Random House Home Video began releasing Sesame Street videos in May of 1986, under the label My Sesame Street Home Video. These compilations, linking classic segments with new framing material, were 30 minutes in length as opposed to the hour-long television program.
Cookie Monster appeared in the logo, and the earliest covers had an illustrated Big Bird holding a picture of photo puppets to suit the topic. These editions also included a small booklet containing activities or songs from the video.
The title sequence of each video featured an animated opening set to the "Sesame Street Theme" with Cookie Monster biting the street sign. The closing sequence had an illustration of Cookie Monster holding a chalkboard listing the credits.
Videos in this collection from 1986 include: Learning About Letters, Learning About Numbers, Getting Ready to Read, I'm Glad I'm Me, Play-Along Games and Songs, and Bedtime Stories & Songs.
Videos released in 1987 include Learning to Add and Subtract, Getting Ready for School, Sing-Along, and Big Bird's Story Time.
Four more were released in 1988: Count it Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street, The Best of Ernie and Bert, The Alphabet Game, and Big Bird's Favorite Party Games.
After a lapse of several years, Random House released two more videos under the "My Sesame Street Home Video" label in 1994: A New Baby in My House and The Best of Elmo.
In 1995, Sony Wonder acquired the home video rights to Sesame Street. Several early Sony Wonder releases (e.g. Cookie Monster's Best Bites, Do the Alphabet, Elmocize, and Imagine That!) featured an abridged version of the "My Sesame Street Home Video" opening, though they were not branded as being part of the line. DVD releases of previous videos edit out the opening logo entirely.
Most of these videos were also released by Sony in Japan, with the same logo but different cover art. In Japan, the covers featured an illustration of a character as opposed to a photo.
Video Numbers[]
Each video was numbered with a proof-of-purchase box on one side of the packaging.
- Learning About Letters
- Learning About Numbers
- Getting Ready to Read
- I'm Glad I'm Me
- Play-Along Games and Songs
- Bedtime Stories & Songs
- Getting Ready for School
- Learning to Add and Subtract
- Sing Along
- Big Bird's Story Time
- The Alphabet Game
- Count It Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street
- The Best of Ernie and Bert
- Big Bird's Favorite Party Games
- A New Baby in My House
- The Best of Elmo
Notes[]
- Although the framing scenes for these videos featured the stable of regular Sesame Street Muppet performers, characters played by Jim Henson and Frank Oz mostly appeared in reused inserts. The few exceptions are instances of prerecorded vocal performances. Henson voiced Ernie for short lines of off-screen dialogue in I'm Glad I'm Me and Sing Along, and voiced Kermit for a cameo in Big Bird's Story Time. Oz voiced Cookie Monster for his brief appearance in A New Baby in My House.