cover image The Hatseller and the Monkeys

The Hatseller and the Monkeys

Baba Wague Diakite. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-590-96069-4

Fans of Slobodkina's Caps for Sale will relish this fresh twist on a hat vendor's comical skirmish with some clever primates, set in Diakite's (The Hunterman and the Crocodile) native Mali. BaMusa is not only a hatseller, but descends from a long line of hatmakers. After a brief explanation of how he learned to make wide-brimmed dibiri hats and close-fitting fugulan caps, he heads to town to sell them. He stops to nap under a mango tree, where some monkeys relieve him of his hats. The author makes the most of the interplay between the mischievous culprits and BaMusa with phrases children will want to imitate right along with the characters (""Tchat, tchat, tchat!"" yells BaMusa; ""Hoop, hoop, hoop!"" the monkeys reply). Diakite's version imparts a new moral: only after the man eats some of the monkey's mangoes can he think with a clear head--and reclaim his hats. Ceramic-tile paintings on each spread depict the action in fluid, bold brushwork with man and creatures outlined in white against backgrounds of nearly transparent blue sky. Opposite each full-color tile image, a page with brief text set against a white background shows off a spot line drawing. Diakite then frames each page with a ring of monkeys in silhouette tumbling over one another. The handsome design emphasizes the detailed artwork of the tree teeming with life: leaves, mangoes, lizards, dragonflies, bats and butterflies, as well as the scampering monkeys sporting BaMusa's brightly threaded hats. In this retelling, Diakite's use of language is as colorful and unusual as his artwork. Ages 4-7. (Feb.)