Please ID this children's book

[captainQwark]

When I was a first grade, there was a book that was awfully popular in my school. We even devoted a day to activities that tied-in with the book. In this book, there is a hat seller who is trying to sell hats in a village. He carries the hats in a very tall stack on his head. At one point in the story, he goes to sleep under a tree. While he is asleep, monkeys come and steal his hats. Sound familiar to anyone?

[Khadaji]

Captain, it is familiar to me. I remember it, but I’ll be darned if I can tell you the name of the book. If no one knows it by Saturday, I’ll try to research it.

[ShibbOleth]

I don’t know if this is the whole, or correct, story, but I found this (called there ‘‘The Monkeys and the Hats’’) with a quick Google:

Once upon a time, there lived a poor hat seller in a small village in India. He earned his livelihood stiching hats and selling them in the neighboring villages. Once when going to another village through a forest, he fell asleep under a tree. When he woke up, he was surprised to find his basket empty and all the hats missing. Then he noticed a troop of monkeys sitting in the tree wearing his hats. He came up with a brilliant idea to retrieve his hats. He lifted the hat on his head and threw it to the ground. Out of their apeing habits the monkeys followed suit. The hatseller then collected all the hats and triumphantly proceeded to the market.

As the years pass by, the hat seller has a grandson who too ends up being a hat seller…

Looking a little farther, I found what appear to be variations on the same tale (perhaps an old African folktale):

The Hatseller and the Monkeys

Caps for Sale
Do any of these sound familiar?

[Roadwalker]

The Book is called Caps for Sale by Espheyr Slobodkina.
Harper Collens Publishers.

[captainQwark]

actually, the story I remember doesn’t take place in India and Africa. The illustrations that I can remember suggest a european location.

[Lsura]

“You monkeys you! You give me back my caps!”

That’s definitely Caps for sale! (50 cents a cap!)
I knew it very well because a sibling loved it.

[captainQwark]

thabks, Lsura. The book in the link is what I remember.

[Draelin]

I had forgotten that book existed! Oh, now I’ll have little happy moments all day thinking about those monkeys. I loved that book. And, of course, I couldn’t have named it if I’d tried.

[ddgryphon]

@captainQwark

thabks, Lsura. The book in the link is what I remember.

That is indeed the book you remember. Captain Kangaroo introduced it to me as a child and I introduced it to my daughter some 16 years ago. It is a timeless classic.

Caps for sale, get your caps, 50 cents a cap, cap for sale.

And the ever popular: “you monkeys you, give me back my caps!”

[Genghis_Bob]

A lovely book; thanks for reminding us of it.

I also love " . . . goodnight air; goodnight noises everywhere. . . "

and of course,

". . . and when the moon is on the rise, the animals all exercise. . . "

Damn, now I have to wait for grandkids to read those books again.