Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (1987)

Caps for Sale is a book told and illustrated Esphyr Slobodkina. It was originally published in 1940. It is one I have read and re-read in preschool classes many times over. I have also read it to my own children who have also enjoyed it very much!

The Story
This story features a peddler who is trying to sell some caps. He wears all the caps on his head including his own checked cap plus a bunch of grey, brown, blue, and red caps on top of that that are for sale. He walk around town trying to sell the caps yelling, caps, caps for sale, fifty cents a cap. But, on this particular day, no one is buying any caps and since the man has no money for lunch, he decides to take a walk in the country.

He feels a bit sleepy so he leans against a tree, making sure all his caps are still on his head, and he falls asleep. When he wakes up and tries to check his hats, he finds that all but his own checked cap are missing! He looks all around but cannot find the caps until he looks up and sees a bunch of monkeys in a tree wearing all his caps. He tries to get the monkey to give back the caps but all they do is imitate him. Not realizing this pattern and in his anger, he throws his own cap to the ground and then the monkeys throw all the other caps onto the ground. The peddler picks up all of his caps and heads back into town again to try to sell his caps!

Why I like this story
This is a great book to read to a classroom of preschool children. There is a lot that the children can learn from this book. First of all, we talk about the colors of the hats. Then we talk about how this is one way that a peddler can sell his goods and we talk about other ways to sell goods as well. Finally, when we read the story, the children pretend to be the peddler and call out what the peddler says, caps, caps for sale, fifty cents a cap. And, the children pretend to be the monkeys imitating the peddler in his anger. In this way, they can participate in the story that is being read to them and they find it that much more exciting!

I like that this story has some repetitive text and predictable outcomes. Children love to be able to participate in the story. My own children have loved this story and my daughter says that her favorite part is when the monkeys are imitating the peddler. It is somewhat suspenseful for the children who wonder if the peddler will get his hats back!

Text and Illustrations
Most of the text in this book is written on a blank page, either the left or the right, it changes halfway through while the pictures are on the opposite pages. There are 40 pages in the book and each page has between one and fifteen lines of text on it. The pages that have a lot of lines on them have a lot of repetition on them so it is not as overwhelming as it sounds.

The illustrations are simple and colorful. They mostly feature the man with or without his hats on his head. The section where the man is trying to get his hats back from the monkeys features the back of the man looking up into the tree at a bunch of monkeys wearing hats. Mostly you see blue sky and green grass as a background. The pictures are pleasing to look at and tell the story quite well.

Recommendations
I would recommend this book for preschool aged children. It is good in a classroom or at home. There are a lot of opportunities for children to participate in the story. While this story does not have a real moral or lesson, it does have a lot of chances for learning. It is a fun book and for both the reader and the child(ren) being read to.