Oscar the Grouch informs the reader, "This is my book, and I don't want you to read it." Oscar hides in a pyramid of trash cans, but he can still be seen. He then transforms his can into a "superduper grouch rocket balloon", which floats him high up into the sky. A bird pops the balloon, and he falls back to the ground. At the end of the book, Oscar realizes that the reader is going to go away, and he won't have anybody to yell at and complain to anymore. He tells the reader to come "You really make me mad!"
