Investment Reviews Barron's Money Sense For Kids Hollis Page Harman    This lively, large format paperback is chock full of facts about a subject of interest to every kid--money. Here's a great introduction to personal finance for middle grade students. The book covers such topics as--How do I get money? Once I've earned and saved money, how can I make it grow? How do I open a bank account or write a check? What is the stock market? And many more things that are important for the youngest consumers to understand. Each chapter ends with a 'to do' list that helps young readers develop their own economic resources as they learn to understand the sometimes complicated world of finance and investment. The author also includes a section on 'money math.' Overall, the text is written in a way that helps kids make 'sense' of 'cents,' which makes this a book worth investing in for your home or school. 1999, Barron's Educational Series, $9.95. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Dianne Ochiltree ISBN: 0764106813 Growing Money : A Complete Investing Guide for Kids Gail Karlitz Created by Debbie Honig Illustrated by Stephen Lewis    Interest, dividends, treasury bonds, portfolio, mutual funds...the complicated world of investing unfolds in a meaningful and stimulating way in this book. Young minds learn plenty of practical information about high finance in an accessible format. Kids learn what different investments mean, how to read the financial pages, and take a test to determine what type of investors they are. Readers also develop a mock portfolio with $10,000 to track over time. This valuable book gives kids a window into a complicated world and teaches them the importance of saving and investing for the future. What a great resource for individual libraries and classrooms alike. 1999, Price Stern Sloan/Penguin Putnam, $6.99. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Jeanne K. Pettenati ISBN: 0843174811 My Rows and Piles of Coins Tololwa M. Mollel Illustrated by E.B. Lewis    Children all over the world yearn for whatever they don't have. In Tololwa Mollel's story of a young boy in Tanzania, Saruni's mother gives him coins at the end of each trip to the market. Saruni piles his coins neatly in a secret money box--saving for a brand new bicycle. "No more pushing the squeaky old wheelbarrow," he thinks, eager to help his mother who must now carry everything in a bundle on her head. But when he finally takes all his coins to market, the bicycle man just explodes with laughter. "A whole bicycle...for thirty shillings and fifty cents?" Saruni's noble intentions and good heart have their rewards, though. Saruni ultimately gets his bicycle and begins saving for his next dream. E.B. Lewis' watercolors evoke the busy, colorful marketplace but also the warmth and caring between Saruni and his parents. In his author's note, Mollel explains how valuable and expensive a single bike can be, even for grown-ups in Tanzania. His short glossary offers a helpful glimpse of Tanzanian culture and family life. Young readers will identify with Saruni's goals and his eager impatience in trying to achieve them, and they can see the good that flows from a compassionate nature. Mollel tells a simple but compelling story that can open the door to conversations about goals, common feelings across different cultures, and the unique characteristics of this particular culture. 1999, Clarion/Houghton Mifflin, $15.00 Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Karen Leggett ISBN: 0395751861 Neale S. Godfrey's Ultimate Kids' Money Book Nealy S. Godfrey Illustrated by Randy Verougstraete    With a layout similar to many textbooks, but infused with bright, attractive and clever Internet-influenced illustrations and fonts, this book neatly broaches information about finances and money. Set up more for browsing or quick-answer research than for cover-to-cover reading, Godfrey's title examines numerous sub-topics of the field: the history of money (especially in the United States), income, budgeting, banking, credit, macroeconomics, taxes and stocks. That's a lot of information for one book, but having introductory text all organized in one volume makes this title extremely useful as well as interesting. 1998, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, $18.00. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Donna T. Brumby ISBN: 0689817177 The Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids (and their parents) DAdriane G. Berg and Arthur Berg Bochner    Mother and son have teamed to develop this fun and fact-filled guide that includes quizzes, games, riddles, forms, charts, stories and drawings about the basics of saving, investing, and borrowing. Children who do not learn to handle money wisely have a difficult time doing so as adults. Help your youngsters with this informative book about money, a subject rarely taught in school and seldom taught at home. 1993, Newmarket Press, $18.95 and $10.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot ISBN: 1557041768 ISBN: 1557041830 The Story of Money Betsy Maestro Illustrated by Giulio Maestro    Betsy and Giulio Maestro's The Story of Money lucidly traces money's evolution from early civilizations' person-to-person barters to our increasingly cashless society's machine-to-machine transfers. Ms. Maestro's flowing narrative is followed by five pages of additional information about coins and currency and all are enhanced by Mr. Maestro's colorful illustrations. 1995 (orig. 1993), Clarion/Mulberry, $15.95 and $6.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Beverly Kobrin ISBN: 0395562422 Wall Street Wizard : sound ideas from a savvy teen investor Jay Liebowitz    This teenage author gives a step-by-step approach to investing. He provides information about the financial market and techniques on how to invest. Each chapter has a summary of the major points covered. The information is put forth simply and in language that is easy to understand. The author walks you through the key elements of selecting a good company to invest in and follows it with a real life example. Once you have the basic familiarity with stocks, the book moves on to discuss to other forms of investments--banks, bonds, mutual funds, options and futures. One of the most exciting chapters is about stock exchanges. We've all seen pictures on TV of mobs of people or the NY Stock Exchange running around on the floor shouting. But, by the time you finish the chapter you understand who they are, what they are doing, what the quotes on the ticker tape mean and how it differs from the NASDAQ. Although the primary focus is on investing, Liebowitz covers the value of owning your own business and how to start your own business. The book is directed at novice teenage investors but any beginning investor can benefit from the well-written, straightforward strategies for investing. 2001, Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, $16.00. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Leila Toledo ISBN: 0689834012 Return to Money Themed Review