April is Financial Literacy Month, but there’s never a bad time to broaden your students’ understanding of common money concepts. These helpful financial literacy books are geared toward kids of all ages. They cover everything from a beginner’s basics of saving and spending, all the way up through investing money or young entrepreneurs financing their own small business.
Financial Literacy Books
1. Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells
This picture book from Wells features her Max and Ruby characters. It’s a great starting point for very young kids to begin thinking more about how money works. As the young bunny characters try to buy their grandma a birthday gift, they learn about how fast money disappears when you don’t watch your spending.
Buy it: Bunny Money at Amazon | Bunny Money at Bookshop
2. Money, Money, Honey Bunny! by Marilyn Sadler
Fortunately for Honey Bunny, money is not an issue. She has plenty to spend on her friends and still has some leftover. While this picture book is pure fantasy, it can spur conversations about using money wisely (and kindly) while also making sure to keep a rainy-day fund.
Buy it: Money, Money, Honey Bunny! at Amazon | Money, Money, Honey Bunny! at Bookshop
3. A Kid’s Activity Book on Money and Finance by Allan Kunigis
This workbook engages young elementary schoolers with games, puzzles, and rhymes to help them build a vocabulary around finance and money terms. It’s a great way to introduce concepts without going over their heads.
Buy it: A Kid’s Activity Book on Money and Finance at Amazon | A Kid’s Activity Book on Money and Finance at Bookshop
4. The Everything Kids’ Money Book by Brette McWhorter Sember, J.D.
Older grade schoolers will get a lot out of this guidebook. It goes over everything from how credit cards work to how to open their first bank account. This is a perfect way to grow the financial savvy of kids getting their first allowance.
Buy it: The Everything Kids’ Money Book at Amazon | The Everything Kids’ Money Book at Bookshop
5. Investing for Kids: How to Save, Invest, and Grow Money by Dylan Redling and Allison Tom
With activities and guides for discussions, this book is slightly more advanced. It skips over the more basic money management tips (like not spending every penny of your birthday money) and focuses on how to make investments. The authors also include profiles of famous investors and recaps of historical financial events.
Buy it: Investing for Kids: How to Save, Invest and Grow Money at Amazon | Investing for Kids: How to Save, Invest and Grow Money at Bookshop
6. National Geographic Kids: Everything Money by Kathy Furgang
National Geographic Kids brings its gorgeous photography and clever way of breaking down facts to all things money. Though perhaps more of a reference book about currency in general, it will give younger kids who are interested in the subject a good place to start.
Buy it: National Geographic Kids: Everything Money at Amazon
7. How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest! by James McKenna, Jeannine Glista, and Matt Fontaine
This book is from the people behind the Emmy-winning TV series Biz Kid$. It’s perfect for the entrepreneurial-minded tweens thinking about starting their own business or investing their money. Any kid with a full piggy bank can benefit from the author’s strategies for making a budget, plus tips for seeking a first job.
Buy it: How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest! at Amazon | How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest! at Bookshop
8. Kid Start-Up: How YOU Can Become an Entrepreneur by Mark Cuban, Shaan Patel, and Ian McCue
For kids who already have a grasp of the financial basics and have loftier plans in mind, this guide is a realistic and grounded look at how to make money. Included are 10 kid-friendly business ideas, from lemonade stands to Etsy stores, as well as tips for how to monetize a self-generated idea.
Buy it: Kid Start-Up: How YOU Can Become an Entrepreneur at Amazon | Kid Start-Up: How YOU Can Become an Entrepreneur at Bookshop
9. Show Me the Money: Big Questions About Finance by Alvin Hall
This book goes global and covers finances with a world view in mind. Covering everything from free trade and fair trade to debt in developing nations, kids who really want to see how money makes the world go round will get a lot out of this volume.
Buy it: Show Me the Money: Big Questions About Finance at Amazon | Show Me the Money: Big Questions About Finance at Bookshop
10. Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties by Beth Kobliner
While the title states this book is for young adults, older teens can get a lot out of it, too. Kobliner tackles everything from avoiding common money mistakes to managing student loans.
Buy it: Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties at Amazon | Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties at Bookshop
11. How to Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not): A Parents’ Guide for Kids 3 to 23 by Beth Kobliner
Kobliner provides a manual for parents (and teachers) who want to give kids a healthy outlook on personal finances and spending. While not geared toward the kids themselves, the useful talking points make this book a wise investment.
Buy it: How to Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not): A Parents’ Guide for Kids 3 to 23 at Amazon | How to Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not): A Parents’ Guide for Kids 3 to 23 at Bookshop
Want more financial literacy info? Check out our favorite resources for teaching money skills!
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