The Survival Guide for Money Smarts

This survival guide introduces the basics of financial literacy and money management for kids—from earning and saving money to spending and donating it—and gives readers essential skills for financial know-how. The book also explores how choices about money and finances connect to character development and social-emotional well-being. Readers will find ideas for setting money goals, delaying gratification, being thrifty, building self-esteem, giving to charity, and making socially responsible spending and donating decisions. The book includes special features such as:

• Fictional vignettes in a choose-your-own-adventure style, putting readers in hypothetical situations where they need to make decisions about how to manage money
• True success stories about real kids who made smart financial decisions
• Vocabulary boxes that highlight important terms
• “Financial tactics” boxes with helpful tools, tips, and strategies

Survival Guides for Kids
Helping Kids Help Themselves®
Straightforward, friendly, and loaded with practical advice, the Free Spirit Survival Guides for Kids give kids the tools they need to not only survive, but thrive. With plenty of realistic examples and bright illustrations, they are accessible, encouraging, kid-friendly, and even life-changing.

Eric Braun is a children's author and editor who has written dozens of books on many topics, including Make a Friend, Be a Friend and Be Yourself, Like Yourself for the Little Laugh & Learn® series and How to Take the ACHE Out of Mistakes and How to Take the GROAN Out of Grown-Ups for the Laugh & Learn® series. His books have won awards and honors including the Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award, a Foreword Book of the Year Gold Award, a Benjamin Franklin Award, and many others. One of his books was read by an astronaut on the International Space Station for kids on Earth to watch. A McKnight Artist Fellow and an Aspen Summer Words scholar for his fiction, Eric earned an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He lives in Minneapolis.

Sandy Donovan has written nonfiction books for kids and young adults on topics including economics, history, science, and pop stars.

She has worked as a journalist, a workforce policy analyst, and a website developer. She currently works for the U.S. Department of Labor, developing online tools to help people of all ages meet their career, education, and employment goals.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in labor and public policy.

She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two sons.