Spending Money

Children's Literature

A "Learning About Money" book, this title teaches the child how to manage the spending of money. Simple text and photographs introduce the topic. A boy named Pat provides the good example of a thrifty spender. He knows that some items cost more than others simply because they are popular, so he learns to compare brands before making a purchase. Choices are necessary when spending money, since most people cannot buy everything they want. Economizing also allows Pat to share money with others as he chooses. Pat writes out his money plans, budgeting his earnings and his spending ahead of time. The book explains how his mother uses checks, and what they are, and how his father uses a credit card, and what that means. Pat is such a good spender he has enough money to buy his friend an ice cream cone at the end. A couple of fun facts are included, with the especially amazing fact that someone paid $3 million for a baseball. A hands-on project is suggested for evaluating the prices and quality of store items, in order to begin training as a wise shopper. A table of contents, glossary, references to books and Internet sites (guided by Fact Hound.com), and an index complete the text. This is a good start to a very important money matter for kids and their parents. 2005, First Facts/Capstone Press, Ages 6 to 10.
—Carol Raker Collins, Ph.D.