The Kids Guide to Money Cent$

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

This book is like a 21–lesson course in money matters for kids. While
it has cartoonlike preteen characters, and the reading level is
appropriate for the preteen age group, some of the content is at a much
higher level. For example, most preteens will probably not be
immediately involved in getting jobs, using credit cards, and playing
the stock market.

The text is a dense mix of facts, mini-case studies, and activities.
When readers have learned about the odds of winning the lottery and
identifying counterfeit money, they can take a test to find out their
money personality, or read about successful preteen entrepreneurs.

Using examples of child entrepreneurs, Thomas encourages the early
development of financial and business knowledge. For example, she
celebrates a girl who started breeding dogs at age 11, detailing
financial records and pointing out what the girl must keep, but,
significantly, does not comment on the fact that rent is not among the
expenses, because the girl operates from her parents home. Thomas does
her readers a disservice by glossing over the fact that the bottom line
of this successful “business” probably includes a significant
parental subsidy.

References to the Canadian financial environment, such as the Canada
Deposit Insurance Corporation and Canada Savings Bonds, are helpful, but
the book could have been more detailed in such areas as Canadian
child-employment rules and rights.

The book is well written, covers a wide range of money-related topics,
and would be most useful as curriculum support material. Recommended.