Review of Epic Life by Jon Dougherty, illustrated by Bonnie Lemaire

 

What starts out as a regular day for this boy and his mom turns into a life lesson about finances and how to truly have an epic life. Read an excerpt and my book review of Epic Life by Jon Doughtery. Be sure to follow the tour for more! Best of luck in the giveaway!

Teaching our next generation about financial freedom so that they can have an epic life is so important. Tatum and his mom are going to show you how to get there in a fun and creative way. Follow them on this journey by planting your own money trees so that we can grow wealth. Let us break old financial habits and create new ones. By doing this we must act differently than everyone else in order to have an epic life.

Read an excerpt:

After anxiously waiting for his mom to be done, Tatum finally got to ask her. . . .

“Instead of giving that lady OUR money, why don’t we get rid of that rusty old car and buy the new Turbo Sport 3000, like Mr. D over there?”

“He-he-he,” his mom giggled. She calmly replied, “Let me show you.”

After driving for what felt like infinity hours to Tatum, they arrived at . . . an apple orchard?!

The rusty old car stopped. Tatum asked, “What does a Turbo Sport 3000 have to do with apples?”

“He-he-he,” his mom giggled and said, “come with me, and I’ll explain everything.”

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**My thoughts**

This is cute story about a boy and his mom doing a pretty basic errand that leads into a great explanation of the importance of saving money. After Tatum sees a man withdraw his whole savings to buy a fancy sports car, Tatum wants one for his family. Instead, his mother finds a clever way to explain the concept of savings to him by going to an apple orchard. I really liked the way she explained it to him and thought it was quite creative. We often have to think outside the box to help kids understand these more abstract comments.

I also really liked the illustrations. They were fun and truly added to the story.

The only thing for me was the mom constantly giggling before she spoke. I know we often giggle a bit when having conversations with our kids. It just didn't hit my ears right and reminded me of one of the Muppets or something and not as realistic as a parent. BUT that is just me and is not enough to detract from the story, nor would I have that be a reason to not share this book. 

And I think this would be a great book to read at home prior to discussions with your kids. And I think it would work well in the classroom as a part of a money unit. It is a fun book.

Thank you to Goddess Fish and the author and publisher for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Author Jon Daugherty was born and raised in Kelowna, British Columbia, starting as an educational assistant. He now works and resides in Fort McMurray, Alberta, and is hoping to share his passion for financial growth to other families. As a father, Jon believes it is important to teach today's youth about financial freedom.

CONNECT WITH JON

WEBSITE: https://authorjondaugherty.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/author.jondaugherty/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/author.jondaugherty/ 

Jon Dougherty will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Review of Earning Money by Mary Lindeen

Describes the different kinds of work adults and kids can do to earn money, such as: making and selling things, doing chores, and providing services to neighbors. An early economics book that includes a note to caregivers, reading activities, and a word list.

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * B&N * IndieBound

**My thoughts**
This is another book in a series for emergent readers that is teaching them about money. This particular one focuses on different ways that people earn money, whether they are adults or children. As with the rest of the series, I love the photographs of real people, because I think that really helps the children learn the concepts better. They can relate the adults in the book to adults in their lives that they have seen and maybe even see themselves doing some of the jobs that other kids are doing.

I think it's another good part of a while series that is introducing the concept of finance to children. It's also introducing new high frequency words to the kids. Do not think that the Beginning to Read label means it is for early readers, but know that this will help them on their way to becoming readers after they learn some foundational skills.

Other explanations of concepts and activities are in the back of the book to aid parents and teachers. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for honoring my request for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review of Goods and Services by Mary Lindeen

Describes the differences and similarities between goods and services, and how they are used in everyday life. An early economics book that includes a note to caregivers, reading activities, and a word list.

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * B&N * IndieBound

(affiliate link included)

**My thoughts**
This is another great book for kids, this time about the concept of goods and services. It defines the terms and gives plenty of examples of each, both in the text and in the photographs of real people and goods in the world to help the children better relate to the terms. I think they lay a good foundation for discussions as well. You can easily include this in a collection teaching kids about finances.

In the back are explanations of concepts, vocabulary lists, and further activities to help teachers and parents use this book. This one is for emerging readers, but not your early readers. The word lists will help build the children up to this point, though.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for honoring my request for a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review of Give, Save, Spend with the Three Little Pigs by Clint Greenleaf

The Big Bad Wolf is back, and he's blowing down houses in the forest, one by one. The Three Little Pigs hatch a plan to help other animals weather the wolf's mighty lungs. They start a building company, offering strong homes built of brick, just like theirs.

Demand is high for the brick homes the Pigs build, and their business becomes a success. Now they need to figure out what they should do with their hard-earned profits.

One little Pig wants to spend away, another wants to give it away, and the third wants to save it. Based on the give-save-spend-concept, this sequel to the classic fairy tale teaches kids a safe and practical approach to managing money.

Schools don't teach basic finance, and most books about money are too confusing for younger children. An entertaining first step in any child's education, Give, Save, Spend with the Three Little Pigs is easy to read and understand.

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * B&N * IndieBound

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**My thoughts**
This is a clever book taking a familiar fairy tale and turning it into something educational. The Big Bad Wolf is harassing all of the animals by blowing their houses down. The Three Little Pigs have found success with their brick house, so other animals want one also.  The enterprising pigs start a business and rake in the money. But what to do with all of that extra cash? Each one has a different idea. One wants to spend it on fun things. One wants to give it away to help others. And one wants to save for a rainy day or emergencies. The best thing to do is all three! 

So this is a fun way to introduce that concept to kids, about spending some, using some to help others, and saving some for when you really need it. It's a fun story and has the educational piece that will appeal to young readers. I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for fulfilling my request for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review of Spending and Saving by Mary Lindeen

Describes how people get money and what they can do with it once they have it, such as: spending, saving, or giving it away. An early economics book that includes a note to caregivers, reading activities, and a word list.

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * B&N * IndieBound

(affiliate link included)

**My thoughts**
I want to start by saying that I appreciate that this nonfiction book uses real photographs for its illustrations. That really helps to make the concepts more relatable and a little bit more concrete for the young readers.

It's a simple explanation about what people can do with the money that they earn and really emphasizes the importance of saving and how once it is spent, it is gone. That's an important concept to instill in children at a young age. I think this is a good addition to a collection of books and materials that you could use in the classroom or at home when teaching children about money.

This book says that it is a Beginning-to-Read book, but it is definitely not for the early reader, so don't start with this one for your young reader. After some experience, they will be ready for this. You do get a word list in back that you can use to help kids learn the words in this book and work up to reading it on their own. There are also a lot of other activities in the back for parents and teachers to use. The author is a former elementary teacher, so there is good information in the back.

I gave it 4.5 stars overall. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for honoring my request for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.