A Boy, a Budget, and a Dream (The Wealth Playground)

This book is awesome! It emphasizes several themes related to personal finance success, such as hard work, delayed gratification, collaboration, and thinking critically to make good decisions. I love how the author connects desires with concrete actions we can take to make our dreams come true! The illustrations are also beautiful and engaging. Thanks, Jasmine, for promoting and teaching financially wellness for all!

A Boy, a Budget, and a Dream by Jasmine Paul is a must-read book. When the main character realizes he does not have enough money to buy all the things he wants, his sister steps up and teaches him how to budget. At the end of the story, he makes healthy spending decisions that align with his dream.The author skillfully uses a conversation between siblings to teach children about the importance of saving, while providing practical steps on how to create a budget. Reading this book with your young dreamer will teach him or her the value of money, how to budget, how to align a budget to his or her long-term and short-term goals, and healthy spending habits. The vibrant and playful illustrations by Jose Nieto capture the importance of financial literacy.For English Language Arts teachers, this is a great book to use in your Unit on money. The author provides a relevant scenario that will engage and inspire your students. For parents, this book is a teaching tool to begin the conversation with your children about financial literacy.I love how the book presents Black children using their agency to solve a problem impacting their lives. Lastly, I love how the book uplifts familial love between the sister and brother in the story. This is a wonderful book for parents to add to the financial literacy section of their children’s library.

My kids are 3 and 5 so I thought they might be a little young for the concepts, but it was a great intro to saving for them. The story is fun and they were able to relate to the characters & stay engaged. I have two little girls & they both said they wanted to be Kass from the story! At the end, we talked about what they might want to save their money for and how Kass & Joey worked to save for what was most important to them. Cute story, educational & the illustrations are bright & capture everyone's attention. I know we will read again & again. Great purchase!

This is a great book that highlights the importance of motivation, family support, persistence, goal setting, dreams, and saving. I love how the author compared the strength and weaknesses of Joey. He had his mind fixated on various things and a Stem event, yet he’s not focused on his account balance. He doesn’t have enough money to cover all expenses.The story reveals how Joey and his sister earn and save money for any miscellaneous purchases or events. Unfortunately, Joey hasn’t grasped the concept of saving, budgeting, and spending money wisely. With his sister’s help, they come with a solution to help him plan a budget.This is a wonderful book packed with helpful tools and wisdom to encourage children to begin saving their hard-earned money. I would highly recommend reading.

Before I read this book I knew it was going to be about money and saving, but I felt I had heard it all before. But as I was reading it I started to feel the truth that the author was trying to convey. And how even though I am an adult, I too can act just like Joey.Now that I have finished the book I feel like my imagination has been stretched! I see now that maybe I was being too comfortable and not diligent enough with finances. It has given me motivation! This author is so amazing at inspiring and stretching us to dream creatively while being able to manage our finances. Truly a 5-star read!

Very good way of teaching children about money and personal responsibility. Recommend this book to start a conversation with children on being successful.

M, age 7.5.“I like the chart part, because you need to write your own chart, because it can help you save up a lot of money. I liked the part where his room has never been cleaner, because it was always a mess. I also liked the explosion. Yes, I would recommend this book to my friends.”Great illustrations and fun story to start talking to kids about saving and making a plan for their money, as well as reinforce the idea with those that struggle with saving versus impulse buying.

This book was a joy to read and teach a lesson all at the same time. My 8 year old son said maybe start thinking of ways he can earn money since he's always wanted an allowance. I used the idea in the book and told him we could give him an allowance he didn't spend it on the little things he wants when we go to the store. Perfect conversation starter with kids!