Living Within
Our Means
Mari
Jeremy, who longs to have the black high tops that everyone at school seems to have but his grandmother cannot afford, is excited when he sees them for sale in a thrift shop and decides to buy them even though they are the wrong size.
McCourt, Lisa.
Chicken Soup for Little Souls:
The Braids Girl.
Health Communications, 1998.
While helping Grandpa Mike do volunteer work at a shelter for less fortunate people, Izzy tries to figure out the best way to help a girl her own age who is staying there.
Mills, Lauren A.
The Rag
Coat.
Minna proudly wears her new coat made of clothing scraps to school, where the other children laugh at her until she tells them the stories behind the scraps.
Noble, Trinka
Hakes. The
2007.
Delly Porter enjoys the feel of soft dirt beneath her feet as she walks to and from school, but after a classmate makes her feel ashamed of having no shoes she learns that her parents and others, too, see value in things that do not cost money.
Nolen, Jerdine. Pitching in for Eubie.
Lily tries to find a way to pitch in and help her family make enough money to send her older sister, Eubie, to college.
Non-Fiction
Adil, Janeen. Scarcity.
Explains how various natural resources sometimes become scarce, using oranges as an example. Includes a hands-on activity, a glossary, and resources for more information.
Adler, David.
Money
Madness.
Bailey, Gerry.
Common
Cents.
Describes what money is and how it has been used through the ages, the importance of saving, how to get money, how to form a budget, and how to invest.
Basel, Roberta.
Checks,
Credit, and Debit Cards.
Press, 2006.
Introduces the reader to payment methods, including checks, debit cards, and credit cards.
Donovan, Sandra.
Budgeting.
Describes the value of a budget for young students focusing on saving, spending, helping others with your money, and developing a budget plan.
Dyer, Wayne W.
It’s Not What You’ve Got: Lessons for Kids on Money
and
Abundance.
Teaches young readers a positive, spiritual approach to the meaning of money, and discusses that money does not define who you are, it does not matter what others have, and abundance comes in many forms.
Giesecke, Ernestine. Dollars and Sense: Managing Your
Money.
Heinemann Library, 2003.
Hammonds, Heather.
Banking.
Examines how American banking systems were created and how they function in the present.
Leedy, Loreen. Follow
the Money!
A quarter describes all the ways it is used from the time it is minted until it is taken back to a bank.
Loewen, Nancy. Save, Spend, or Donate? A Book about Managing Money.
Explains the concept of saving and managing money. Includes a sample savings register, fun facts about money, a glossary, and resources for more information.
Orr, Tamra. Budgeting Tips for
Kids.
2009.
A fifth grade class studies budgeting when a budget issue threatens the addition of a part-time art teacher. They learn why it is important to balance income and expenses.
Worth, Bonnie.
One Cent,
Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent.
House, 2008.
Provides beginning readers with a fun introduction to the study and history of money as was used in different cultures, from trading shells and feathers to the creation of metal ingots and coins, with a review of how the first banks were formed and money is minted in the present day.
Fiction
O’Connor, Barbara.
How to Steal
a Dog.
Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer.
Paulsen, Gary.
Lawn
Boy.
Things get out of hand for a
twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn
mowing business.