My Father's Luncheonette  by Melanie Hope Greenberg
Dalton Children's Books
24 pages
ISBN 0-525-44725-3

Summary:
A little girl goes everyday to her father's luncheonette. While her father flips burgers, fizzes sodas, and scoops ice cream, she plays the jukebox or spins on a counter stool. The hours whirl by, from the lunch crunch to lights out at closing time.


Concept: Producers

Definition: Producers are people who make goods or provide services.

Comprehension Questions:

What kinds of food items were produced and sold at the luncheonette? (Burgers, sodas, French fries, ice cream, pot roast, etc.)

Does the luncheonette provide a good or service? (This is tricky. Although tangible food items are sold, the main point is that a customer is paying the luncheonette to cook, serve, and clean up. Thus, restaurants in general are said to provide a service.)

Why were there many customers at the luncheonette? (Answers will vary. The luncheonette was in a good location. There is the South Bronx Savings Bank, Abie's Hardware Store, Sandbanks Jewelry shop, and the train station overhead. The food and service must be good since there are regular customers.)

Why does the little girl's father run his luncheonette? (He runs his business primarily to earn income. He also seems to enjoy his work very much.)

What productive resources does it take to run a luncheonette? (human resources- waiters, cooks, etc.; capital resources- stoves, tables, forks, etc; natural resources- sun, rain, and soil to grow good, iron for metal tables and appliances, etc.)

What good or service do you want to produce when you grow up? (Answers will vary. Emphasize that almost every able-bodied person is a producer of something.)

Other Concepts: Goods and Services, Consumers.



(From KidsEcon Posters©: www.kidseconposters.com)