The latest “Sesame Street” Muppets to be featured on Google.com this week are the famous duo, Bert and Ernie.

Ernie and Bert

Search engine Google is honoring “Sesame Street’s” 40^th anniversary with a series of special doodles on its logo.  Big Bird was featured on Wednesday, and Cookie Monster was featured on Thursday.

“Sesame Street” will celebrate its big anniversary on November 10, 2009.  To see highlights of the upcoming 40^th season, click here.

The “Sesame Street” Muppets have also made several TV appearances this week, including “Today” on NBC Friday morning.

With a few more days to go before the anniversary celebration, Google will likely honor a few more “Sesame Street” Muppets on its page. Which Muppets would you like to see? Share your comments below.

Cookie Monster turns Veggie Monster? Sounds like a Monster Mix-up. Cookie Monster and Veggie Monster are the center of a viral internet search today as Cookie Monster recently celebrated his 40^th birthday.

Nutrition has changed since Cookie Monster graced American TV screens some 40 years ago.  Now, parents try to keep their children away from refined sugars and starches made popular in part by cartoon-like characters such as Cookie Monster.

Still yet, a Cookie Monster as Veggie Monster sounds more like a bad Halloween costume than a smart well-thought out switch.  There were some rumors that the producers of Sesame Street were going to turn the crumb-gobbling monster into a veggie-gobbling monster to promote healthy living.

I am sorry, but a blue monster gobbling up bits of carrots churns my stomach.  Crumbling cookies are funny. Shredded carrots and bits of corn are not.

Luckily, as Gather.com points out the rumors about Cookie Monster turning in to Veggie Monster are FALSE.  American children will be able to watch their favorite blue monster gobble up chocolate chip cookies for many years to come.

The Cookie Monster/Veggie Monster discussion leads me to wonder if Cookie Monster really does play a role in the way children see nutrition.  If you think about it, Cookie Monster isn’t really eating the cookies – he’s crumbling them up and getting them everywhere. This action is more for laughs than to program children to eat massive amounts of chocolate chip cookies.

Parents must play a crucial role in the development of healthy living habits for their children.  Children for the most part learn by example.  Therefore, healthy parents can for the most part raise healthy children.  If you are a parent that sits on the couch eating Chips-A-Hoy Cookies straight from the box, and are worried about your child as they are constantly eating cookies too – they are probably learning their habit from you and not the furry monster they watch on TV.

Cookie Monster is also a great way to teach your child about entertainment.  Sometimes people – or characters – do things to entertain us.  Cookie Monster isn’t eating cookies because it’s super healthy and what you should do – he’s eating, or rather, crumbling them to make kids laugh.

Cookie Monster is my hands-down favorite Sesame Street character. Although Sesame Street toned down the cookie-gobbling and added songs such as “A Cookie is Sometimes a Food” he plays a big role on Sesame Street. Veggie Monster just wouldn’t cut it.

The Sesame Street anniversary is amazing.  The Sesame Street anniversary is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street characters such as Big Bird, Oscar, Snuffy, and Elmo. 

For 4 decades, Sesame Street has been entertaining and educating children in the US.  Sesame Street is the favorite of many, including First Lady Michelle Obama.  In fact, Michelle Obama even informed those present at her UN address that she was still on a “high” from visiting Sesame Street.

Google is also partaking in the monumental Sesame Street anniversary.  It can even be argued that Google has amped up the publicity of the Sesame Street Anniversary by featuring Big Bird in today’s Google Doodle.

Parents of children should watch Sesame Street today with their kids.  Get some of the Sesame Street episodes that were aired when you were young so your child can get a glimpse of how things have changed over the years. You can also go online and search for free printable Sesame Street coloring pages and activities.  Use these to make Big Bird a birthday card.

Hopefully Sesame Street will continue for many years.  The Sesame Street anniversary is a reminder that quality TV programming is rewarded through long tenures.  Sesame Street has been aired on PBS channels across the country for many, many years.

Big Bird google symbol

The google logo has changed today showing Big Bird to celebrate Sesame Street’s 40th birthday.

Google celebrates anniversaries, birthdays, and special events by changing the google logo for that day. On Einstein’s birthday last month, a small photo of Einstein’s head was displayed next to the google symbol.

To celebrate Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary, Michelle Obama is scheduled to appear in the first episode and she will talk about gardening and eating healthy.