Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau

MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB

Parent reading guide for

“Count on Pablo” 

by Barbara deRubertis

 Ages 5–7
1 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Count on Pablo

Welcome

This guide will help you teach your child money management 

skills while reading “Count on Pablo” by Barbara deRubertis. It 

will do this by:

 Helping you explain the key ideas covered in the book, and 

then providing you with signs your child understands the key 

ideas and can use them in daily life. 

 Giving you things to think about before reading the book 

with your child. These can help you spot key points in the 

book or spark ideas to discuss later.

Helping you prepare for an enjoyable reading time with 

your child.

 Providing questions to talk about with your child.

 Suggesting activities that help your child put ideas and 

lessons into action.

Parent reading guide | Ages 5–7
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The story

Pablo is happy to go to the market with Abuela 

(Grandmother). He counts the fruits and 

vegetables to sell at the market. Pablo also uses 

his problem solving skills to help Abuela sell all the 

food at her booth.
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 Key ideas

By the time you finish this discussion guide, your child will be 

able to point to examples of these key ideas in the book you 

read and discuss real-life examples, too. Use these definitions to 

explain the ideas. We’ve also included ways children can show 

they are ready to use them in their daily lives.

1. Solving problems

When problems come up, we try to deal with them. Solving 

problems means finding what works best for us and taking 

action to make things better.

How kids show it: They can describe problems and come up 

with a few ideas to make things better.

2. Earning 

People use their time and skills to get money. Paper money and 

coins have different values.

How kids show it: They can identify the different jobs people in 

the family and community do to earn money. 
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3. Flexibility

It’s important to learn from mistakes. We can change our plans 

and try something new if our first idea isn’t working.

How kids show it: They can talk about a time when their plans 

didn’t turn out how they wanted and what they did instead.
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 Something to think about

First, read the book yourself and think about these ideas:

§ Pablo helps Abuela pick, clean, and bag her fruit and 

vegetables before they can go to the market. He takes pride 

in helping her get ready. Children feel good when they help 

others.

§ Children and families face problems every day. The family in 

the story solves the problem of not being able to sell their 

produce. They are creative and flexible.

§ At the market, Abuela is happy with Pablo’s creativity to make 

salsa to go with the chips.

§ Money is not our only resource. Sometimes we can use our 

skills to help ourselves and others. 
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Before you read

Read the book first yourself. Knowing the story will help you know 

what comes next. It is important to ask your child questions about 

the story as you read. Ask what might happen next in the story.

§ Choose a quiet time for stories and make it part of your 

daily routine. 

§ Find a cozy, quiet place to read. 

§ Make sure your child can see the pictures. 

§ Talk about the pictures and characters in the book.

§ Read with expression in your voice. Give each character 

in the story his or her own voice. 

§ Keep the story time short enough to leave them wanting more.

§ Look for ways during the day to bring up the messages in 

the story.

§ Continue to read aloud together even if your child can 

read alone.
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 Something to talk about

Before you begin to read the story with your child, look at the 

cover of the book together. Ask what the story might be about.

As you read the story with your child, talk about these ideas:

§ Pablo needs to help Abuela pick, clean, and bag her fruits 

and vegetables before they can go to the market. Have you 

ever picked fruits or vegetables from a garden?

§ Pablo is good at counting and following directions. What 

skills are you good at?

§ People at the market have many different jobs. What other 

jobs do you see in the book? Which jobs would you like to 

do?

§ Why is Pablo upset when Abuela has not sold her fruits and 

vegetables?

§ How did Pablo solve the problem of not selling any fruits and 

vegetables? What might have happened if Pablo didn’t solve 

it?

§ Pablo and Abuela made salsa to bring people to their stand. 

What other ideas would help them sell produce?

§ Pablo likes to work with Abuela at the market. What are some 

things that you could do to earn money?
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 Something to do

Pretend store Ages 3+

Pretend to open a market, restaurant, or some other kind of store. 

You and your child can decide what to sell and how to set up your 

store. Talk about the different jobs that are needed at a store. Use 

real or play money to practice “buying” or “selling” items at your 

store. You can also practice solving problems, for example: How 

will we get to the store? Where will we put our money? What if the 

store runs out of bread? 

Shopping trip Ages 3+

The next time you are at the store, talk with your child about 

the different jobs people have at the store. Is there a cashier 

who handles money, a person who sets up displays, or a 

manager who orders all the supplies? What kind of skills does 

that person need to do their job? Which jobs would your child 

like to do?
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How many ways? Ages 3+

Sometimes we get into a habit and do the same thing every 

day. Pick something you do every day and talk about all the 

different ways to do that task. For example, what are all the 

different ways people get to school or work? Car, bus, walk, 

ride a bike - how many other ways can you think of? 

Cooking Ages 3+

Have fun with math skills and make a yummy treat. Pick a recipe 

to make with your child. Give your child a useful job when you 

make the food. As you cook, help your child count the number 

of cups or spoonfuls, how many pieces you chop, or how many 

times you stir. (Ages 6+) Children can practice math and reading 

by following a recipe. Let your child read the recipe and plan out 

the steps for cooking. Talk about what jobs each of you is good 

at and what needs more practice, like stirring or chopping or 

following directions. Try solving problems—for example, what 

could you do if you did not have something needed for your 

recipe? You can also plan how many ingredients you need to 

double a recipe or to cut it in half.
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About this guide

The Money as You Grow Book Club is a research-based program 

designed to help parents, caregivers, and others teach children 

ages 4 through 10 money skills through reading, activities, and play. 

The Money as You Grow Book Club is an updated version of 

the University of Nevada Extension’s Money on the Bookshelf 

program. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), The 

University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security, 

and the University of Wisconsin-Extension Family Living Programs 

have worked together to expand the program and make it 

available to libraries, educators, and parents nationally. 

The CFPB is an independent federal agency. We write and 

enforce rules that keep banks and other financial companies 

operating fairly. We also help educate and empower 

consumers. For more about tools and resources for parents, visit 

consumerfinance.gov/MoneyAsYouGrow. 

The Center for Financial Security is a research center that seeks 

to help the public build financial knowledge and skills, increase 

access to financial services and increase the financial security 

of families. The University of Wisconsin-Extension is part of the 

National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Cooperative 

Extension System, which brings vital, practical information to 

agricultural producers, small business owners, consumers, 

families, and young people.
To learn more about the Money as You Grow Book 

Club, or download other parent reading guides, visit 

consumerfinance.gov/MoneyAsYouGrow.

MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB

Ask about these other Money as You Grow Book Club books and 

parent guides. ISBNs for paperback versions are included below:

Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau November | 2016

Cuenta con Pablo

by Barbara deRubertis

ISBN # 9781575651514

Curious George Saves 

His Pennies

by Margaret and H.A. Rey

ISBN # 9780547935768

Lemonade in Winter

by Emily Jenkins

ISBN # 9780375858833

My Rows and Piles of 

Coins

by Tololwa M. Mollel

ISBN # 9780395751862

Those Shoes

by Maribeth Boelts

ISBN # 9780763642846

Tia Isa Wants a Car

by Meg Medina

ISBN # 9780763657529

Tía Isa Quiere un Carro

by Meg Medina

ISBN # 9780606238014

The Rag Coat

by Lauren Mills

ISBN # 9780316574075