Picture Book Bibliography Page

Picture Book: Caps for Sale Author: Esphyr Slobodkina

Summary: A peddler walks from town to town, selling the caps

he proudly balances in a stack on his head: "First he had on his
own checked cap, then a bunch of gray caps, then a bunch of
brown caps, then a bunch of blue caps, and on the very top a
bunch of red caps." On this particular day, however, business is
slow, and tired of walking without selling anything, the peddler
goes to the countryside to take a nap under a tree. When he
wakes up, he discovers that monkeys high up in the tree have
stolen all the caps except for his own checked one. Nothing will
convince them to give them back. When the peddler points, the
monkeys just point back; when he shakes his fist, they merely
shake theirs. When he stamps his foot, the monkeys stamp theirs.
Finally, the peddler throws his cap on the ground in despair and
frustration. And what do the monkeys do? They throw their caps
down, too!

ELA Common Core State Standard: RL.3.1 Ask and answer

questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring
explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Instructional Use: The students will answer questions who,

what, when, why, and how. They will make predictions about what
the monkeys will after the peddler yells at them. This will show
that they understand what is going on in the text, and are getting
their answers from the text.