The Case of the Missing Duckie

Written by	Linda Hayward
Illustrator	Maggie Swanson
Published	1980
Publisher	Golden Press
Series	Sesame Street Book Club

The Case of the Missing Duckie is a 1980 Sesame Street storybook featuring Ernie and Sherlock Hemlock.

It's Ernie's birthday, and he decides to do all his favorite things. First up is a bath with his Rubber Duckie. Just as he is about to get into the tub, the telephone rings. He answers it, and Big Bird asks if he'll be home around 2 o'clock. When Ernie says yes, he hangs up, much to Ernie's confusion. When Ernie returns to the bathroom, his Rubber Duckie is missing!

Ernie returns to the telephone and quickly calls Sherlock Hemlock for help. The unfortunate detective finds every rubber item in the apartment, while Ernie takes a bath and gets dressed. Sherlock Hemlock then finds evidence of a pink and yellow monster in the kitchen and decides to hide.

At 2 o'clock, the doorbell rings. It is all of Ernie's friends, and they have brought balloons and decorations to have a party for him. Ernie is still sad that his Rubber Duckie is missing. Cookie Monster brings a big decorated cake out of the kitchen, with Rubber Duckie sitting right on top! He explains that he borrowed the duckie to decorate the cake.

A triumphant Sherlock Hemlock declares that he has solved "The Case of the Missing Duckie"!

Other editions[]

This story was also reissued in 1986 in the Sesame Street book Story Land. It was also reissued twice: once in 1981 as a Sesame Street Read-Aloud Book and again in 1992 by Reader's Digest

Book and audio editions[]

The book and audio edition features Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. It also features Ernie's version of "Rubber Duckie" at the beginning of the story.

Some audio editions have the slightly altered title of "The Case of the Missing Rubber Duckie".