An African version of the familiar story of a man who sets off to sell his hats, only to have them stolen by a treeful of mischievous monkeys.
- ISBN: 9780590960694
- Author: Diakite, Baba Wague
- Published: 1999, Scholastic Press
- Themes: hats, Monkeys
- Descriptors: Africa, Folklore and Fairy Tales, Mali, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), West Africa
- No. of pages: 32
The Hatseller and the Monkeys is an African folktale retold and illustrated by this month’s featured author-artist, Baba Wagué Diakité. Ceramic-tile paintings by Diakité were photographed and used to illustrate this well-known tale of a hat seller who stops to rest under a tree and loses them to a group of curious monkeys while he sleeps.
The storyteller’s voice in this beautifully illustrated book makes it easy to envision a young Baba Wagué listening to this tale and laughing over the antics of the monkeys as the hat seller tries to trick them into giving up his hats. This retelling, unlike others that I have read, offers a moral for listeners and readers to ponder:
It is with a full stomach that one thinks best. For an empty satchel cannot stand.
The author’s note at the end of this book expands upon this moral as it examines the roles that stories play in the lives of children and adults.