The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers

by Caroll Spinney, Jason Milligan, J. Milligan

Book Overview

An inspiring message for all ages: Find your inner bird. If you're looking for wisdom and joy in your life, go straight to Sesame Street and heed the words of its most beloved and profound resident, Caroll Spinney, who has spent the past thirty-four years in a bird costume (and a trash can) as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Three decades inside a giant puppet have taught Spinney a valuable and surprising lesson: Being a bird can make you a better...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375507817
• ISBN13: 9780375507816
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Villard Books
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book by a wonderful man behind the feathers

Big Bird is a wonderful, kind-hearted creature, because Caroll Spinney is a gentle, kind-hearted man. His uplifting memoirs about his life bringing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life and making them very real beings to millions of children and adults, alike, are truly beautiful. Caroll is a very effective writer and illustrator, alike, and his tales brought joy to me as I read every one of them. I was especially touched by his chapter on doing Big Bird in China with the little girl and the goodbye they had at the airport. I was equally moved by his inherrent love and genuine affection for the puppets around him, described best by his picking Ernie up off the floor and apologizing to him for Jim's having unceremoniously dropped him there. One of my favorite lines in the book was near the end when he talked about the new folks and new format; at one point he said, "Then came Elmo." Those of us classic Sesame Street purists understood that line on a molecular level! Most significant for me was one of the messages of wisdom Caroll so eloquently describes. He says that sometimes you realize that your life is exactly how you always wanted it to be. I read this and realized that for myself, that was absolutely true, and I hadn't realized it till just that moment. I am a huge Sesame Street fan, and I'm so proud that my son has become one, too (he's nuts about Elmo, but equally gaga over Big Bird in Journey to Ernie). And this easy read made me feel warm and nostalgic. I've always understood Big Bird, and now I understand him -- and Oscar, not to mention Caroll -- alot better. Thank you, Caroll, for sharing your life in feathers and grouchland and for writing this wonderful book that spoke to me so deeply.

Fascinating Story of Wisdom from The Big Bird

During vacation with our daughter in Connecticut I even felt closer to Home of the Big Bird! The first of 7 new books hooked me by the cover picture and title... Even the intimate story of Caroll Spinney: "Playing Big Bird has been my job for half my lifetime. It is a fabulous career- more than I ever hoped for, yet everything I believed it could be. Going to work everyday is a joy. The people I work with are tremendously talented...to educate and inspire young children is extremely motivating." "Jim Henson's office held an imposing mahogany table with carved lions for legs as his desk. Over the fireplace hung a majestic papermache` & wire moosehead looking down on us..." Caroll Spinney paints an intimate, friendly picture of gifted and creative genius of Jim Henson: "I pictured making Big Bird a large feathered creature-who is very funny and very silly. Oscar will be a purple Grouch, a furry creature that lives in a pile of litter and trash in the gutter." When Bob Hope invited Big Bird and wife, Debra to go to China with his Show, he saw Big Bird for the first time. Pointing at the Bird, "Wow! Look at that!" Big Bird looked at Hope, and said, "I thought I had a funny-looking Beak!" Bob burst into great guffaws of laughter! Big Bird followed-up, "Gosh, I didn't know you'd be so Short!" Hope quickly summed-up his meeting with the Bird, "Let's open-up with those lines, they are funnier than our Stuff!" Finishing my second reading of Big Bird, I was deeply moved by his quoting Emily Dickinson, "Hope is the thing with feathers." Others like, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "I just can't Dance" and Flip Wilson. As Big Bird learned to dance by pretending, "I can count in-my-head and still dance!" A delight to both read and discuss with my grown children and grandchildren! Don't miss it! Retired Chaplain, Fred W Hood

The View From Inside the Bird

The Wisdom of Big Bird is an easy-to-take book about how Sesame Street got started and how it is produced, all from the perspective of the man inside the bird. For instance, I learned that there are no eyeholes in the Big Bird suit, so Spinney has to use a mini-monitor to navigate. Spinney's story of how he met his wife (several times) was entertaining, and I loved the description of the Sesame Street trip to China,with an impromptu limo ride with Bob Hope.Even the drawings are well done, by Spinney himself. Recommended!

I loved it & want more.....

I just finished this book, which I have to admit I picked up because I adore the Muppets, and can't wait to read more. This book gave an initmate look at life under those comical and comforting bubble eyes. I laughed at the memories and even cried when Mr. Spinney discusses the life and death of both Jim Henson and Mr. Hooper. I enjoyed getting a unique, behind the scenes perspective on something that has had a major impact on my life. Thanks to Mr. Spinney for teaching compassion and that it is ok to be a little different and dream your own dream. The world is a better place with Big Bird, & Oscar.

Exceeded Expectations

I half saw Mr. Spinney's interview on TV the other morning and was very intrigued with the idea of the book. Having grown up (and actually recently watched a few episodes of) Sesame Street, I decided to buy the book to read on a business trip. With a title like "The Wisdom of Big Bird," many things came to my mind. I was really expecting a somewhat light-hearted "7 Habits"-type book with excerpts from past Sesame episodes explaining the philosophical ideals. This was not the case - Little did I know that Spinney (with the help of J. Milligan) would expertly tell his life with an "inside-view" as the world's best-known educational Muppet. With his tasteful reminisces of the late Henson & Mr. Hooper, Spinney brought back the memories of an era and provided me with an adult illustration of a world of pure innocence. The book provides a beautiful look at the beloved Bird and his soul. Thank you Caroll for taking your dreams and making them every child's reality!