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| Written by | Emily Perl Kingsley |
| Illustrator | Mike Smollin |
| Published | 1977 |
| Publisher | Western Publishing |
| Series | A Golden Shape Book |
The Great Cookie Thief is a 1977 Sesame Street storybook based on an Old West sketch that was first shown in Episode 0276.
The book opens in a saloon, where the residents are talking about their collective problem, the great cookie thief, who is stealing all the cookies from the bakeries in the area. While staring at the wanted poster of the thief, they realize the feller standing next to it looks just like him.
The sheriff pushes a saloon patron to take a closer look, and the messenger reports that the feller in question has the same googly eyes. Not convinced, the sheriff sends him back to compare the fur, which is the same shaggy blue. On a third inspection, the messenger notes they both wear the same black hat. And the fourth look reveals a red bandanna on each of them.
When they accuse him of being the thief, Cookie Monster counters that he does not have the same mustache, and he promptly draws one on the poster. Seeing the difference, the residents breathe a sigh of relief, until Cookie Monster removes his hat, revealing cookies stashed underneath.
Other versions[]
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- A one-panel version of the tale appears in The Sesame Street Dictionary, where the town is identified elsewhere in the book as Sesame Gulch.
- This book was adapted in the video Three Sesame Street Stories. Some additions were made to the story to pad it out, such as making Rodeo Rosie a newspaper reporter for The Half-Baked Gazette trying to get the scoop on the Cookie Thief's heists, and in-between comparing one of the Cookie Thief's features to the poster, the Cookie Thief commits three robberies, including stealing cookies from a bakery, Betty Lou's birthday party, and a stagecoach.
- In 2012, Callaway Digital Arts Inc. adapted the title as an app for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. This version features the voices of David Rudman and Fran Brill.
- The Pyramid Belt Co. made a belt buckle that pictured Cookie Monster as "The Great Cookie Thief."
See also[]
- The Cookie Thief, a 2015 Sesame Street special
External links[]
- From Paper to iPad: The Evolution of the Great Cookie Thief by Sesame Workshop archivist Susan Tofte, October 16, 2012 (archived link)