On Market Street

Author: Arnold Lobel

Title: On Market Street

Illustrator: Anita Lobel

Genre: Picture Book, General Fiction

Subgenre: Alphabet Book, Stories in Rhyme

Theme: Alphabet Recognition, Neighborhood Life

Primary and Secondary Characters: Narrator (Little Girl), Friend (Cat)

Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, New York Times Best Illustrated Book, Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book, ALA Notable Children’s Book, Horn Book Fanfare

Publishing Company: Greenwillow Books

Date of Publication: April 1, 1981

Brief Summary and How to Use With Students:

On Market Street is a beautifully illustrated, whimsical ABC story book about the goods bought by a young girl while on Market Street.

                This book is a great book for kindergarten and first graders and can be used diversely within the classroom.  The colorful, playful illustrations will captivate young students and reinforce their recognition of the alphabet. The introduction and conclusion of the story can be broken down and analyzed by teacher and students to understand how and why words rhyme.  On Market Street can also be used as an introductory read to promote reading across the curriculum for kindergarteners to meet Tennessee’s State Standards for Economics. 

K.2.01 Describe potential costs and benefits of personal economic choices in a market economy.

a. Identify basic human needs.

b. Explain how basic human needs of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are met.

c. Understand that people create shelter according to both culture and environment.

K.2.02 Give examples of the interaction of businesses and governments in a market economy.

a. Recognize how jobs are similar and different from one community to another.

b. Identify jobs in the home, and school.

K.2.03 Understand fundamental economic concepts.

a. Explain why people have jobs.

b. Distinguish between needs and wants.

c. Recognize that all jobs are significant and realize that some jobs are interdependent