MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB

Parent reading guide for

“Just Shopping with Mom” 

by Mercer Mayer

 Ages 4+

Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau
1 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Just Shopping with Mom

Welcome

This guide will help you teach your child money management 

skills while reading “Just Shopping with Mom” by Mercer Mayer. 

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.

Parent reading guide | Ages 4+
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The story

Mom goes food shopping with three youngsters. 

One has trouble accepting “no” for an answer.
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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. Prioritizing

Sometimes we need to make choices about what we want or 

do. These choices can change from day to day. Prioritizing is 

arranging things in order of their importance to us.

How kids show it: They can prioritize choices when they want 

two or more things at the same time.

2. Spending

You need money to buy things. These things have different 

prices. Money can be spent only once—after buying something, 

a person needs more money to buy something else.

How kids show it: They make spending choices with their own 

money (real or play money). (Ages 7+) Can tell the value of 

different coins and bills.
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3. Self-control

Sometimes we can’t have what we want right away and need 

to wait. Choosing not to spend money can sometimes be a 

good decision.

How kids show it: They can talk about times when they were 

able to wait and how they were able to do it.
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 Something to think about

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

§ The challenge of shopping with children is an experience all 

parents share. Kids are easy targets for colorful store displays 

and check-out counter goodies. It is only natural for them to 

want things that look tempting.

§ In the story, Mom decided what was important for her 

children to have. She let her children each pick one book. 

After shopping, they all got ice cream cones. Talking about 

rules before shopping may help children cooperate. Finding 

ways for children to help with shopping may make it a 

positive experience.
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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:

§ Where did the family go shopping?

§ How did the children help Mom at the store? How did little 

sister help at the store?

§ How has your child helped at the store?

§ What things did little sister think it was important to have? 

What did Mom think was important to have?

§ What was the best part of the shopping trip?

§ What can children do to help make shopping easier for 

parents and kids?
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 Something to do

Wordless shopping list Ages 4+

This activity will help your child understand shopping priorities. 

Many times younger children want to help at the store but are 

unable to read a list. Help them find items purchased regularly 

by saving labels and gluing them on large pieces of paper. 

This will become your child’s personal shopping list. Your child 

can find the items by matching the pictures on the list to the 

pictures in the store.

Playing store Ages 4+

This activity will help the child create positive interactions 

around shopping. 

Help the child create a Play Store. Save empty packages of 

food, medicine and household items. Help make price tags 

and play money for the store. Be a shopper in the store. Then, 

switch places and let your child buy something from you.
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Sack math Ages 6+

This activity will teach children about prioritizing spending. 

Try this activity in the Play Store. On different pieces of paper, 

write various money amounts ($2, $3, $5) to spend at the play 

store. Have each child pick a paper with an amount to spend. 

The goal is to buy a sack of groceries that comes as close to 

the amount to spend as possible. Parents can help the child 

with the adding. Add up each shopper’s bag and see who can 

fill a sack closest to the spending amount.

Role play Ages 8+

This activity will increase awareness of positive interactions 

around shopping. This game enables parents and kids to see 

with each other’s eyes. Try this role reversal in the Play Store. 

Then try it in a real store. First, parents and kids pretend to 

be each other on a shopping trip. Switch roles. Ham it up. Use 

each other’s expressions and gestures. Have fun!

After the game, tell each other how it felt to switch roles. Did 

you learn anything about the other? Will you change your 

shopping behavior?
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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:

Alexander, Who Used 

to be Rich Last Sunday

by Judith Viorst

ISBN # 0689711999

A Chair for My Mother 

by Vera Williams

ISBN # 0688040748

Ox-Cart Man

by Donald Hall

ISBN # 0140504419

Sheep in a Shop

by Nancy Shaw

ISBN # 0395706726

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

The Purse

by Kathy Caple

ISBN # 0395629810

A Bargain for Frances 

by Russell Hoban

ISBN # 006444001X

July | 2016

Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau