Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina is a tale of immense silliness. Published in 1938, and based on a folktale it tells the story of a fancy dressed peddler who sells caps.
"Caps! Caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap!"
These are not just a few caps, but seventeen which he carries one on top of the other on his head. After a long day selling throughout the village with no one wanting to buy any of his caps, he takes a nap under a tree. The caps still remain on his head throughout the nap, but not for long...
What better animal to make the situtation even more hilarious than a monkey? In fact, make that a whole troop of monkeys who take the peddler's caps for themselves. When the peddler awakens he is startled at what he finds. How will he get his caps back? That's for the reader's to discover.
The illustrations are very art deco stylized and bold. The colors are for the most part neutral except for the occassional pop of red. Throughout the story there are several points of repeitition that especially young readers would love as they can chant along with the peddler and be immersed in the book even more.
This book is the receipent of The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and it is enjoyable for all generations. It also teaches a very important lesson that one young reader from a Reading Rainbow review was very clear about, Don't sleep on the job!
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