Do we like them?

Do we like Big Bird?

A character from Sesame Street (1969–present)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's kind, curious and loyal, and he is always the first to welcome a newcomer. Nobody on Sesame Street has a bad word to say about him.

Big Bird is the best-known face of Sesame Street, the children's TV show Jim Henson's team created. He is a huge yellow bird who has been a central character from the very first episode in 1969. He is a full-body puppet. He lives in a nest next to the apartment building at 123 Sesame Street, and the show's writers treat him as a six-year-old.

His personality has changed over the years. In the early days he was dopey and bird-brained. Over time he became the gentle, childlike innocent most people know. He is curious, sweet-natured and quick to make friends. He can sing, dance, draw and roller-skate, though he's also accident-prone, and he gets homesick when he's away from his street.

He is often the first to welcome a newcomer to the neighbourhood, showing them around and introducing them to the locals. He asks the questions a small child would ask, so the show can answer them. He has starred in films too, including Follow That Bird, where his friends show how much they care about him. That's why he scores so high. He does almost no harm, he does a lot of quiet good, and he has been a trusted, comforting presence for generations of children.

Big Bird took center stage in the early 1980s, when the show dealt with the death of Mr. Hooper, a storekeeper and one of his closest friends. Big Bird had to be told gently that Mr. Hooper wasn't coming back. The show treated it as an honest, tender lesson about loss for young viewers.