Customer Reviews

The Hatseller And The Monkeys

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a West African variation of a wonderful old folk tale. An ambitious hatseller encounters a tree full of curious, clever and comical monkeys who not only steal his hats and make fun of him but also teach him the best way to start each day! The text is lyrical, with some African words and expressions, and the illustrations are colorful and lively. A fun read-aloud.

Strongly stylized art and a little background about the hatseller is what makes this book standout. The author discusses how BaMusa (the hatseller) learned to make hats and caps from rice stalks when he was a boy. It also gives the name of some of the hats and how they differ in style because they are intended for different purposes. There are the wide brimmed dibiri hats and the embroidered fugulan caps.

In addition, the author emphasizes how important breakfast is to clear thinking and having a good day: "an empty satchel can not stand."

Four Stars. Strongly stylized art. Good Read-aloud. Additional background information about the hatseller makes this book standout.

My children were already familiar _Caps for Sale_, which is an older version of the same folktale. I thought the kids would think this was cute, but prefer _Caps for Sale_, as the text is more rhythmic and shorter.

I was wrong. My kids REALLY like _The Hatseller and the Monkeys_! Diakite's charming, colorful illustrations, well-described setting (monkeys in Mali makes a heck of a lot more sense then monkeys in Eastern Europe), and sound moral set this book apart. My 2 y o clamored for it to be read again and again.

The two books would be great paired in a folktale unit for grades K-2.