It's a Money Thing!: A Girl's Guide to Managing Money

This is a book for every gal who has money in a piggy bank, a savings bank, or just dreams up ways to make some money. The Women's Foundation of California was thorough in its writing of this guide, a combination of textbook, journal, and money guide. The nine chapters detail everything from investing in you to investing in the stock market, with a glossary of terms thrown in for good measure. Kathleen Brown, former treasurer of the State of California, opens the book with her belief that knowledge is power and knowledge about money matters is of utmost importance to fiscal health. If ever a learning guide was needed, the current recession is a great place to start learning about how to build a business, make some money, and how to invest it. If someone can do this with lots of knowledge and a bit of money, imagine how she can do when in a boom time. The suggested websites and booklist allows further research on the topic, but what I like the most is that this is an interactive book. Readers need to create a sales and marketing plan if they really want to sell their wares or their services. If you've got ideas regarding starting a business, this will help you to get them down on paper. If you've got ideas on what to do with the money in your piggy bank, this will get any gal thinking in more global terms. To top it off, the illustrations by Susan Estelle Kwas are fabulous! At the start of each chapter, her illustrations give life to the topic at hand. Whether it's "Putting your Money to Work" or "Giving Back," the whimsy of the illustrations is what makes this book so read-able and not intimidating at all. It's like a friendly aunt has engaged you in the topic. That's what The Women's Foundation of California seems like, a friendly aunt offering her advice. The truth is we gals could use all the advice we can get!

In this highly interactive book, pre-teens and teens get a chance to learn all about money. Not just the dollars and cents of it, but things school doesn't teach you, like facts about state and local income tax, how credit cards really work, what the stock market is and how you can take advantage of it, how to save for your retirement, and even how to go about starting your own business. Although aimed towards girls, I found IT'S A MONEY THING! a great beginner's guide to managing your money that would be perfect for boys, as well. Although most boys might not take advantage of the journal pages or the fill-in-the-blanks lists and charts available in the book, it would still make a great guide to anyone looking for a primer on how money really works -- and how you can get it to work for you. Even as an adult, I found a lot of things to be highly helpful in this book, especially the breakdown and translation of stock terms, the additional listings of websites about money and finance, and the glossary. All in all, this is one book that would make a perfect addition to any home or school library. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

This is an essential book for girls, especially in a world where they are bombarded with credit cards that they use and abuse freely, without understanding and with disastrous consequences. The open and breezy format invites girls to understand their place in the global economy and to take the first steps on the road to financial literacy. Understand how you might start your own business like other young girls, how money works, how it grows through the miracle of compound interest, and how to achieve a lifetime of financial security through sensible investment goals. There's a handy glossary, recommended books that encourage girls to control their financial destiny, plus lots of useful websites for young investors. Don't be one of those women who laments, "No one ever taught me about money."