I think it's safe to say that any person over 30 will claim that the best days of everything are fading into the past. In my case, this blanket statement would presumably cover shows like Sesame Street and Electric Company, that I watched along with millions of other Gen-Xers, back "in the day." The problem is, both these shows have continued to be awesome, keeping to their original formulas, attracting new talent, and updating their style to remain relevant. Funk soundtracks have given way to R&B and Hip-Hop, bell-bottoms have thinned and come back, but educational television for young kids seems unstoppable. If there's an explanation to this where Sesame Street is concerned, it probably comes down to cute, fuzzy characters, and you can view C is for Cookie Monster as evidence.

The basis for this collection is Cookie Monster reading his fan mail, both in letter and email form! Yes, it's not the '70s or '80s any more, but CM still reads letters... After a quick transition, we're thrust into a musical number, with made-up lyrics set to a well-known jazz standard: "Eatin' Cookies" done to the tune of "Makin' Whoopee." Another secret to success is appealing to parents as much as kids, where little in-jokes like this come into play. Cookie Monster proceeds to track down the delicious smell of cookie, only to find himself embroiled in a mystery. A cookie-thief is afoot, and this subtly introduces the first morality lesson, about stealing. It's wrong even when the thief is the adorable "Cookie Hood," a Robin Hood-type character who takes from people who have too many cookies and gives to people that don't.

Other lessons conveyed in fun, engaging ways through this collection involve patterns, matching, and counting, delivered handily over a tray of cookies by Gordon. Big Bird imparts some advice on shapes, explaining how to count sides and corners, before the show switches gears to talk about nutrition. If this sounds like a grand round-up of Pre-K instruction, you're not wrong. The amazing thing is how darned entertaining the show manages to be while teaching; it's one of the reasons we loved it as kids and continue to love it as parents of kids. In response to the question, "Are Cookies All You Eat?" we get some advice on keeping variety in the diet. There are some funny segments comparing fruit and cookies, distinguishing between the cookie as "sometime food" and fruit as an "anytime food." Matt Lauer makes an appearance in this to report (wrongly) on the decision by Cookie Monster to give up cookies.

The closing segments feature Baby Monster, with lessons on how things can look the same, but be different, and more exploration of the fruit/cookie theme with Elmo. Elmo loves juicy apples, and Cookie Monstermistakes apple crunch for sound of cookie crunch. In these segments - watching the cast plant seeds - we get a flash from an older episode of Sesame Street. It is married nicely with the new content, as Cookie Monster and Elmo try to grow cookie trees, a wish that Abby eventually grants. The title tune, a mission to Outer Space, and a parody of the theme to Shaft conclude this awesome collection of Cookie Monster goodness. It's 67 minutes packed with the stuff that proves Sesame Street is no less relevant now than it was for previous generations.