A day wouldn't go by when a child doesn't hear, "Sorry, we can't afford it" and an adult is reminded there is a "cost of living crisis". Bit what is this mysterious thing called money? Where does it come from? How do you get it?
Not so long ago, children saw physical notes and coins change hands when purchases were made but these days this is increasingly rare. so how can tapping a plastic card or your phone on a screen somehow deliver anything from an ice cream to an igloo into your shopping cart? How can we start to teach them financial literacy and how to manage their own money if they don't know what it is?
This new book from Usborne takes an introductory look at money, and through its lift-the-flap format explains what it is, making, borrowing, saving, investing and spending it, how it is moved around and even its history from the original barter systems to the tap-and-go of today, even cryptocurrency. And within each of the big questions are a myriad of smaller questions that can lead children into all sorts of investigations, whether that is the different currencies of the world, the concept of paying or receiving interest, even challenging them to consider which is the best deal.
Never before has there been such an emphasis on money driven by those who believe that success is defined by your bank balance and hence, everything, including the child's education, is reduced to a set of figures on the bottom line. So even if they seldom see cash exchanging hands, our students need to know the basics and this book, accompanied by the usual Quicklinks that encourage further explanation and exploration, is an essential starting point.
This review can also be found here.
16 pages 9781474952897 Ages 7-10
Keywords: money, finance, how things work, banking, part of a series, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
*********
Lift the flaps to find out all about money and what it can do, from earning and spending to borrowing and lending. See how coins and banknotes are made, and discover tips and tricks for managing your own money. With simple explanations and fun, quirky illustrations, this book is a perfect introduction for anyone curious about how money works. Written with advice from experts in the UK and US, including financial education charity Young Money, it covers all the basics that readers need to know, and many things they might have wondered about.---from the publisher
