HOW DO YOU EARN?

An artistic bunny turns creativity into carrot currency.

Toonie’s big sister Bun earns carrots (the money of rabbits) by singing. Toonie, a painter, has talent, too, and shows off an array of tools, from differently shaped brushes to paint colors, easel, and paper. Toonie sells six paintings for a carrot apiece, making sure to add up the week’s sales. McLeod’s artwork charms through her wide-eyed bunnies and Toonie’s art gallery, complete with handmade price tags, with local customers dropping in to make purchases. The text combines childlike print and cursive, conveying Toonie’s youth and exuberance in curved k’s, d’s, p’s, and t’s. Though the message—there’s nothing more fun than earning by doing what you love—is laudable, the narrative is light on tension or conflict; Toonie never expresses any uncertainty about the endeavor, and the paintings all sell quickly. Nor does McLeod offer any concrete lessons in financial literacy or in math; the book contains a single instance of Toonie adding up sales, but, despite the title, readers won’t learn much about earning or starting a business, especially compared with previous titles in the series. Younger readers may also be confused as to why Toonie’s so excited to earn—some practical examples of the bunny spending the hard-earned carrots might have helped demonstrate the intended message.

Sweet, but light on financial lessons.