For 55 years, Grover has had one simple request.
Please do not turn the page.
And for 55 years, millions of children have completely ignored him.
Honestly, at this point, Grover should probably accept that he has lost control of the situation.
The Monster at the End of This Book was first published in 1971. Now, Sesame Workshop is celebrating its 55th anniversary with streaming, music, games, books, digital content and more.
In other words, Grover used to only have to worry about people turning pages.
Now he has Netflix, YouTube and Roblox to deal with.
Poor guy never stood a chance.
55 Years of Ignoring Grover
Written by Jon Stone and illustrated by Michael Smollin, The Monster at the End of This Book has one of the simplest plots imaginable.
Grover discovers there is a monster at the end of the book.
Grover does not want to meet the monster.
So Grover tells the reader to stop turning pages.
That plan fails almost immediately.
He begs.
He pleads.
He ties pages together.
He builds increasingly ridiculous barriers.
We destroy everything and keep going.
We are basically the villain of this story.
Then we finally reach the end.
And the terrifying monster is…
Grover.
That’s it.
Fifty-five years of emotional damage because Grover apparently forgot that he himself is a monster.
Grover had already gone through quite an evolution before becoming the furry blue monster everyone recognizes today. His earliest form was considerably stranger, as we covered in Grover and Cookie Monster: The Evolution of Two Classic Muppets.
And Somehow It Became a Massive Hit
The idea may be simple, but it worked.
Really, really well.
Sesame Workshop says The Monster at the End of This Book has sold around 15 million copies in North America alone since 1971.
That is roughly 15 million opportunities for somebody to respect Grover’s wishes.
Apparently almost nobody did.
The book became one of the most famous Sesame Street stories ever published.
It also did something clever.
Grover speaks directly to the person holding the book.
The reader isn’t just watching the story.
The reader is causing the story.
Every page you turn makes Grover a little more desperate.
Kids know exactly what they’re doing.
And they love it.
Children can be ruthless.
Grover Has Now Lost Control of Netflix Too
For the 55th anniversary celebration, The Monster at the End of This Story arrived on Netflix and Sesame Street’s YouTube channel on September 7.
The animated special expands the original story.
Grover still wants everyone to stop.
Naturally, everyone still refuses.
This time, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Rosita and Abby Cadabby are along for the ride.
They help Grover deal with his fear and work up the courage to keep going.
That is probably good, because after five decades of this, Grover clearly needs a support group.
The special keeps the basic lesson that made the original story work.
The thing we’re afraid of can sometimes be much less frightening than what we imagine.
Of course, Sesame Street delivers that lesson by repeatedly terrorizing a furry blue monster.
Education!
There Is Now an Entire Monster Album
Grover’s problems have also become musical.
The anniversary celebration includes The Monster at the End of This Album.
Yes.
We have now moved from a monster at the end of a book to a monster at the end of an album.
At this rate, we’re about three years away from The Monster at the End of Your Tax Return.
The album includes music connected to the animated special, including songs such as “Afraid,” “Courage” and “Monster at the End.”
So if your children would like to sing along while ignoring Grover’s clearly stated boundaries, Sesame Street has you covered.
Cookie Monster Gets Involved
There’s also a new twist on the original story.
The Cookie at the End of This Book stars Cookie Monster.
This time, nobody needs to convince Cookie Monster to reach the end.
He believes there is a cookie waiting there.
That is all the motivation this man requires.
The book is written by Sesame Street Head Writer Halcyon Person and flips Grover’s original problem around.
Grover spends his book desperately trying to prevent anyone from reaching the end.
Cookie Monster would probably drive a bulldozer through the pages if somebody told him there was a chocolate chip cookie behind them.
Frankly, both reactions feel completely in character.
Grover Has Entered Roblox
This may be the greatest sign that 55 years have passed.
Grover is now trying to stop people inside Roblox.
The anniversary includes Monster at the End of This Obby, part of Sesame Street Neighborhood Adventures.
Players work through a series of obstacles while Grover attempts to stop them from reaching the end.
Yes, Grover.
That strategy has failed continuously since 1971.
But admire the commitment.
The Roblox experience takes the original joke and gives it to a new generation.
Instead of turning pages while Grover panics, kids can now jump over digital obstacles while Grover panics.
Technology really is amazing.
Celebrities Are Ignoring Him Too
The celebration also includes a Monster playlist on YouTube with celebrity read-alongs.
Sesame Workshop announced participants including Hailee Steinfeld, Lil Nas X, Jason Sudeikis, Ciara, Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry.
So Grover isn’t just being ignored by children anymore.
Now celebrities are involved.
Imagine spending 55 years saying, “Please don’t continue,” only to eventually have Jason Sudeikis show up and turn the page anyway.
That is a rough career.
Why Does This Story Still Work?
The biggest reason is probably Grover himself.
This story would not work with just any character.
Grover is confident enough to believe he can control everything.
He is nervous enough to panic when he can’t.
And he is lovable enough that watching his plans completely collapse is funny instead of cruel.
Mostly.
Of course, spectacularly turning simple situations into complete disasters has always been part of Grover’s charm. We previously investigated that slightly questionable side of his personality in The Dark Side of Grover: An Exploration of the Mischievous Muppet.
There’s also a great little message hidden underneath all the chaos.
Fear can grow when we don’t know what’s coming.
Sometimes we build the scary thing up in our heads.
Then we finally face it and discover it wasn’t nearly as bad as we imagined.
In Grover’s case, the terrifying monster was literally Grover.
Which raises another question.
Does Grover own a mirror?
We may never know.
From Little Golden Book to Streaming, Music and Gaming
The anniversary also shows just how much Sesame Street has changed.
In 1971, you bought a book.
You opened the book.
Grover yelled at you.
Life was simple.
In 2026, the same idea exists through books, Netflix, YouTube, music, mobile apps, Roblox and social media.
Grover himself has adapted surprisingly well to the internet age. His particular combination of panic, enthusiasm and complete chaos has even made him perfect meme material, something we explored in Grover and the Meme Machine: How a Beloved Muppet Found a New Home in Internet Culture.
Yet the original joke still works.
They haven’t had to reinvent the basic idea.
Grover says stop.
We don’t.
Grover completely loses it.
We continue.
Monster revealed.
Everybody goes home happy except Grover, who presumably begins preparing another barricade.
Sorry, Grover. We’re Turning the Page
Fifty-five years is a remarkable run for any children’s book.
It’s even more impressive when the main character has spent the entire time begging people not to read it.
But The Monster at the End of This Book remains one of those rare Sesame Street stories that works for several generations at once.
Kids enjoy messing with Grover.
Parents remember messing with Grover.
Grandparents may remember messing with Grover.
The poor monster has been dealing with this nonsense since Richard Nixon was president.
And now a new generation gets to join in.
So happy 55th anniversary to The Monster at the End of This Book.
Congratulations, Grover.
You made it.
And after 55 years, we have one final message for you.
We’re still turning the page.