It’s never too early to start thinking about personal finance, according to new titles that serve up the financial ABCs for younger readers.
Downtown Bookworks is targeting children ages 9–12 with the recently released How to Start Your Very First Business, from the creators of Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaire’s Club, an animated online and TV series that features Buffet as a mentor to a group of entrepreneurial kids. The book, coauthored by Downtown president Julie Merberg and editorial director Sarah Parvis, features a forward from Buffet and is peppered with his advice: “Do not save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving,” and “If you fail, try again. Failure is not falling down; it is staying down.”
The 21 business ideas presented include “film and edit sports-highlights reels for athletes in your school” to “bake and sell dog treats,” and the book is packaged with a credit card reader so kids can put these ideas into motion—and take plastic as well as cash.
Also for middle schoolers are four new titles in the Creative Company’s Built for Success series, which spotlights successful corporations and introduces the leaders who guided them to prominence. The Story of Berkshire-Hathaway, The Story of Lululemon Athletica, The Story of Southwest Airlines, and The Story of AT&T (all by Laura K. Murray, Mar. 2016) each survey the featured company’s history, examining its triumphs, failures, and innovations.
Financial Literacy for Millennials: A Practical Guide to Managing Your Financial Life for Teens, College Students, and Young Adults by Andrew O. Smith (Praeger, July 2016) is for those in high school and beyond. Hilary Claggett, senior editor of business, economics, and finance at Praeger parent company ABC-CLIO, says that young people are being asked to think about spending habits at an early age, but requirements for teaching finance vary widely from state to state. Smith’s aim, she says, is to fill the gap being left by public education.
Beating the College Debt Trap: Getting a Degree Without Going Broke by Alex Chediak (Zondervan, Jan. 2016) homes in on the university years, showing students how to pay less for higher education, find meaningful work during college, pay off loans quickly, and transition from campus to career.
Looking ahead to 2017, Plata, publisher of the Rich Dad series, has announced preliminary plans to enter the children’s market with personal finance picture books.
