Customer Reviews

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This adorable story is simple enough to read to infants under the age of one. By the time they are two, children can easily memorize it and begin to distinguish words on the page.

It is particularly delightful for young children, who can identify both with the peddler's nap and his anger at the monkeys in a tree, who have stolen his caps.

Altogether, the story is pure joy. Your copy is sure to wear out before your children reach the age of five, as ours did. Alyssa A. Lappen

Caps For Sale is a wonderful tale that students love to read. It is an ideal book for shared reading and offers opportunities for students to learn about the structure of a good story. Slobodkina's story of a peddler trying to sell his wares in a small town has a clear beginning, middle, and end. You need this one if you would like children to learn how to make predictions, recognize patterns, sequence events, and notice setting elements. This book is a "must have" classic in any K and 1st grade classroom.

A folktale fastforwarded to 1940. In this fine lighthearted little yarn, author Esphyr Slobodkina reinvigorates the folk tradition with a marvelous story. In it, a peddler looses his hats to a tree of 16 chattering monkeys and must find a way to get them back. There is no overwhelming complexity in the text of this tale, but sixty-some years after its original publication there is still great charm in its words. Accompanying the staid story is a series of brightly colored illustrations. The peddler seen here is not your classic workaday schmoe in dirty clothes and a five-o-clock shadow. He is prim and pristine. With a moustache like Hercule Poirot's, a smart black suit, and a pair of cheerful red spats he is a picture of competence and sterility. Which makes his eventual foot-stomping, fist-shaking temper tantrum at the mischievous monkeys all the more amusing. I was particularly taken with the monkeys response to the peddler's demands. All they say is, "Tsz, tsz, tsz". Who knew we shared this phrase with our simian kin? Slobodkina has created a precise little tale. Though she never says it, sixteen caps sit atop the peddler's head (his preferred method of peddling his wares, doncha know) and sixteen monkey pinch them. The combination of bright colors, funny monkeys, and the dapper little peddler man make this a real treasure of 1940s children's literature.

This is a book I loved as a child. It was originally written and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina before WWII and obviously takes place in a European village. It tells the story of a peddler who sells caps, so instead of carrying his wares on his back, he wears them on his head, hats pilled as tall as he is. Our peddler has to walk very straight (we tell Devon to walk straight like the hat man all the time) so he won't spill his hats.

One morning the peddler couldn't sell any caps, so he went for a walk in the country and fell asleep under a tree, caps piled high on his head. When he woke all the caps were gone but one. The poor peddler had fallen asleep under a tree full of monkeys and each one was high in the tree, wearing one of the peddler's new hats. The peddler gets angry and shakes his finger at the monkeys, they shake their fingers back. He shakes both his hands at them, they shake their hands back. He stamps his feet, they stamp theirs. And you guessed it, he throws his hat on the ground and they throw their hats on the ground too and the peddler gets his hats back.

This story is timeless. Devon likes it and I'm sure years from now, his children will like it as well. Reading books like this is much better for toddlers than television. Sara and I think so anyway and we hope you do to.

I loved this book when I was young. I picked it out for my daughter because it brought back such fond memories from my own childhood. It's now become her favorite book to read. We both know it by heart.

We enjoy adding activities to the storyline. My 2 1/2 year old enjoys acting out the movements of the peddler and the monkeys. When it gets to "...and what do you think he saw?" we go through a list of many things he might see up in a tree - even though we know it's "Monkeys!" Turning the page to find the monkeys is always a thrill for her.

This is a must have book in any children's book collection. I highly recommend it.

I loved this story when I was a child and have read it to my own children so many times we all have it memorized. I remembered it from the Captain Kangaroo show and almost cried with joy when I found it in a book store. My girls love to act out the story while I read it to them.

I hate to admit it, but I can remember this story being read to me by my mother shortly after it was first published. I loved it as a child and love it now. The story, at first glance is simple, well told and an absolute delight. The illustrations are "old world," and the type I grew up on. Even though the story has been around for years and years, it is certainly no worse for the wear. What delighted me as a child seems to delight the kids of today. I read this one to my various classes and the kids all seem to love it. Actually, there is not much to not like about this one. Recommend it highly.

When I was a child in the early '60s, Captain Kangaroo (remember him?) would read different books on his TV program. That was my introduction to Caps For Sale. I thought I'd come across the NEXT GREAT BOOK, not knowing that it was already over twenty years old when I'd heard it. Back then, I'd always marvelled at how the monkeys stole every cap EXCEPT the peddler's own checkered one. Now my little four year old genius asks the same question, except it's more in the line of: "Mom, didn't the monkeys like the checked cap?" Or, "Mom, how did they have enough monkeys for all the caps except the checked one?" I am amazed at the concepts this story can bring about. Counting (the caps in each group), sorting (the caps by color), how 'simple' the monkeys were ("Mom, didn't they know that the caps would fall?"). And here I thought it was just the NEXT GREAT BOOK (at least, in my six year old mind). Having my kids gave me the perfect 'excuse' to have this book as an adult ;-)

The book "Caps For Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Buisness" was written and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina. The book is about a man who is a pedder and he sells caps. He carrys a whole bunch of caps around on his head. He wears his own cap, followed by a bunch of gray caps, then a bunch of black caps, and finally some red caps. One morning he was walking around town, but no one wanted to buy any caps. He decided to go to the park and take a nap since he couldn't sell any caps. He leaned up against the tree and began to sleep. When he woke up he reached to make sure his caps were there, but they were gone. He looked all around but did not see any of the caps. Finally he looked up and saw a tree full of monkeys, each wearing one of his caps. He yelled at the monkeys and stomped on the ground, but all they did was imitate him. Finally he took off the one cap that was left on his head and threw it on the ground because he was so mad. The monkeys imitated him once again and threw their hats down from the tree. He gathered his caps and went back to town again. I think this was a very good book, especially for younger children.

This book is well loved by my son and myself.

I love books that have simple pictures that add to the text rather than distract. I like the simple story line. I particularly like that this book can be used as a stepping stone to other activities (acting like a monkey, balancing hats on your head etc.)

The repetitive nature and sing songy words are wonderful for prereading skills. My son loves to act like a monkey stealing my hat as we read this book.

A true classic.