Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau

MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB

Parent reading guide for

“Alexander, Who Used 

to be Rich Last Sunday” 

by Judith Viorst

 Ages 4+
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Welcome

This guide will help you teach your child money management 

skills while reading “Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last 

Sunday” by Judith Viorst. 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

Alexander started the week as a rich young man. 

There were so many things he could do with a 

dollar. The money began to disappear.
3 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday

 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. 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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3. Saving

Some things cost more money than we have at one time. Saving 

means putting some money aside until we have enough to buy 

what we want.

How kids show it: They keep money in a safe place and keep 

track of amount saved for future spending. (Ages 7+) They can 

explain why money saved in a bank or credit union is still a 

personal belonging.

4. 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.
5 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday

 Something to think about

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

§ Alexander spent all his money.

§ How he spent it did not make him happy.

§ Sometimes we buy things we think we need instead of saving 

for something we really need or want.

§ Alexander learned that fighting temptations to spend 

money is hard.

§ Sometimes we need to think and plan how to best use 

our money. Every person has different ideas about how to 

use money.
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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.
7 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday

 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:

§ How did Alexander get his money? Where does your child 

get money?

§ Talk about all the ways Alexander used his money. Was 

Alexander happy with how he used his money?

§ Ask your child what he or she has spent money for and then 

wished he or she had not spent it. How did this make your 

child feel?

§ Ask your child if he or she ever saves for something. Talk 

about how hard it is to wait and not spend.

§ Why did Alexander end up with only bus tokens?

§ Talk about how hard it can be to decide the best way to use 

our money.
8 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday

 Something to do

Margarine bowl piggy bank Ages 4+

This activity will help your child learn to save by creating a 

place to keep money. 

Use a plastic margarine bowl or other container to make a 

place to save money. Cut a slit in the lid large enough to drop 

coins through. To decorate the bank, help your child glue on 

pictures, play money or bits of ribbon.

Dream cloud Ages 5+

This activity will help your child decide what it is important to 

save for. 

Ask your child to draw a big puffy cloud. Inside the cloud, ask 

your child to draw something he or she really wants or needs. 

The item inside the cloud can also be a picture cut from a 

magazine. Talk with your child about how long it will take to save 

for the dream item.
9 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday

Needs and wants Ages 5+

This activity will help your child prioritize spending decisions.

Create a two column table. Label the left column “Needs” and 

the right column “Wants.” Then flip through a magazine, store 

circular or catalog and ask your child to clip out pictures of 

things he or she needs or wants just for fun. Then, ask them to 

paste the pictures into the appropriate column. 

Parents and children may not agree on what is a need and what 

is a want.

Coin rubbings Ages 6+

This activity will help your child learn coin values. 

Before we spend our money, we need to know how much 

we have. For this activity you will need scissors, blank paper, 

crayons, and a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter.

Start with the penny. Remind your child that a penny is one 

cent. Put the penny under the paper. Have your child rub the 

long side of the crayon across the covered penny. Rub until you 

see the penny appear on the paper. Do this with all the coins. 

Each time, remind the child of how much the coin is worth.

Cut out the shapes and practice counting the play money.
10 MONEY AS YOU GROW BOOK CLUB | Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday

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.
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July | 2016

Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau