My Allowance

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“Hooray! Hooray! It’s Friday. It’s allowance day! I get $1.00
every Friday. The first thing I do is put one dime or 10 cents in my
piggy bank. Next, I put one nickel or 5 cents in a small box for church
on Sunday. Then I put another nickel in a small jar for a charity. That
leaves me with 80 cents to spend on anything I want. This week I am
going to buy an ice-cream cone. But next week, I think I will save my 80
cents. As I grow, my allowance will grow too. My bank account will grow
and I will be able to give more money to others. I will even be able to
buy more things for myself. Mom and Dad are happy because I am sharing
my allowance, helping people, making my own decisions and becoming more
responsible.”

If the above prose sounds as if it was written by the Bank of Canada,
you are not far off. This is a first book by David Royle, a chartered
accountant. Royle’s text is clear and well presented, and his math
simple enough for even a preschooler to follow. The plot takes young
readers through the basic concepts of getting money, saving money,
opening a bank account, and earning interest. The book’s only drawback
is that there is no crisis to hold a reader’s attention. Maybe that is
coming up in a sequel, when our enthusiastic little saver finds out
about sales tax and bank service charges. Recommended.