{"id":2665,"date":"2010-04-14T19:57:09","date_gmt":"2010-04-15T00:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/2665"},"modified":"2010-04-14T19:57:09","modified_gmt":"2010-04-15T00:57:09","slug":"teaching-economics-with-childrens-literature-the-story-of-money-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2010\/04\/14\/teaching-economics-with-childrens-literature-the-story-of-money-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Economics with Children’s Literature: The Story of Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Story of Money<\/a>, written by Betsy Maestro <\/a>and illustrated by Giulio Maestro<\/a>, provides a thorough history of how simple pieces of paper eventually came to be the accepted means of payment around the world known as "money."\u00a0 The book also highlights the act of trade whereby explaining the ancient procedures of bartering and use of commodities such as salt, grain, and tobacco as means of exchange.\u00a0 In other words, long ago, people would exchange items they could spare for other items they desired (VA Economics SOL 1.8, 2.8).\u00a0 Such is the case when the "Sumerians melted silver and formed it into small bars, [and] stamped [them] with exact weight [to] let people know how much silver they were getting or giving in return for goods or labor" (15).\u00a0 In this, the barter system ultimately paved the way for money.\u00a0 The authors uncover the many forms of money that have been connected with human history—past, present, and even, future.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n

The authors do an excellent job at presenting a complicated subject in an easy to understand, entertaining way for children.\u00a0 The book allows children to take a journey through time, thus clearly showing the evolution of money from what it was in the beginning to what it is today.\u00a0 Just as the text progresses and modernizes throughout the book, so do the brilliant watercolor images.\u00a0 Children see people working on the rivers, living in huts and wearing traditional dress as they exchange goods for "money" years ago.\u00a0 As the pages draw to an end, children see images that have become familiar to them today.\u00a0 Large cargo ships carry goods in and out of American ports and people wait in line at the bank for the ATM.\u00a0 In all of these examples, children are introduced to the idea of consumers, suppliers, and the need to work together in order to satisfy needs (VA Economics SOL 3.7).<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n