Review: Follow Your Money by Kevin Sylvester and Michael Hlinka

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

A vital introduction to the way money flows.
In order to become a savvy consumer, it’s important to understand what happens to money once it leaves your pocket. This engaging, kid-friendly book takes a look at the route money takes as it goes to pay for everything from raw materials, salaries, and transportation to packaging, marketing, and advertising.  
Using examples that are relevant to kids, Follow Your Money explains who gets what when you buy pizza, movie tickets, CDs, clothes, and other goods. Readers may be surprised to learn that a $10 movie ticket only translates into a $.05 profit for the theater once all expenses are paid. And for those who opt for designer instead of no name jeans, the huge difference in price has almost nothing to do with material or production costs and everything to do with profit.
Other topics include an easy-to-understand summary of how banks and credit cards work, as well as answers to questions such as “Why do things go on sale?” “What’s the best way to save money when you buy a cell phone?” “Which food item is the most profitable for a restaurant: a burger, a veggie stir-fry, or a salad?”
Brightly illustrated with graphic breakdowns of all the elements involved in monetary transactions, this book helps demystify the process while helping kids make informed financial decisions.

MY TAKE:
If you or your child has ever wondered where the money you pay goes to and how much businesses more or less profit from items you buy, then this book is for you.

In Follow Your Money, you get a glimpse at sample breakdowns of costs for items like pencils, coffee, and pizzas. You also get to read different factoids about money and why costs for certain items are such.

I found some of the additional facts to be interesting, and the variety of items talked about means you get a sampling of how different types of items are priced. Over the course of the book, though, the breakdowns got a little boring and monotonous. On the bright side, the layout and the illustrations help make the book a little more interesting and a bit less boring.

I think this book is best read with someone who you can discuss the content with. For example, a parent can read this to his/her child and they can go over each item and breakdown and discuss if the breakdowns make sense and if it would be profitable to sell those items.

Thanks to NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd. for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. You get an idea of how and why items are priced as such.
2. It's a good book to read with your kids.
3. It makes the topic of money interesting to kids.

THE BAD:

1. It can get boring looking at so many price breakdowns.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

The word "salary" (what someone gets paid in a year for doing their job) comes from the Latin word for salt, because people in Rome were paid in salt.

READ IT IF:

1. Your child is inquisitive.
2. You or your child have wondered how items are priced.
3. Your child likes informative books.

RATING:


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