The Best Books On Inflation: 5 We Love For Young Kids
Books on Inflation and financial literacy books in general can be a great way to help parents financially educate their Young kids
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“Inflation hasn't ruined everything. A dime can still be used as a screwdriver.”
-Jackson Brown Jr
As we have said a few times, reading with our kids is something we here at Future Funders strongly encourage. Regardless of their age, books offer a great path for financial education, developing a strong relationship with money, and (perhaps most importantly) offering a way to spend some quality time together. We also think it can help our kiddos get away from the screens and start to develop a passion for learning.
When it comes to learning about the topic of inflation, the thinking is no different: books can be a great place to get started no matter the age. Our young kiddos likely won’t understand everything right away, but if we start somewhere and keep re-enforcing key points even a complex topic like inflation will sink in.
While we have many great financial literacy geared books available in our book library, we wanted to highlight 5 books today specifically around the topic of inflation that might be a helpful place to start the conversation.
Before we dive in, its also worth pointing out we have written a lot about inflation lately because we feel it is such an important current topic to stay informed and be teaching our kids about (they will thank you when they are older and see inflation again!). If you want to dive in further on the topic of inflation specifically, be sure to also check out our prior posts for some other aids (How to Explain Inflation to a Six Year Old, Inflation Games With Kids, Will Inflation Go Down In 2022?, or 3 Steps to Protect Your Family From Inflation).
So without further ado, lets dive in and discuss some great books that can help you teach the kids!
Money Plan
Age Range: 4 years to 7 years old
Author: Christina Hill
Our Take: While not directly about inflation, Money Plan offers parents or grown ups the ability to link inflation to budgeting, saving, or spending money wisely for young kids (for a free printable budgeting worksheet game the kids can play click here). The ability to learn all of these financial lessons are vital for handling inflation and for younger kids, Money Plan is a great place to get started. The illustrations are beautifully done and we especially enjoyed the rhyming around important money topics that makes it easier for young children to understand.
About The Book: Money Plan offers a clever approach to teaching young readers about money, saving, budgeting, and working hard. Told in rhyming verse, the story follows Mia and her mommy on their Saturday morning trip to the grocery store. When Mia spots her favorite treat, she gets her first introduction to money management.
Infographics: Inflation
Age Range: 8 years to 12 years old
Author: Christina Hill
Our Take: We like this book’s informative nature breaking down types of inflation (cost-push inflation and demand pull inflation) as well as specific measures of inflation. The writing style is clear and uses plain language (which we are a fan of - finance should not be made to sound complicated because its not!) and with some colorful depictions and even some activities this book is a good place to start with ~10 year old kids discussing the topic. We wished there were more activities honestly to really teach some of the concepts talked about but overall it is a great place to start these important discussions and even includes some ideas for where to continue learning.
About The Book: Inflation is an economic issue that affects all consumers when prices for goods and services start to rise. In this book, readers learn about the causes and effects of inflation. Large-scale and real-life examples of inflation are also presented, including facts about pandemic-era impacts.
Colorful and clear graphics, such as maps, charts, and info graphics, give readers an alternative to text-heavy sources. Action-based activities leave students with ideas for how inflation affects their lives. This book also includes a glossary, index, suggested reading and websites, and a bibliography.
The Tuttle Twins and the Hyperinflation Devastation
Age Range: 6 years old to 12 years old
Author: Connor Boyack
Our Take: Inflation is a mindset. Once people really believe that the value of their money is going to be worth less in the future, they typically transition to spending whatever they can get their hands on (vs. saving). As more people spend and spend this is when something like hyperinflation can set in (fancy term for a lot of inflation).
This book, Hyperinflation Devastation, is part of the Tuttle Twins Series and allows the reader to choose decisions throughout the book leading to different consequences which we liked (the interactive style took a bit of getting used to but overall we found it fun). The discussion around important concepts like inflation and hyperinflation is approached in a logical and straightforward way leading to a great resource for any parent or grown up looking to start the discussion.
About The Book: It's the perfect vacation: the Tuttle twins have saved their money, planned things out thoroughly, and are ready to head off to South America to water ski, hike the jungles, and see some of the world's oldest ruins. What could go wrong?
Nearly everything, as it turns out. But that's for you to decide.
You're in the driver seat of the story to determine what the consequences will be. Will you send Ethan and Emily to the ruins, knowing that they are tough, smart, and well-prepared? Or will you keep them in the capital city so they remain connected with the outside world, just in case things go wrong?
You make the decisions and see the consequences unfold. Along the way, you'll learn about inflation, community, cryptocurrency, and some of the lengths people are willing to go in a Hyperinflation Devastation!
How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest!
Age: 8 years old to 12 years old
Author: James McKenna
Our Take: One of the best ways you can keep up with inflation is by investing. While we will talk more about investing specific books in later posts this is a great time to teach the kiddos this concept as well as other concepts to fight against inflation (like earning more or watching your spending).
This book does a great job making complex topics like the stock market or investing simple with interactive parts too so that the kids don’t get bored while reading it. The one negative we would highlight is the copy we received tended to fall apart easily but this might just have been an issue with the one sent to us.
Overall, if you are looking to get the conversation started around inflation and how to fight it, this is a great place to start.
About The Book: Hey, kids, want to become a millionaire? Or get a business off the ground? Or save up some money to buy a new bike? All it takes is understanding and putting into practice a few simple strategies and concepts about money:
Make it: Learn the ins and outs of scoring a first job, or even better, starting a business.
Save it: That’s right, millionaires are people who have a million dollars, not people who spend a million dollars.
Grow it: Invest and use the most powerful force in the financial universe––compound interest.
Next thing you know, you’re a bona fide financial whiz on the road to your first million. Now get going!
Age: 6 years old to 12 years old
Author: Will Scott
Our Take: We are clearly biased but this is Future Funders’s first children’s book that does a great job teaching one of the best ways to fight inflation: invest in yourself through entrepreneurship!
The story is a fun way for parents to get their kids involved in money discussions around inflation, investing, entrepreneurship as well as important topics like deferred gratification and wants vs. needs (also ways to help fight inflation by controlling spending).
We hope that you enjoy this cute little story as much as we enjoyed writing it.
About The Book: Sadie Builds a Business is a fun and uplifting tale for parents who are trying to teach important money lessons to their kids. On the way home from school one day, Sadie sees a super cool pair of roller skates sitting in a toy store window that she has to have but realizes she does not have enough money to pay for them.
Through creative thinking, determination, and some help from her friends she works to reach her goals along the way realizing she holds all the power within herself to make all her dreams come true!
