My Favorite Books: Caps For Sale

Today just so happens to be the last day of summer vacation for my children. Yes, tomorrow they go back to school. Our town seems to be the last town on the planet to return to school. I'm not sure why when all surrounding towns started Monday or Tuesday, but I'm sure there must be a reason. Anyway, my children had no interest (understandably) writing a Reading Crew post today, so it looks like you are stuck with me!

Since it's been a while, I thought I would tell you about one of my favorite books when I was growing up, Caps For Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina. I loved this book when I was a kid. I remember going to the library and taking out this book--multiple times.

Something about Caps really appealed to me. First off, the idea of the peddler wearing a stack of hats on his head really interested me. How did he balance all of those? Then, the colors were so varied, but they were all organized by color. He has a hard time selling his caps and falls asleep under a tree.

Next come the monkeys. They love his hats. They wear them while sitting in the tree. As a very young child, I thought they were hilarious. I also thought the peddler's trick for them to give up the caps was a lot of fun.

What I found out much later is that this story is based on an old folk tale. For me this book is a prime example of a magical reading moment. I don't really know what exactly fascinated me about book in the first place, but I've never forgotten about it. As I think about it, that's what's so cool about reading. Discovering a good book is the beginning off a love that will last a lifetime. If you have young ones in your life, introduce them to one of your favorite books from childhood today and watch them experience the magic for themselves.