Volume 1 | 2016

MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB

Parent reading guide for

“Ox-Cart Man” 

by Donald Hall

 Ages 4+

Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau
1 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Ox-Cart Man

Welcome

This guide will help you teach your child money management 

skills while reading “Ox-Cart Man” by Donald Hall. 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

A farm family uses their time, energy, and talents 

to make or grow almost everything they need. 

They also make and grow extra things to take to 

market and sell.
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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. 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 in the community do to earn money. They have a 

safe place to keep money and keep track of how much they have.

2. Setting goals

A goal is something you want to do or to have. When you set 

a goal, you make a plan to reach it by a certain time. You then 

follow the plan until you succeed. Reaching a goal feels good. 

Celebrate your success and the successes of others.

How kids show it: They can follow a multi-step plan to reach a 

goal (with a little help and encouragement).
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3. 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.

4. 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.
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 Something to think about

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

§ In the olden days, most people lived on farms. They made 

and grew almost all the things they needed to live.

§ The farm family in the story used its talents to make or grow 

the things they needed. These skills are human resources.

§ The family also used natural resources like the wood from trees. 

§ The goal of the farm family was to use all kinds of resources to 

get what they needed.
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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:

§ Why did the farm family work so hard to make and 

grow everything? 

§ What were some skills and talents the family used?

§ What were some natural resources the family used? 

§ Talk about the kinds of resources your family has.

§ How do these resources help your family get what it needs?
8 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Ox-Cart Man

 Something to do

Play job charades Ages 4+

This activity will help your child learn how his or her skills help 

the family.

Ask your children to silently act out the jobs they have at home. 

The whole family tries to guess what the job is. Talk about how 

doing these jobs helps your family.

Family goal Ages 8+

This activity will help your child set a goal and plan the use of 

family skills to reach that goal.

Have your family talk about something they would like to do 

together. Some ideas might be to go on a picnic, go on a hike, 

or go to the library. Agree on one idea and write it down.

Talk about, and make a list of things that need doing to reach 

your goal. What skills (human resources) do family members 

have to reach the goal? Match these special skills with the 

things that need doing to help the family reach the goal.
9 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Ox-Cart Man

Family human resources chart Ages 6+

This activity will help your child learn how all family members 

help to get the work done.

Talk about the jobs done by each member of the family in OxCart Man. Some of the things they did are listed on the chart.

Father Mother Daughter Son Family

Stitched 

harness

Spun yarn Embroidered 

linens

Carved 

brooms

Made maple 

syrup

Made 

candles

Talk about the jobs done by each member of your own family. 

Use the blank boxes to list things each member of your family 

does to get the work done. Talk about the human resources 

used to get the family work done.
10 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Ox-Cart Man

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

Just Shopping 

with Mom

by Mercer Mayer

ISBN # 0307119726

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