Parent reading guide for 

“Sheep in a Shop” 

by Nancy Shaw

 Ages 4+

Money as You Grow Bookshelf
MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOKSHELF
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Parent reading guide | Ages 4+

Welcome

This guide will help you teach your child money management 

skills while reading “Sheep in a Shop” by Nancy Shaw. It will 

accomplish 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.
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SHEEP IN A SHOP 3

The story

Some sheep go shopping for a birthday gift. They 

find they do not have enough money to pay for it. 

They decide to solve their problem by trading.
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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. Making decisions

Many times there are different ways to use money. Taking 

the time to ask questions, learn about different choices, and 

compare what’s good and bad about each choice helps you 

reach good decisions.

How kids show it: They can look at a few choices and select one 

that will bring the best results.

2. 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.
SHEEP IN A SHOP 5

 Something to think about

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

§ The sheep in the story have to choose a birthday gift. There 

are many things to choose from.

§ We all have to make many decisions every day.

§ When there are many choices, it is harder to make a decision. 

§ Like the sheep in the story, children are natural traders. 

Children like to trade with each other. This is solving a 

problem to get what they want.
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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.
SHEEP IN A SHOP 7

 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:

§ The sheep were trying to make a decision. What was the 

decision?

§ Why was it hard for the sheep to decide? (The sheep did not 

have enough money.) How did they solve this problem?

§ Ask your child what “trade” means.

§ Ask if your child has ever traded for something. Talk 

about trading.

§ What can your family do, make, or grow to trade with others?
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 Something to do

Baa baa black sheep Ages 4+

This activity will help your child understand how the sheep 

solved their money problem.

Share this nursery rhyme with your child. Talk about how it 

relates to the sheared sheep in the story. (The sheep traded 

their wool.)

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. 

One for my master,

One for my dame,

One for (your child’s name) who lives down the lane. 

Baa baa black sheep,

have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
SHEEP IN A SHOP 9

Neighborhood swap meet Ages 6+

This activity will give your child practice in making decisions. 

Get together with some neighborhood pals and trade or swap 

your unwanted stuff for something else. Here is how to do it: 

Have a kids’ meeting and decide where and when to have the 

swap meet. Decide how many toys or other items each child 

can bring to trade or swap. Decide how to do the trading. The 

children could draw numbers to see who goes first. Decide how 

many trades to make at each turn. Talk about what other rules 

you may need.

If you choose to use this activity, also be sure to talk about it with 

the parents of all the children who will participate. 

A decision-making method the children might learn is looking at 

all possible choices before making a trade. A problem-solving 

concept learned might be that waiting to choose may mean the 

item they want is not available because someone else picked it first. 

Hold the swap meet. Have fun!
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Problem solving for a birthday gift Ages 8+

This activity will help your child find ways to get a gift to give. 

Your child has a problem. He or she has no money for a 

birthday gift for someone. You have no sheep to shear. Try 

some of these ideas. 

§ Trading for something. Maybe your child has something to 

trade for a gift.

§ Maybe your child can earn money doing odd jobs around the 

neighborhood. 

§ Maybe your child can make a gift from things you have 

around the house. Some ideas could be:

ú Puzzle Piece Pins: Glue some old puzzle pieces together. 

Make sure they are not too big. Glue a small safety pin on 

the back. This will work as the clasp. Your child now has a 

piece of jewelry that will make a great birthday gift.

ú Puzzle Piece Frames: Find some old puzzle pieces. Cut a 

square shape from a cardboard box. Then cut the middle 

out of the square. Glue some puzzle pieces around the 

frame. Use the frame with a special picture you draw for 

the birthday person.
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About this guide

Money as You Grow Bookshelf 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. 

Money as You Grow Bookshelf is an updated version of the 

University of Nevada Extension’s Money on the Bookshelf 

program. In collaboration with The University of WisconsinMadison Center for Financial Security and the University of 

Wisconsin-Extension Family Living Programs, we are working 

together to expand the program and make it available to 

libraries, educators, and parents nationally. 

For more 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.


MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOKSHELF

Ask about these other Money as You Grow Bookshelf books and 

parent guides. ISBNs for paperback versions are included below:

A Bargain for Frances

by Russell Hoban 

ISBN # 006444001X

A Chair for My Mother

by Vera Williams

ISBN # 0688040748

Alexander, Who Used 

to Be Rich Last Sunday

by Judith Viorst 

ISBN # 0689711999

The Berenstain Bears 

& Mama’s New Job

by Stan & Jan Berenstain 

ISBN # 0394868811 

The Berenstain Bears’ 

Trouble With Money

by Stan & Jan Berenstain 

ISBN # 0394859170 

Count on Pablo

by Barbara deRubertis

ISBN # 9781575650906

Cuenta con Pablo

by Barbara deRubertis

ISBN # 9781575651514 

Curious George 

Saves His Pennies

by Margaret and H.A.Rey 

ISBN # 9780547935768 

Just Shopping 

With Mom

by Mercer Mayer 

ISBN # 0307119726 

Lemonade in Winter

by Emily Jenkins 

ISBN # 9780375858833 

My Rows and Piles 

of Coins

by Tololwa M.Mollel 

ISBN # 9780395751862

Ox-Cart Man

by Donald Hall 

ISBN # 0140504419

The Purse

by Kathy Caple 

ISBN # 0395629810 

The Rag Coat

by Lauren Mills 

ISBN # 9780316574075 

Sheep in a Shop

by Nancy Shaw 

ISBN # 0395706726 

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

For more tips and activities for parents and caregivers, and to 

download Money as You Grow Bookshelf parent reading guides, 

visit consumerfinance.gov/MoneyAsYouGrow.

July 2018