What Is The Hatseller And The Monkeys Diakite

Monkeys seem to be a common motif among children’s media. I remember when I was little and I read tales about nine little monkeys that jumped on the bed and a curious little animal named George. I recall that I really enjoyed tales such as these; perhaps I was fascinated by monkeys. Well, at least I know I spent many a time annoying my mother with requests to watch “that show with the guy and the big yellow hat.” But though my fascination is certainly no more, I was reminded of my early days while reading The Hatseller and the Monkeys, written and illustrated by Baba Wague Diakite. Diakite recounts an old West African folktale in this great children’s book. The plot commences by introducing protagonist BaMusa, a purebred hat-maker whose creations are ever popular among his …show more content…
For example, when BaMusa throws stones at monkeys, the illustrator depicts how the monkeys retaliate with mangoes. Moreover, Diakite includes comical and taunting demeanors splattered across the monkeys’ faces to further demonstrate their mischief. Said illustrations also do a good job in communicating the story’s heritage. The color scheme and art style the illustrator incorporates mirror art styles often found in historical African paintings and other artwork. In the end, I would recommend The Hatseller and the Monkeys mainly for middle-grade elementary school children because it teaches an important lesson for young children-one should care for their health before taking on hard tasks- and offers some more challenging language usage that these kids could benefit from. This story could also be very beneficial to people struggling with eating disorders for them to learn to care for their own health. In addition, those interested in or researching West African folk culture might really enjoy this book because it demonstrates oral and art culture from this