WIN A COPY of Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal, by John Lanza!

Have you been trying to think of ways to talk to your child about money? If so, I highly recommend the Money Mammals series by John Lanza. I've previously reviewed two books in the series: Joe the Monkey Learns to Share and Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal. Both were fantastic and really inspired my three-year-old, Magda, to start her own "3-Jar" system to manage her allowance and birthday money. She now has jars labelled "Spend," "Save," and "Share" (plus a fourth one labelled "Invest" for money that goes right into the bank).

Now the author is pairing up with Cozy Little Book Journal and The Bookish Elf to give you a chance to win a copy of the first book in the series, Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal! 

Use the widget below to enter. Contest runs until Sunday, May 12, 2013 (which is Mother's Day!). Also, continue reading to see pictures of Magda's Spend-Share-Save-Invest jars!

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Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal: A Loop-Dee-Loo Story (A Share-Save-Spend Smart Book), by John Lanza (illustrations by John Lanza and Patrick Rooney)

Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal:

A Loop-Dee-Loo Story

(A Share-Save-Spend Smart Book)

Author: John Lanza

Illustrators: John Lanza and Patrick Rooney

Publisher: Snigglezoo

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

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Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal is the first book in the "Share-Save-Spend Smart" series. I previously reviewed the book Joe the Monkey Learns to Share and I was very impressed. The series is great for helping kids see that money management is something they can do at any age. 

It's not always easy to talk to your kids about money. You want them to develop good financial habits, but where do you start? I was talking about this with my cousin Lisa just the other day (Well, she's the wife of my partner's second cousin once removed, so...I guess I was talking about this with my friend Lisa). We have kids the same age (3 1/2) and she was saying her son was asking her where quarters come from and how he could get more quarters for his collection. I told her how we had been talking to our own child, Magda, about money using a "three jars" concept that we learned about from the book Joe the Monkey Learns to Share. 

The idea is that children divide up their money (whether it's allowance, birthday money, etc.) into "spend," "save" and "share" jars (we also added a fourth jar called "invest" for money that goes directly into the bank). Some of their money can be used for immediate goals, like buying little treats (the "spend" jar) but if they want to buy something big they'll need to save up (the "save" jar). This book is specifically about the save jar.

Joe the Monkey wants to buy a new vine (he's a monkey...that's like an Xbox to him) but it costs too much money. He doesn't have twenty dollars! His allowance is only four! But he REALLY wants it, which means he'll have to save up for a few weeks and not spend his money on little things if he wants to buy the big thing he has his eye on. It's not easy, and he's very tempted to say forget it and just buy candy. But in the end he realizes it's worth it to save his money for something he really wants.

I love this series. It's fun, it's accessible, it's kid-friendly. Oh, and it's secular too. That may not be important to everybody, but I've come across quite a few Christian-based books about the three jars system. Those are great if they fit your religious values, but if not, it's great to have non-religious options. Besides, the John Lanza books could easily be read by Christian and non-Christian families alike. 

Joe the Monkey Learns to Share: A Story of Giving, by John Lanza (illustrated by John Lanza and Patrick Rooney)

Joe the Monkey Learns to Share:

A Story of Giving

(A Money Mammals Share-Save-Spend Smart Book)

Author: John Lanza

Illustrators: John Lanza and Patrick Rooney

Editor: Marilyn Walton

Publisher: Snizzlezoo Books

Publication Date: December 3, 2012

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There are a number of books on the market that talk about the "three jars" concept of money saving--encouraging children to divide their money into jars for saving, for spending and for giving--but I like this one in particular because it is aimed at children directly in the form of a storybook, and because it's not religious-based. I'm not  saying there's anything wrong with religious books about saving, it's just that they're not for everyone. This one, part of the Money Mammals series, is more universal. 

Based on the story and illustrations I would say that Joe the Monkey Learns to Share is aimed at elementary school aged children, but my three-year-old daughter Magda loved it as well. She sat and listened to the whole thing then asked to hear it again, this time asking questions and offering commentary. When Joe the Monkey eventually picks a charity at the end of the book--buying vines for underprivileged monkeys--Magda decided that she too would like a share jar and that she would use it to buy backpacks for kids who didn't have them. I'd been thinking of ways to introduce her to the concept of charity and this book did just that. Come back-to-school time, Magda and I can use her share money to donate school supplies to families in need. I'd say the book was a success!

Keep reading for images from inside the book, Magda's take and more...