Finance Expert’s Books Teach Kids How to Be Smart About Money  

During Sheila Bair's long career in finance, she was often struck by how many people were stymied by how money works. The former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Bair thought, Why not teach them economic principles while they’re still kids, so the world of finance might seem less intimidating as they grow into adults?

That was some 20 years ago. Bair — among the earliest to warn about subprime loans before the crash of the late 2000s — went on to write her first picture book, Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock, about a grandfather setting up a savings plan for his twin grandsons. He says he’ll pay them a dollar a week to do chores. If they save that dollar, he’ll double it every week — but if they spend it, they only get another dollar.

It was published in 2006 as the debut title in her Money Tales series, which now includes eight books designed for readers ages 7-10.

“One child of course saves and has this huge stash of cash at the end of the summer, and the other one just has a bunch of junky toys," says Bair, who lives in Washington, D.C., and has two grown children. “But one of my favorite parts of the story is when the saver is tempted to buy some expensive toy. And his grandfather explains the opportunity costs and how [the boy’s] savings will go back down and start doubling from that point. It was a good introduction to compounding interest, and the power of compounding.”

Her other picture books explore financial topics such as overborrowing, Ponzi schemes and the importance of reading contracts carefully.

New timely topics

She’s just come out with two new titles in her series:

Daisy Bubble: A Price Crash on Galapagos, is a story about animals who get caught up in a frenzy over daisies, sending the flowers’ price soaring, then crashing. It was inspired by a high-profile event in early 2021 when a large number of people — including many young, inexperienced investors — tried to cash in on a “short squeeze” of GameStop stock.  

Princess Persephone and the Money Wizards: Inflation Comes to Ganymede, features a princess who wants her friends to go on summer vacation adventures with her, but they can’t afford it. She orders wizards to make more money — which causes spending to increase, prices to soar, and supplies to become scarce. It helps readers understand concepts related to inflation, including supply and demand and consequences of rapid increases in spending.