hamlet, the play-within-a-play called The Murder of Gonzago is confused by Elan for The Murder of Gonzo. He's horrified to hear of the murder and thinks Camilla would be upset that it was turned into a play so soon after the event.
Playing with Myself[]
Chapter 14 of Randy Rainbow's autobiography is titled "It's Not Easy Being Green Screen."
Playing with Power[]
On the front cover of Marsha Kinder's book, the title read "Playing with Power in Movies, Television, and Video Games: From Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and in the book's official description, it read:
Rough Draft: Pop Culture the Way It Almost Was[]
Rough Draft is a 2001 humor book by humor webzine Modern Humorist, consisting of illustrations of fictional early versions of real products throughout the 20th century.
- Page 38 shows a list by John Lennon that shows rejected original members of The Beatles that were cut, except Ringo Starr. One of them is Jim Henson, which Paul recruited. He was rejected because according to John "THE BAND DOESN'T NEED ANY BLOODY PUPPETS".
- Page 52 notes that Sesame Street's Big Bird "began in 1969 as Big Spider, a seven-foot tall daddy longlegs. After the show's first rehearsal, all of the child participants had to be heavily medicated."
- Page 54 states Kermit's song "It's Not Easy Being Green” was initially titled "It's Not Easy Being a Disenfranchised Minority Group".
- Page 68 says that David Crosby was supposed to be the celebrity host for the first episode of The Muppet Show, but states that "the combination of a fifth of whisky, 1.8 grams of cocaine, two hits of LSD, a talking frog, a pig in a karate outfit, and a pair of old men making terrible puns proved to be too much for him."
- In Page 81, one of the other famous television catchphrases decisions before "Heeeere's Johnny" in The Shining was "It’s The Muppet Show with our very special guest, Bernadette Peters!". He would then flail his arms just like Kermit.
- Page 96 claims that Fozzie Bear was America Online founder Steve Case's first choice for the email notification "You've got mail", but Frank Oz balked at the stock-options-only payments, so they went with Elwood Edwards instead.
- In Page 107, one of the programs on Fox News' linchpins was Muppet Fetuses.
- Page 111 states that the Tickle Me Elmo’s predecessor was Gently Massage Me Elmo, which the media reported various misuses on.
The Schoolkids Joke Book[]
This joke book compiled by Brough Girling (ISBN 0-00-692861-7), published by Collins in 1988 contains two Muppet jokes. On p68 there is a joke by Caroline Green from Bovingdon School, Hemel Hempstead which reads "Q. Where Does Kermit keep his money? A. In a Miss Piggy Bank". While on p103 is a joke by Victoria Ladds, from Carlton School, Boston which reads "Q. What do you get if you cross Miss Piggy with itching poweder? A. Pork Scratchings".
Slice of Life[]
A collection of short stories by Shaun Mehta, one of the short stories is titled "Sesame Street."
Smiles to Go[]
On pages 246-247, near the end of the book during the graduation of the kids moving into the first grade, Kermit the Frog was heard singing "Rainbow Connection."
The Time Traveler's Wife[]
On page 104 of Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel, Henry describes Clare's sculpture of tiny wisps and purple paper as "a cross between a Muppet and a bird's nest."
This Town Will Never Let Us Go[]
In this Faction Paradox novel by Lawrence Miles, one of the signs of Faction Paradox's influence on the timeline of a suburban town is the existence of an episode of The Muppet Show in which the guest star is George Orwell. One skit is a pastiche of the Room 101 scene from 1984, featuring Rizzo the Rat, and the show ends with a musical number based on Animal Farm in which Miss Piggy storms out saying "I guess some animals are more equal than others!"
The Unruly Woman[]
Kathleen Rowe's 1995 film studies tome titles its first chapter "Pig Ladies, Big Ladies, and Ladies with Big Mouths: Feminism and the Carnivalesque." The publisher explains, "At the heart of the book are detailed analyses of two highly successful unruly women—the comedian Roseanne Arnold and the Muppet Miss Piggy."