What Mary Jo Shared

by Janice May Udry, Elizabeth Sayles (Illustrator)

With originality, a shy girl solves the problem of what she can share with her class

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, School, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Janice May Udry is an American author. She was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and graduated from Northwestern University in 1950. Her first book, A Tree is Nice, was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1957 for Marc Simont's illustrations. Her papers are held at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a paperback copy of the original edition illustrated by Eleanor Mill (1966). I enjoyed it just as much as I did when I was small, and it was one of my favorite books. I loved the story, but I also loved Mary Jo’s matching trench coat, boots, and umbrella. Such a fashion plate!

[Lake Shore Library]

I watched the short movie made about this book and wanted to read the book :)

[Hana Sm. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book–don't know why anybody would give it less than 5 stars. The book actually has 28 pages but Goodreads says it has 32 pages. The reason for the disparity is because Goodreads counts the title page and information page, etc in the official page count.
I like the fact that Mary Jo's father is married to her mom and he works. Children need to see what a real man looks like.

Shy Mary Jo wasn't social at school because "She didn't think they would listen to her." Her teacher tried to get Mary Jo to open up, but she would always shake her head. Mary Jo really did want to share, but she was afraid to try. When she finally gets the nerve to share, she would go to school with her show-and-tell & find out that someone else had brought the same thing! Her life isn't as interesting as the other kids but she "became determined to share something that no one else had shared."

Suddenly Mary Jo decided to bring her 36 year old father to school. Since he didn't start teaching his high school English class until 11:00, he was able to visit her class. Her father looks like a throwback from the 70s–he has a thick, long, black mustache, a low afro and an oversized jacket with a tie. She tells her classmates things about her father and then he shares. "The children clapped, and Mary Jo and her father sat down." She felt good that she had shared her father & none of the other kids had the same idea.
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I would have my kids blog in their journals about what they like most about their guardian. I said guardian because some kids might not have a dad or mom in their life & may be raised by another relative.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This heartwarming story is about a little girl in the 2nd grade that doesn't share anything with the class. All her ideas about what items she could share have already been used by other classmates. She must come up with something to share that nobody else has thought of.

Mary Jo is a thoughtful little girl who is portrayed as being quiet and disappointed with herself until she thinks of something to share. Her father is caring and checks in with her daily to see if she shared anything. The teacher and her classmates want to include Mary Jo in their sharing and activities and respond enthusiastically when she finally does share something.

The text itself overlaps on the illustration but it does not take away from the picture. The illustration spans the entirety of both pages without interruption from the binding. Colors fill the entire page, inviting the readers to join in the story. The illustrations are textured as if they were painted on canvas. Often the important characters are featured in the forefront of a neutral colored background.

I liked the plot because I think a lot of students could relate to the same struggle that the main character went through. I also like the emotions that were portrayed through the illustrations. The first time Mary Jo smiles, it lights up the whole page and the reader shares in her victory.
I think reading this book to young students would help them to see that they can share out, even if somebody else has already shared the same thing, because what they share will be just as special and unique as they are.

[GaryAMort · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Mary Jo shared

This was one of my favorite books as a child. I was very sad to see that it's no longer being published, but found it on Kindle unlimited.

The story is as sweet and touching as I remember it being. Mary Jo's experiences will resonate with both boys and girls.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book to read for Fathers Day! I could ask the students to share about their own fathers after reading it aloud.

[Jacobe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute book. Simple in plot but cute nonetheless. Mary Jo is a young girl who needs to bring something to share with her classmates. She tries a couple things but decides against sharing them. Mary Jo wants to be unique and doesn't know what to share until one day she has a clever idea. The illustrations within it are well made. They aren't extraordinarily clear, nor are they expertly created, but they get the job done. It is a cute book and I think this book could be used in a first grade class on a lesson about sharing, and about being oneself. Having the students bring something into class they would like to share could be an extension of this book, and having them describe the item would let them work on their verbal explanation skills.

[Valerie Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Jo, a shy black girl, is afraid to share with her class. Each time she thinks of something to share, someone else has the same idea. Finally Mary Jo thinks of a unique thing to share.

This book would be good to talk about shyness and insecurity.

[CKE387 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet quick story involving thinking through a problem with great artwork

[Robyn Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a young girl who is afraid to share during show and tell at her school. She anticipates things that she could share with her class, but she often gets discouraged because the thinds are not spectacular enough. Each day at school, her teacher asks her if she would like to share anything, and she declines. Eventually, the young girl decides to bring her father to share with the class. She is happy when she is accepted by her fellow students in the class. Sharing her father with the class happened tp be the best choice that she could have made. This book could be used during the first week of school to help spread familiarity. This book uplifts shy students and encourages them to participate.

[Felicia Mcdowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Udry, J.(1996). What Mary Jo Shared. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company.
Subgroup: African American
Genre: Blacks-Fiction
Topics: grade school children, show and tell, parents
Synopsis: This book is story of a little girl that has to bring something to show and tell at school. She has a hard time trying to decide what to bring to class and every time she does bring something someone else has already brought and showed it. Therefore everyday her teacher asks her has she brought anything to show and tell yet and she disappointedly answers no. She finally decides to bring her father to talk about in front of her class, and the class is amazed and very engaged about who she has brought to show.

[Sabrina Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a little African American girl who was timid and reluctant to share anything at meeting time in her class. Each time she thought about something to hare, someone else had that idea and did. She finally thought of taking something that no else had; her dad.
It was an awesome moment for her and her dad enjoyed it too. Her classmates had fun and were all excited about Mary Jo's sharing. In the end she was happy and felt good about finally sharing.
This book can be used to teach children about self-acceptance, motivation, and encouragement. I liked the illustrations too as they were simple yet captivating.

[Savannah Shields · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. It was about a girl who was shy but had decided that she wanted to speak up and share something exciting and new to the class that no one had ever shared before. But everytime she was asked to share, someone had already told something similar to what she wanted to. But finally she decided to bring in her father and talk about him since that was something no one else had ever done before. By doing this, she finally got recognized by her peers and started to gain friends.

[Ruth Jackson]

This book tells the story about a little girl whi is afraid to share and wants to share. She always thinks of ideas to bring to her classroom and show at show and tell. But she couldn't fit the elephant in the classroom door. So she let her pet run away. She asked her dad if he would go to school with her for show and tell. He said yes and I don't have class until 11:00 o'clock.
I liked the story.
Written by Ryder, 7 years old

[Jil Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that every 'daddy's girl' should have. My mom got me this book when I was about 5yrs old and I saved it for many years. The original cover was torn off the book but my mom sent my original book to Ms. Udry and she signed it for me and my mom gave it to me again for my 40th birthday. I then found a second copy at a library sale that I keep on my visitors book shelf, the the signed copy I keep in a safe place. Truly a joyful book.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shy Mary Jo doesn't know what to share. Every time she gets an idea, someone else thinks of the same. Finally, she finds something that no one has brought in, her father. Really sweet book. It was written in the 60's so the clothing of the characters and the medium in which the book was illustrated is outdated. However, the message remains valuable.

[Breana Vining · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the students who may seem a bit timid and shy and continually doubt themselves, this is a great book to read to ensure that kids understand that know matter what, there is something very special about them!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a great book to introduce about "Show and Tell" activity. Some kids may wonder with what are things they can bring in to classroom. I would use this book to expand students' creativeness of doing show and tell. I like the character brought her father to share with class. Very sweet book.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely drawings, cute story.

[Sha-Quita Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would introduce this book to my class when talking about sharing in front of the class. Many times students feel uncomfortable sharing information about somethimg in front of their classmates.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed the story

Making Meaning grade 2 resource kit

[Horace Mann Family Reading Challenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rm 213

[Cassaundra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will Mary Jo share? All of her ideas for show-and-tell are taken by her classmates. Mary Jo finally has a very unique subject to share!

[Julia Buffington]

This is about a black family and Mary Jo shared her dad to the class and she felt good because it was different from everyone else. It's a great read!

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable.

[Afiea]

iTHINK THIS GIRL LOOKS SHY M,Y THE BOOK COVER