Beyond Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands

November 4, 2019
Frazier proposes that even preschoolers are old enough to begin learning financial concepts in this straightforward and supportive guide. Frazier, a certified financial planner, is also a parent; from both perspectives, she guides parents toward, among other things, helping their children develop a positive attitude toward managing money and understanding how to make and meet financial goals. Age-appropriate information and activities are offered for children from pre-K through fifth grade, as are reading lists and online resources for parents to use as they incorporate financial education into their kids’ lives, such as by setting limits on spending at events or creating milestones in savings. Making extra money and finding work outside the home are key subjects in Frazier’s plan, which emphasizes that dealing with one’s own hard-earned cash is a pivotal real-life learning experience. An exceptional chapter on sharing focuses on charity, generosity, and why knowing the good that money can accomplish is as important as understanding how it works. This approachable book should alleviate any anxiety parents have about teaching their kids how to handle money.

September 1, 2019
This is one of those perfect parenting books, in which parents themselves can learn lessons as they educate their children. Is kindergarten too early to teach kids about cash? Certainly not, according to author and financial planner Frazier. And down the line, if we help young-adult children calculate their apartment-rental budget, they may not reestablish life at home postcollege. Frazier recommends books, websites, apps, and online games as valuable tools for the financial-training process. Added to her often-amusing examples and scenarios, they'll make readers feel like they've enrolled in Finance 101. While the book as a whole may feel a bit weighty, Frazier reminds readers that individual lessons won't, and shouldn't, happen in just one day, a month, or even a year. Financial wisdom evolves over a lifetime, and so will the ways we teach our kids about money. With so few books on this topic targeted specifically at educating young children, Beyond Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands is an especially good addition to public-library parenting collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)