Houston Family Book List -- January 2013

Toddlers (Ages 1-3)

Bebé Goes Shopping by Susan Middleton Elya

A quick trip to the supermercado? Not with Bebé in the shopping cart. Just as Mama is ready to throw up her manos, she gives sweet Bebé a box of animal cookies. A dulce, at last! Then they’re off to the checkout line, smiling all the way.

Anna Shares by Barbara Baker

Perfectly pitched to toddlers, this hand-sized book introduces Anna—exuberant, strong-willed, and lovable. Anna finds it too hard to share with her friend Justin. After he goes home, it’s easy for her to share with Teddy, who lets her eat all the cookies.

Banana! by Ed Vere

Two monkeys. One banana. What’s to be done? Ed Vere’s hilariously eye-popping art tells the story of two monkeys learning to share in this stunning, nearly wordless, picture book.

Picture Books (Pre K-K)

Little Croc's Purse by Lizzie Finlay

When Little Croc and his friends find a purse filled with money, they must decide whether to spend the money or turn in the purse.

Betty Bunny Wants Everything by Michael B. Kaplan

The perfect preschool story about wanting what you can’t have. Betty Bunny can’t understand why she is allowed to buy only one toy at the toy store, when there are so many toys that she wants so very, very much.

Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells

It’s Grandma’s birthday, and Ruby knows exactly what Grandma would love—a beautiful ballerina box. Max also knows what she’d love—a scary pair of ooey-gooey vampire teeth. This adorable story is a fun and lively introduction to early math, as the bunnies save up for their gifts and end up spending much of their funds on the emergencies they create.

Early Readers (Grades 1-3)

Money, Money, Honey Bunny! by Marilyn Sadler

Honey Bunny Funnybunny has lots and lots and lots of money. Some she saves, some she spends on herself, and some she spends on her friends. In this delightful rhyming book about spending and saving, the bear gets a chair, the fly gets some pie and, of course, the fox gets some socks.

You Can't Buy a Dinosaur with a Dime by Harriet Ziefert

Rhymed verse describes how Pete saves his allowance, spends too much of it, has second thoughts, and starts over. Young readers will not only applaud Pete’s decisions, but join him in his computations as he saves, spends, and strategizes over future purchases.

A Dollar, a Penny, How Much and How Many? by Brian P. Cleary

With rhyming text, this book explains the basics of counting and using money, covering the types of bills and coins, the value of each, and how to combine the denominations to buy different items.

Children's Fiction & Nonfiction (Grades 4-6)

Money Madness by David A. Adler

From bartering, early forms of currency, credit cards, and digital payment, here is a clear and thorough introduction to money that will have readers thinking about the purpose, and not just the value, of money.

Better Than a Lemonade Stand: Small Business Ideas for Kids by Daryl Bernstein

Originally written and published when the author was only 15 years old, this title has already helped thousands of kids start their own profitable small businesses. Now an adult and father himself, Bernstein has polished and expanded his book for a new generation of budding entrepreneurs.

Mr. Chickee's Funny Money by Christopher Paul Curtis

Mr. Chickee, the genial blind man in the neighborhood, gives 9-year-old Steven a mysterious bill with 15 zeros on it and the image of a familiar, but startling, face. Could it be a quadrillion dollar bill? Could it be real? Well, Agent Fondoo of the U.S. Treasury Department and his team of Secret Government Agents are determined to get that money back! But Steven and his best friends Russell and Zoopy the giant dog are more than a match for the Feds.

Teen Fiction & Nonfiction (Ages 12 & Up)

Project Sweet Life by Brett Hartinger

When their fathers insist that they get summer jobs, three fifteen-year-old friends in Tacoma, Washington, dedicate their summer vacation to fooling their parents into thinking that they are working, which proves to be even harder than having real jobs would have been, and try to actually make money through a series of ill-fated schemes.

Shopping Smarts: How to Choose Wisely, Find Bargains, Spot Swindles & More by Anna Scheff

This new teen consumer information guide from USA Today explores shopping from all angles, including how to do product research and make choices that fit both your needs and your values.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff

This is the first novel in a remarkable trilogy that follows fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, who babysits for a teenage mother of two in order to earn money for college, and seventeen-year-old Jolly, the mother who works at a factory to provide for her two children.