When the Bible and Vladimir Lenin agree, it’s time to pay attention. One of Scripture’s recurring themes is teaching and shaping the next generation’s views and beliefs. As for Lenin, he said, “Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”
If you are shocked by the way college students are embracing socialism, you haven’t been paying attention for a few decades. Of course, this is a result of many factors, but one that is less frequently discussed is that few of us focus on economic education even when taking responsibility for our own children’s education. After all, when was the last time you discussed inflation with your seven-year-old? Talked about competition and market regulation with your pre-teen?
Fortunately, the Tuttle twins have stepped into this void. A series of entertaining books featuring the fictional twins present complex ideas with clarity and simplicity. Whether the twins are running a lemonade stand, enjoying themselves at camp or hanging out with neighbors and classmates, basic societal and economic principles intertwine with their lives.
I have frequently undertaken the job of warning you to beware of books that might undermine your family values. Often, the agenda in the books is hidden. If you don’t pre-read them, you will probably never know about the message on p. 63. In contrast, these books openly have an agenda: a defense of what my husband calls ethical capitalism. The author, Connor Boyack and illustrator, Elijah Stanfield, take concepts from thinkers, economists and authors such as Henry Hazlitt, Ayn Rand and Frederic Bastiat, and turn them into appealing and informative stories.
Judging by my test panel’s response, ranging in age from eight to fourteen, children will enjoy reading these books, which would be a worthwhile result in itself. Even better would be if parents and older children read them as well, sparking an opportunity for family conversation and for more advanced reading for the older group. As parents, we ideally have more than four years to inoculate our children against the harmful ideas and mistaken beliefs that will bombard them. I heartily recommend that you add this series to your tool kit.
I am sorry Susan, but regardless of what your husband says about pics of grandkids, my favorite thing about this page is the pictures of you and your precious grandchildren! ❤️
I know – they are precious, aren’t they, Susan?
Thanks… finally a path to understanding. At 56 I am still trying to figure out Freakonomics. I think I will read these books and learn the issues in a more understandable language. I can leave them on the table for my kids to read to. Strangely his books are almost completely non-existent in the Ohio library system.
Frank, I wasn’t able to get the books from my library system either. They said that one branch had some of them, but they were not allowed to be taken out. ???
I often start off with children’s books when I am trying to understand a scientific or other elusive concept. So, I think you will find these books help you ask questions and think through things.