Monday, August 30, 2010

Abby

Note: I'm not sure why, but this post is consistently one of my most read, even more than a year after writing it, so I thought I should finally correct a factual error in it! Abby is NOT in the "Elmo's World" segment, but rather appears in segments throughout the show and in her own cartoon segment, "Abby's Flying Fairy School." 



After I wrote about toddlers and TV last week, Kate and Daddy have started watching Sesame Street on their Daddy Daughter Days. After just two episodes, Kate LOVES Abby!

For the uninitiated, Abby Cadabby (like Abracadabra--get it?) is a fairy-in-training on the "Elmo's World" segment of Sesame Street. I'd heard of her before, from seeing the branded character products when registering for baby gear. Apparently she premiered in 2006, according to Wikipedia's bio of her, and she was the first new female character in thirteen years.

Though Kate had never watched an episode of Sesame Street before last Tuesday, she knew Elmo from her diapers and her Elmo phone. "Memo!" she calls him. And she can say "Abby" quite correctly! Matt says she gets very excited when Elmo and Abby come on screen. I can't wait to watch it with her when I'm off work on Labor Day!

As I mentioned in last week's post, I've been hesitant to let Kate watch TV at an early age, and now I'm hesitant about the whole commercialism aspect of her loving these characters. Is she going to want Abby dolls and Elmo lunchboxes and whatnot now? (On a related note: I'm reading a book now called Parenting, Inc., which mentions that in its first Christmas season, Tickle Me Elmo had over $22 million in sales. Wow.) Overall, though, I think it's good she's enjoying such a classic and educational show as Sesame Street and having fun watching a spunky little girl in pigtails help out her fellow muppets. And let's face it--Abby and Elmo are simply adorable.

Most of all, though, I'm just hoping that the magic words "like Abby!" will mean the end of meltdowns when I put Kate's hair in pigtails!

1 comment:

SpeasHill said...

Actually Abby isn't on "Elmo's World" - she's a regular character throughout the show, plus she gets her own animated segment called "Abby's Flying Fairy School," the song to which I'd be happy to sing for you. She and her fellow fairies (Blog and Gonegan (not sure how it's spelled, but it sounds a lot like "gone again" because he disappears)) teach collaborative work and problem-solving. We actually don't get to watch S.S. much anymore because of morning therapies, and I kind of miss Abby! FYI, when preparing for Elmopaloza, I noticed that there are lots of Abby party supplies as well! :)

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