The Reading Nook: Caps for Sale
Caps for Sale can be found in the Duplin County library system. If your local branch doesn’t have it, give them a few days and they can usually locate it for you!
Hello, and welcome back to “The Reading Nook” where the focus is using great stories to create special moments between caregivers and the young children they love!
What do you get when you mix an unusual salesman with a barrel of monkeys? Lots of laughs and cries of “Let’s read it again!”
Our book this week is Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina and was written quite a few years ago, back in 1940. It’s a story that has stood the test of time simply by being funny and appealing to children. It begins with a peddler trying to sell caps in town from a large stack that he carries on his head. Having no luck on this particular day, he decides to take a little rest out in the country. When he wakes up to find all his caps are missing, the antics and laughter begin.
BEFORE YOUR READ: When looking at the front cover, have your child talk about what they notice. Ask questions like “What do you think that man is doing up in the tree?” “What is the setting of this story, where does it take place?” “Do you see any characters besides the man?” For this particular book – because there is a ‘surprise’ you may not want to look at all the pictures before you read it, but it would be a good idea to look at the first few pages and talk about what may happen in the story.
WHILE YOU READ: Caps for Sale gives adults a great opportunity to show off their acting skills and silly voices as they give life to the characters of the peddler and the monkeys. Read it with your child, explaining to them new vocabulary words like “peddler” and “wares” as you go. When the peddler wakes up from his nap, you may immediately notice that his caps are gone. Make sure to stop and have your child predict what they think has happened to all his caps while he was asleep. As the peddler and monkeys begin arguing with each other, have fun with the patterned and repetitious language and invite your child to help you read those parts. And then…be prepared to read it again and again, it’s a book children will instantly love!
AFTER YOU READ:
Go on a “cap hunt” at your house to find as many caps as you can, any type and any size will do. Count the caps. Try sorting them into piles by an attribute or two – by color, by size, by material. And then …start stacking them with your family. See who can make the highest stack, who can walk with the most hats stacked on their head, or who can walk the furthest without the caps falling off. Let the fun continue as family members make up their own contests.
Learn a little bit about monkeys. You can check out some live action in this Nat Geo Kids video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6lmmAyvl3I. Or you can take a little trip to the library and ask your local librarian to help you find some non-fiction books about monkeys that will teach you more.
And…if your child has never climbed a tree before, this may just be the perfect time to learn that life skill as well!
Happy reading and, from Emilie Buchwald, always remember, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” See you next week with another great book!
