Caps for Sale (original 1940; edition 2004)

by Esphyr Slobodkina

Series: Caps for Sale (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations / Mentions
9,726	174	783	(4.11)	1 / 38
A band of mischievous monkeys steals every one of a peddler's caps while he takes a nap under a tree.

▾Book information

Member:	amcnutt
Title:	Caps for Sale
Authors:	Esphyr Slobodkina
Info:	Live Oak Media (2004), Paperback
Collections:	TED 255
Rating:
Tags:	Repetition, Realistic Fiction

Work Information

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina (1940)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

AronsonLibrary, SlateLibrary, GarfieldEL1, lottpoet, mugashie2, AdamsEC, jernyman947, LindsayBon, blainehart, spelldavid

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Member recommendations

31
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss (bookel)
10
Fifty Red Night-caps by Inga Moore (bookel)

▾Lists

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

	Group › Topic	Messages	Last Message
	Name that Book: Children's book about man with many hats	10 unread / 10	bookel, August 2011

» See also 38 mentions

▾Member reviews

English (172) Spanish (1) All languages (173)

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 172 (next | show all)

One of my favorite books to read with my son when he was 5-6. (

)

jessoftheBooks | Aug 23, 2022 |

An old favorite. My children liked trying to balance things on their heads and pretending to be monkeys and stealing things from my head! (

)

suzannekmoses | May 21, 2022 |

The story is based off a folklore of a cap seller selling various caps. Later he rests on a tree where monkeys take his caps. I wouldn’t have this in my classroom since I can’t decipher the greater meaning. (

)

Blaise_G | Feb 10, 2022 |

Caps for Sale is a book about a man selling caps on his head and having a cap stolen by monkeys while he is napping under the tree. Once he wakes up he realizes he is missing his caps and sees the monkeys. He is unhappy with the situation and asks for his caps back but the monkeys don't care. In the end, he drops his own cap on the floor and the monkeys do the same. He gets all of his caps back and ends up selling caps again. (

)

zalamery | Oct 25, 2021 |

I love reading this book out loud more and more each time. Next time, I might even incorporate felt caps. (

)

RakishaBPL | Sep 24, 2021 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 172 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (8 possible)

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Caps for Sale (1)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Reading Rainbow

Is contained in

HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection by Tegen Katherine

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Indies Choice Book Award (Picture Book Hall of Fame – 2013)

Notable Lists

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up (2009.0202, 2009, Ages 5↑)

The Kindergarten Canon: The 100 Best Children’s Books

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1940

People/Characters

the peddler

monkeys

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Rosalind and Emmy Jean,
and to their grandfather
who loved to read to them

First words

Once there was a peddler who sold caps.

Quotations

But the monkeys only shook their finders back at him and said, Tsz, tsz, tsz.

So the peddler picked up his caps and put them back on this head-- first his own checked cap, then the gray caps, then the brown caps, then the blue caps, and then the red caps on the very top.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Caps for Sale

▾Book descriptions

A band of mischievous monkeys steals every one of a peddler's caps while he takes a nap under a tree.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business is a concise story about a peddler who sells caps. Interestingly, he wears all the caps on his head. Tired from traveling, the peddler decides to take a nap. When he wakes up, he finds that all his caps are missing-- only to discover that monkeys are wearing them! This is a hilarious book that young children will enjoy.

Haiku summary