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OscarsRottenBirthday
Written by Dan Elliott
Illustrator Normand Chartier
Published 1981
Publisher Random House
Series Sesame Street Start-to-Read
ISBN 0394848489

Oscar's Rotten Birthday is a 1981 Sesame Street storybook about Oscar the Grouch's birthday.

Oscar lives in a trash can, and gets regular deliveries from the Mudman -- so there's no way that he'll enjoy the birthday party that the Sesame Street residents are preparing.

Oscar hears about the surprise party, so he puts a "GO AWAY!" sign on his can, and hides in the dark. His friends lure him out of the can by singing a new version of the song that Big Bird has prepared: "Rotten Birthday to You." Grover gives Oscar a bouquet of smelly stinkweed, Ernie and Bert offer broken toys, and Betty Lou gives him a bag of peanut shells. The Count, Herry Monster and Roosevelt Franklin give Oscar an old sock, a flat tire, a jar of mud and a broken clock.

The party drags on. The group plays Pin the Tail on the Pig, Toss the Trash in the Can, and Dunk for Rotten Apples. Finally, Cookie Monster gives Oscar a messy mud cake with a broken candle.

Despite himself, Oscar is pleased with the party -- until he realizes that he has to wait a whole year until his next rotten birthday.

Book and Audio Sets[]

The book and tape set is narrated by a male voiceover, with character voices by Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Fran Brill. The recording includes a fully-scored version of the song written by Big Bird in the story.

Translations[]

See also[]

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