Bert and Ernie's Word Play

The Muppets are putting on a play on words (get it?), a convenient framing device for a Sesame Street-style reading lesson. Get ready for some sticky, slippery fun when Prairie Dawn directs the G-rated vaudevillian act, complete with Bert and Ernie in straw hats telling corny jokes and a pie-throwing machine in fine working order. There are behind-the-scenes prop emergencies and a finale no-show, prompting rhyming lessons ("Oh, no, Hoho is a no-show!") and plenty of TV clips, including "I Am Chicken," the fowl take on the feminist anthem "I Am Woman." Elmo joins singing partners Mo and Flo in the stirring (substitute) finale, "We Got the Need to Read." Kindergarteners who think they're too old for Sesame Street might still get drawn in by challenges aimed at beginning readers. Ages 2 to 6.