More Caps for Sale: Another Tale of Mischievous Monkeys by Esphyr Slobodkina

More Caps for Sale: Another Tale of Mischievous Monkeys Reviews

• 
  Mark Baker

  This book picks up right after the classic ends. The peddler is walking home after having gotten his caps back from the monkeys. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize that the monkeys are following him home. When he does discover them in his yard, what will he do? And what will happen when he goes into town to sell his caps the next day?
  
  I loved the original as a kid, so I was curious to see what happened in the sequel. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the charm of the first book. The original was surprising and funny, but here the interactions with the monkeys feel predictable, and the peddler isn’t nearly as clever. Kids may still like it, but this adult wasn’t as enchanted as he’d hoped to be.
  
  Read my full review at
  Carstairs Considers.
• 
  Basil Moulton

  it was super funny!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 
  Samantha

  A sequel to the children's classic Caps for Sale in which the monkeys observe the peddler and mimic his every action. Luckily for the peddler, the monkeys' mimicry helps him sell all his caps.
  
  Nice read aloud with an interesting author's note which details how this book was put together.
  
  PreK-2.
• 
  Margaret Chind

  I didn't even know this sequel existed until the anniversary of the first Caps for Sale brought both Caps and More Caps for Sale to my door. While reading Caps for Sale to my kiddos they were met with much exuberance to More Caps for Sale as well. It is a good little continuance that makes for great discussion and repetition.
• 
  Elizabeth S

  A charming continuation of one of our favorite stories.
• 
  Shiloah

  Great sequel to the original. My kids loved it!
• 
  Brian

  First of all, there are some pretty significant issues with the character.
  
  He never looks behind him and never notices anything that isn't directly in front of him. The monkeys follow him all the way through town and he doesn't once turn his head to look behind. Have the years walking and peddling caps caused permanent damage to the muscles of his neck? This is very concerning.
  
  Second. He was very happy he sold all of this hats - indicating that this is an exceptional feat. This is understandable as he is a merchant and dependent upon those incomes to survive. However. He lives in what is - at least - a three room house with a spacious bedroom, living room, and pacing room (apparently). His kitchen isn't pictured but we can assume it is there - we're up to four rooms. No bathroom is pictured, so let's assume he has one and we are now at five rooms. All the rooms are decently furnished and he appears to have a park bench out front of his house (though it looks like it may have been stolen from a city park). He is also decently dressed and wearing clean garb.
  
  The problem with this is that he sold 16 caps for $0.50 each. He made $8.00 before material, manufacturing, and overhead costs. But let's just pretend that he made 100% profit for a second. He made $8.00. A day. With the risk of presentism excepted and some considerations for historical adjustments ($1 in 1940 is worth $17.62 today) the man made the equivalent of $140.96 in today's money. If he works every single day and sells all 8 hats (remember, though, that he didn't sell any caps yesterday because of the monkeys) he is making around $50,000.
  
  It would be hard to assume that he has health insurance, or vision, or dental. He lives on the outskirts of town, so we can assume he has to pay for utilities and sanitation services - somebody has to pick up that trash barrel by the door. And he only ate once in the day of the book - and it looked like just soup. And 100% profit is not possible. He would be doing well with profits around 40% - and that before insurance, vision, dental, and all the rest.
  
  Bottom line, I worry for his financial security. He seems to be in a rather untenable position and should probably consider killing and eating the monkeys to alleviate some food insecurity issues.
• 
  Meredith

  Alas, the danger of sequels is that they sometimes fall tragically short of the original, causing epic disappointment.
  Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business was one of the best books of my childhood, but More Caps for Sale is a profound letdown. I should have known better than to risk reading it. While the illustrations retain some of the original charm, the plot is forced, and the story is sadly lacking. Couldn't the peddler have met with another unexpected flock of something? Or another character meet with zany sales trouble like frogs hopping off with all the cobbler's shoes or flamingos with the baker's pans? There are endless missed opportunities for ridiculousness.
  
  The monkeys that appeared out of nowhere, caused some delightful but harmless trouble, and then vanished just as mysteriously in Caps for Sale are back to be milked for all they are worth. Instead of being puzzling and quaint, this random group of primates follow in the peddler’s wake, providing him with an unexpected marketing gimmick. The Eastern European village has been replaced with an industrialized town resembling paintings of 1920 Vienna in its thoroughfare. Rather than in a snug cottage, the peddler lives in an impressively lavish house for a member of his profession.
• 
  K. McDevitt

  I spotted this book on the shelves of the library during my volunteer shift last week and thought it was the book I loved when I was a child. Upon closer inspection, this was a sequel published just a few years ago! So I immediately took the book home to read it. The author, Ann Marie Mulhearn Sayer, was Esphyr Slobodkina's assistant. It was Esphyr's wish that this story continue, so Anne Marie took up the helm!
  
  The result is a book that fits very well after the original story of a cap salesman whose caps had been stolen by monkeys. In this story, the monkeys follow him around and copy him. At first, it seems mean and mocking but, soon, the reader realizes the monkeys are just playful and now know how to do things like bow thank you politely! What I liked the most was that not only do the monkeys emulate the main character, but some of the things that the monkeys do are things that the cap salesman then does himself. So there's a lovely synchronicity among them all.
  
  The illustrations are similar to the originals as well, giving it a good look and feel. And the characters are definitely all true to themselves. I loved getting a look at this next chapter of the cap salesman's life, having not seen him since my childhood :-)
• 
  Aylea

  Once there was a peddler who sold caps, but this particular peddler carries the caps on top of his head to sell them. On the same day that he originally encountered several mischievous monkeys, he is walking home and thinking about how he was not able to sell any caps that day. He goes home, but soon he realizes that the monkeys that had caused so many problems earlier in the day had followed him home. Instead of causing problems, however, the monkeys mimicking the man’s actions actually help the peddler solve problems like cleaning up his yard and selling his caps.
  
  Published in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Caps for Sale, More Caps for Sale continues the story of the peddler and the mischievous monkeys featured in the original classic picture book. The story used inspiration from the original authors, and the illustrations were scanned, extracted, and manipulated from Slobodkina’s paintings to create the illustrations of the book to match the ones in the first. More Caps for Sale has the same easy-to-read pattern, charming illustrations, and gentle humor that people who love the first book will be able to appreciate in the sequel.
• 
  Becky B

  The mischievous monkeys from Caps for Sale follow the man home after they destroy his day of sales. The man worries about them, but eventually falls asleep and ventures out to try again the next day. The monkeys follow him again, but with very different results.
  
  The note in the back of this book is a must read. It explains how Sayer was Slobodkina's assistant for many years, and that this book arose out of their many conversations about children's books, especially Caps for Sale and was approved by the author before her death. All of the artwork has been digitally copied and rearranged from other pieces of Slobodkina's work into this new book. It is nice to see the monkeys finally reformed and helpful after all these years.
• 
  Nikki

  What a fantastic surprise! Caps for Sale was one of my favorite books as a child, for the story and the illustrations. This book picks up just after the original story ends and continues on with all the same charm and humor. I especially enjoyed reading about the creation of this book in the afterwood, which explains the motivations and process Slobodkina's assistant took to craft the illustrations from original art and fit this tale to the author's personal style and standards. This book lacks some story depth and would be okay on its own, but as an homage to and continuation of the first story, it is beautiful.
• 
  Paula

  Well, the illustrations are kind of digitally Frankensteined together from a variety of art produced by Slobodkina in her lifetime - a bed from one book, a banana from a painting - and it shows... but the story is perfectly in line with Caps for Sale and Circus Caps for Sale, with a satisfying ending for our beleaguered peddler and those pesky monkeys. Tsz, tsz, tsz!
• 
  Juliana Lee

  The story picks up the day the peddler couldn’t sell his hats because of the mischievous monkeys. The monkeys follow him home and continue to copy him as he eats dinner and goes to sleep. The next day the peddler takes his caps back to town and because of the cute little monkeys, he is able to sell every one of his caps.
  
  http://julianaleewriter.com/books-ali...
• 
  Rachel

  This time, the monkeys HELP the peddler as he tries to sell his caps through their delightful mimicry. Children will delight in following their antics since the peddler is completely unaware of what's going on as he goes about selling his caps. Check out the note in the back to examine how this book was put together. Highly recommended.
• 
  Marcie

  I had to rate this higher after reading the author's note. Since I used More Caps for Sale as kindergarten drama for 30 years it's nice to read about the tie to "Mary and the Poodies" Slobodkina's unpublished book where "Mary inadvertently learns good behavior by mimicking her imaginary friends, much the way the monkeys do in this.
• 
  The Library Lady

  Not pure Slobodkina, but the language,phrasing and plot do ring true to the original. I can believe that she would not have been unhappy, with Sayer's extension of the story, and that unlike Harper Lee, she would have given permission for this book. It does not hurt the original and hopefully might even bring some new readers for that timeless story.
• 
  Elizabeth

  Another tale of the monkeys like CAPS FOR SALE. Only the tables are turned. Now the peddler is mimicking the monkeys at the end of a hard day of work. The next day, the monkeys follow him about as he cries, "Caps! Caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap." The antics of the monkeys make people want to buy caps. (And the peddler saves the checkered cap for himself, just like in the circus book.)
• 
  Maggie Mattmiller

  I read and reread Caps for Sale many times as a child, so I was so excited to see that there was a sequel! Still a fairly simple story, but I loved seeing the monkeys helped the peddler (even if he doesn't know!) I think that's something people will relate to. (On top of the cute and fun story!)
• 
  Katie

  Can't believe I missed this back in October! Love those monkeys!
  
  Be sure to read the "About the Authors" info at the end...it was really interesting to learn how this book came about after Slobodkina's death.
• 
  Mother Goose Librarian

  CAPS FOR SALE is one of my favorite stories ~ it's the first story I learned to tell! I learned it & told it for a language arts class during my undergraduate courses. It's such a fun one! This sequel does not disappoint. Very interesting author's note.
• 
  Shari (Shira)

  This is a sequel of the beloved classic to celebrate its 75th anniversary. It shows what happened after the peddler gathers his caps and goes home. Unfortunately, it doesn't stand alone. If this book were written first, it would not still be around 75 years from now.
• 
  Bernice

  a wonderful thing