The Young Investor: Projects and Activities for Making Your Money Grow

Explaining the language of finance and the skill of investing, this guide gives kids an early start at making their money grow. The book explains the general concept of money and demonstrates how saving works based on the concepts of simple and compound interest. Children then learn where Wall Street is located, what stocks and bonds do, and, with the help of an adult, the right way to buy or sell a stock, mutual fund, or savings bond. Dozens of projects illustrate how to balance a checkbook, read a stock table, and understand common financial terms such as inflation, recession, and the Federal Reserve Board. This updated edition details the current financial environment, including what is meant by a global economy, economic clues for recovery, and a special section on what mortgages are and how they work. Updated resources for further information online are also included.

Katherine R. Bateman was the vice president and senior research analyst at John Nuveen & Co., a major investment firm in Chicago. She is the author of Kentucky Clay: Eleven Generations of a Southern Dynasty.