Caps for Sale is a timeless classic, in print for over fifty years, and beloved by generations of readers. This easy-to-read story about a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys is filled with warmth, humor, and simplicity. Children will delight in following the peddlers efforts to outwit the monkeys in this new, enlarged, and redesigned edition, and will ask to read it again and again.

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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

20 of 21 found the following review helpful:

You need this one if you teach K or 1st Grade!Jun 09, 2001

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.

20 of 23 found the following review helpful:

Tsz tsz tsz.Jan 10, 2004
By E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird"
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.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Monkey See, Monkey Do, What Else Can You Expect?May 03, 2005
By Zachary Hackett
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.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

It's my toddler's favorite book.Mar 26, 2002
By Cass L'Hotellier
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.

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