THE TOTALLY AWESOME MONEY BOOK FOR KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS

A lawyer/radio host and her son collaborate on an overview of investment and money management principles—budgeting, saving, different types of investment, credit and debt, taxes, goals (including socially responsible decisions and college), and more. In the introduction, Berg credits Bochner, 11, with the choice of topics and most of the writing—and, in fact, the tone is thoroughly (if not quite consistently) kid-like. The principle here is that if the basics of money are learned young they become commonplace and nonthreatening. Terms are defined; various approaches to domestic and international investment are discussed and illustrated with entertaining board games. The book works well, despite some uneveness and minor glitches, e.g., a table showing how $1000 will grow at various interest rates doesn't establish that it's $1000 a year. Overall, smart, cheerful, and sensible. Glossary; bibliography; index (not seen). (Nonfiction. 10+)