Children's Book Monday: Books on Economics

Gag, how dreary that sounds. I can't help it, economics has been my passion since I was a youngster myself. (Seriously. About 13 or so I became obsessed.) I abhor economic ignorance, and I want to make sure my children understand the basics of where wealth comes from and how it moves. Unfortunately, this is something most adults don't even understand, and they continue to believe unstated fairy tales about it being magically created, distributed and destroyed by malevolent CEOs. And no wonder--after all, our family economics, like most, has few tangible points of reference. DOB sits in an office filling numbers into forms, for which he receives a numerical increase in a bank account, part of which he then transfers into another account to compensate for a deficit created by me waving a little plastic card at the grocery store checkout. The only tangible part in the whole process is the groceries. Fortunately there are some lovely picture books out there that show the basic economic processes in concrete form. One I have loved since I was a little girl myself is Pelle's New Suit, by Elsa Beskow. Pelle shears his own sheep, then trades work with different family and friends to turn the raw wool into a new suit. My sister brought a book with a similar theme to my attention, A New Coat for Anna. It's also good, but I appreciate the way we see Pelle working for each stage in the process (Economic principle: Labor adds value to raw materials), whereas Anna's mother barters already existing goods. Anna also looks targeted at a little bit older of an audience, whereas the ducklings (2 and 1) adore Pelle.  (The post-WWII setting in Anna is intriguing, though, I'll have to get it when we're reading about that era.) A more common book that shows more complex economic activity is Ox-cart Man. Here the whole family produces a variety of goods, which are then exchanged for money (independent medium of exchange, not just barter) and then for items the family wants. Among the items are tools to make the next year even more productive (capital investment). And no, I don't tell my toddlers all the economic terms. We just enjoy the stories and pictures, which are excellent. When they're old enough, we'll study Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt together. But I think they'll understand Hazlitt (and Thomas, and Friedman) better for having enjoyed Pelle and the Ox-Cart Man now. Visit Children's Book Monday.

Posted: 6:46 AM, May. 21, 2007

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