Jim Henson Books

I'm not sure that this book has upheld the high standards of the Muppet franchise. The moral lesson and cute characters are there, but the entertainment value seems to be a bit compromised.

Each page has a lot of words, and the action is pretty slow-paced. Basically, Fozzie makes plans with Kermit, but Kermit blows him off and then denies that their plans were for that day at all. This makes Fozzie angry, but he's not sure of the best way to handle this emotion. He and Kermit eventually have a resolution in the form of a discussion in which Kermit admits his mistake and their great friendship endures. This is a positive model for a realistic situation that children might face, but I think it needed more humor to lighten up the preachiness.

This is a story about getting mad at your friend, and then getting over it in a positive way. Fozzie and Kermit have a misunderstanding about what day they're supposed to go to a museum, and Fozzie gets angry about it. After some reflection and talking, he decides to communicate in a constructive manner with Kermit, which puts matters to rest.

As a model for child friend relationships, the book is positive. But I give it a low rating because the book lacks any of the charm that make up the world of Muppets.

There is no wacky humor, no cleverness, and no personality at all expressed by Kermit or Fozzie. You could have replaced the words "Kermit" and "Fozzie" with any other names, and the book would have read exactly the same.

Would it have killed them to have Fozzie tell a corny joke?

The Muppet brand is supposed to represent a specific type of fun and education, but this book falls short and, in my opinion, didn't deserve to be published.

It would have been possible to get this message across using Muppet characters that acted like Muppets, but this book takes the easy way out.

"There's a Monster at the End of this Book (starring lovable, furry old Grover)." Now THERE'S a Muppet book.