A debut guide offers advice on training children in fiscal responsibility.
Gina and George Plytas begin their concise manual with some general philosophical principles about wealth and finance. “Money doesn’t bring happiness,” the husband-and-wife team asserts, “but personal wealth is the catalyst that allows one to explore their gifts, inspire their talents, seek their interests, and contribute to this world in a unique and satisfying way.” There’s nothing sordid, they imply, in concentrating on the skills and mindsets necessary to create financial competence. They suggest that children should focus on such things very early in life while receiving training in how to think about money with responsibility and foresight. The authors break down their approach into six general strategies: “The Spirit of Advancement,” “Pay Yourself First,” “Pay for Performance,” “Save for a Rainy Day,” “Invest in Your Future,” and finally, “Give Back,” all designed to “develop a success mindset, to demonstrate personal resiliency, and to practice effective money management in a way that children can understand and apply.” The method for implementing these strategies largely boils down to setting a superb fiscal example for kids and teaching them good habits while they’re young and have no bad ones to forget. To a surprising and refreshing extent, the authors look to the broader philosophies of self-help books like Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking and even Watty Piper’s popular children’s book The Little Engine That Could. The authors make money matters a reflection of personal attitudes toward life in general: “Focus on filling your subconscious mind with uplifting and motivational thoughts. Think positively about what you can accomplish.” In clear and concise chapters, the authors dissect basic financial ideas like “Show your kids how to set and achieve personal goals” and “Teach persistence to overcome failure.” This general tactic effectively counteracts the negative reaction to the whole idea of getting children to care about money.
A compact and multidimensional financial manual for kids that should profit many adults as well.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5255-1782-2
Page Count: 156
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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