Title: Your Army of Dollars
Author: Luisa Tennant
Illustrator: Joe Huffman
Publisher: ARPress
ISBN: 979-8-89389-606-0
Pages: 48
Genre: Coloring Book / Children’s Education
Reviewer: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Your Army of Dollars by creator Luisa Tennant is a basic economic educational children’s lesson masquerading as a coloring book. With classic black & white line drawings allowing space for kids to fill-in with crayons, the analogy of having an “Army of Dollars” empowering children to being the “Commander” of the allocation of funds is a brilliant concept of teaching the fundamental aspects of how to save and spend one’s money.
It begins the lessons with showing children how to get money. One needs to improve others’ lives such as doing chores around the house, or helping neighbors such as cutting down lawns, or even selling something such as lemonade. Then, once you have money you must put it in a “jar” to build and save. The author shows it is important to put some money away right from the beginning into a jar labeled “Forever Freedom Account.” I personally found this to be a very powerful goal for kids to understand that financial success yields freedom in their lives. Savings grow more money which is another insight for children to learn.
Another “jar” is labeled “Education Account.” The more the commanders of their money soldiers learn, in other words the smarter they are, the larger their army grows. Along the way the allocation of their army of dollars is shown to be used for charity, purchasing desirable items such as a new bicycle, and having fun by doing things such as going to a movie or getting video games. However, mature wisdom is also implied by doing things which don’t cost money, such as playing on the swings in a park, or reading books from a library.
As the character grows older, the financial responsibility needs to be partitioned into other new necessary jars – called “Living Expenses,” which include taxes, housing, food and clothing. Illustrations showing the benefits of each bring a clear understanding to youngsters’ minds.
This book is filled with good advice and introduces children to concepts which will enable them to live a life of freedom – financial freedom. Although reading this book on a computer or paper is valuable, I believe the softcover version would be best, along with a box of crayons, so youngsters can color in the illustrations and linger longer on each page. Just be sure to have a large green crayon, to fill-in the money soldiers!
Through playful illustrations, and engaging activities, kids will learn that money can be a helpful tool—and that they are in charge of how it works for them! Perfect for home, classroom, or a rainy-day activity that builds smart habits.
