Abby Cadabby is an inquisitive 3-year-old fairy-in-training who has moved to Sesame Street from Fairyside, Queens. The daughter of a Fairy Godmother, she is learning magic but is not quite proficient yet and has a propensity for turning things into pumpkins with her "training wand." She has come from a storybook world and is well-versed in fairytales, as they are a part of her family history. Abby loves to practice her magic and rhyming, but what she finds truly amazing and magical is what she discovers on Sesame Street; such as learning to count and drawing a letter with a crayon. These new things are utterly enchanting to her and she will often say "That's so magic!" In Season 38, Elmo shows Abby the magic of pretending while playing with Abby's pet frog named Prince. While Abby doesn't understand what pretending is, Elmo teaches Abby that pretending can be anything, all she needs is her imagination.
Aloysius Snuffleupagus (a.k.a. Snuffy) and Big Bird are best friends who love to play together. The two share many adventures and help each other make sense of their world. Like most 4-year-olds, Snuffy is still learning how to cope with simple things, and his first impulse is often to give up. But with encouragement from his feathered friend and the other Sesame Street characters, he usually finds a solution to his problems. In Season 38, when Elmo is upset after learning that dinosaurs are extinct, Snuffy cheers Elmo up by dressing up as his pet Snufflesaurus.
Baby Bear, borrowed from the enduring "Three Bears" story, continues to engage young viewers through his adventurous spirit and by his role as a wonderful older brother to his baby sister, Curly Bear. Like a young child, Baby Bear is territorial about his things. Children relate to his difficulty in sharing. However, he is open to new experiences and is also learning to cooperate and share with others. Telly Monster is a close buddy. This season, Baby Bear and Telly Monster become frenzied when the word "DOG" escapes from Abby's magical book.
Curly Bear, a toddler, has a very special relationship with her big brother, Baby Bear. Her brother, whom she calls, "Bebo" (pronounced bee-bo), is always helping her to learn and explore new things (like healthy foods). She also has a very special gift- a very LOUD GROWL that is even louder than Baby Bear or Papa Bear's growl!
Bert is the long-suffering sidekick of Ernie. He is more mature, analytical, and considers himself the voice of reason in their relationship. Though seemingly older and wiser, Bert can be rather eccentric. He collects bottle caps and paper clips, plays the tuba, and loves Bernice, his pet pigeon. Bert is not always a willing participant in Ernie's escapades; he correctly senses that the tables are destined to be turned on him, or that he will end up on the short end of the stick. In the end, however, Bert always forgives Ernie, forever remaining his "old buddy."
Big Bird is an 8'2" tall 6-year-old yellow bird who is "every kid." Children understand and identify with Big Bird's excitement over new things as well as his disappointment when things don't work out or when he makes mistakes. They also see his willingness to try again, to correct his mistakes and just by being persistent, find solutions to problems. In Season 38, Big Bird encounters a zero, who's distraught because he's, well, nothing. Big Bird then sets out to help him feel better about himself.
Cookie Monster is a frenzied-but-cuddly character who preschoolers can identify with, specifically with his efforts to master words and phrases, and learn basic problem-solving skills from his eternal quest to find more food. This season, Cookie Monster tries to help his new neighbor, Chris, find a job on Sesame Street. Cookie Monster hires Chris to help sell his cookies, and although Chris is a good salesman, Cookie Monster cannot handle parting with his delicious cookies.
Count Von Count bears a comical resemblance to Count Dracula, but that is where the similarity ends. The Count thirsts for numbers, not necks. He will count anything and everything, and his totals are usually punctuated by a bone-jarring thunder clap. In Season 38, in a parody of NASCAR entitled "NASCOUNT," it's the Transylvania 300 auto race! The ten-car driven by the Count has a flat tire and pit-stops to get a new one from his crew of mechanic monkeys!
Elmo is a 3 ½-year-old red monster with a high pitched voice and a contagious giggle. Enthusiastic, friendly, and cheerful, he always wants to be part of everything that goes on. However, like most preschoolers, he sometimes doesn't have the skills or knowledge to do what he wants. But that never stops him because he has a very positive, optimistic view of himself and life. In Season 38, Elmo returns for a ninth season of "Elmo's World." This year, Elmo, Dorothy (his pet fish) and Mr. Noodle cover topics such as Mouths, Noses, Violins, Helping, and the Beach. In a street story, Elmo has been chosen to play the "Amazing Alphabet Race" game in which Elmo has to search for all the letters of the alphabet in the hopes of winning a fabulous prize.
Ernie, the outgoing foil to the more serious and responsible Bert, is great at explaining things, but can sometimes be a bit too smart for his own good. Ernie talks himself into some tight corners, and often falls prey to his own jokes, yet his free-spirited approach to his successes and failures makes him one of Sesame Street's most enduring and likeable characters.
Grover, Sesame Street's gregarious blue monster, accomplishes his tasks with the childlike exuberance that has been making young viewers laugh (and occasionally cringe) for more than three decades. He is excitable, caring and compulsive-a combination that proves particularly volatile when he rushes into situations without analyzing the consequences. Children connect with Grover when he is confounded by adult logic, and share his fantasy of competence and control when he becomes "Super Grover," a problem-solving superhero who can do no wrong. This season, in a parody of Grey's Anatomy entitled "A's Anatomy," when a broken letter "A" rushes into the Alphabet Memorial Hospital with an emergency, Dr. Grover must lead his medical students to put it back together again.
Super Grover is Grover's furry, blue, and enormously cute alter ego. A superhero more exuberant and well meaning than actually helpful, he is known for his cape and medieval knight's helmet (which always seems to close at all the wrong moments) and his accident-prone tendencies. More often than not, Super Grover lands right in the middle of problems, and as he makes ridiculous suggestions and offers help that is in no way helpful, the problems get solved without his contributions. Convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that he's the one who's saved the day (and the world in general); he flies off in search of new, exciting, heroic adventures (undoubtedly messing things up once again).
Oscar, the resident Grouch on Sesame Street, despises all things nice and sweet. He loves collecting junk, standing in line, arguing, rainy days, and anchovy milk shakes. One thing Oscar does not like is children playing in front of his garbage can. In Season 38, CNN's Anderson Cooper stands in for Oscar the Grouch in an interview with Dan Rather-Not and Walter Cranky for GNN: Grouch News Network.
Rosita is an exuberant, playful girl whose full name, Rosita la Monstrua de las Cuevas, means "The Monster of the Caves." She hails from Mexico, and speaks both Spanish and English, often mixing words from both languages when she speaks. Rosita uses her hands when she communicates with others, conveying her warmth with lots of touching and hugging. She continues her role on the show with the "Spanish Moment of the Day," teaching children new words and phrases in the Spanish language. This season, Rosita wants to know what it's like to do magic and when she and Zoe find Abby's magic wand, they mistakenly think they've turned Maria into a chicken!
Telly Monster is an intense and earnest monster who worries about disasters that could never happen. He has tremendous compassion and empathy for everything and everyone. He is Baby Bear's best friend, and the two boys are very protective of each other. Through this relationship, young viewers gain an understanding that friendships have ups and downs, and can sometimes take a lot of work. Telly is also the "Monster on the Spot" correspondent. This season, The Telly and Zoe Detective agency tries to solve the mystery in "The Case of the Missing Melon."
Zoe, a furry, 3-year-old girl monster, gets so excited sometimes that her words cannot get out fast enough. When she is excited and wants to tell someone something, often times she'll forget for a second what that something is. She LOVES Big Bird, he is her favorite person in the world! Zoe can also get jealous if she doesn't get enough attention. After more than ten seasons on Sesame Street, she has become one of the show's most popular characters. In Season 38, while learning to share, Abby tries on Zoe's tutu and Zoe is playing with Abby's magic wand. Zoe accidentally casts a spell which causes everyone on Sesame Street to dance in tutus.