BIG MONEY

Big concepts relayed on a small-enough scale for young readers to relate to.

This is a book about money in the big-picture sense. The first chapter covers different forms of money throughout history and around the world, but from there the narrative broadens in scope to include behavioral economics and systemic wealth gaps. The final chapter brings it all home to practical matters such as the kinds of questions to ask trusted adults about money and the power of compound interest and diversified portfolios. The narration is self-aware enough to acknowledge the dryness of lessons about, for instance, the GDP. Thankfully, trivia peppered throughout adds flavor to each lesson, from the ironic origin of the Monopoly board game to the use of giant coins on the Micronesian island of Yap. The book’s broad umbrella means that readers might skim through the volume, starting off on workplace benefits, for instance, before becoming absorbed by Bhutan’s gross national happiness measurement. Injustice and inequity are addressed in their many forms, including along workplace, environmental, racial, gender, and political lines, enough to give readers food for thought. Chapters are structured thematically and logically, and Donnelly emphasizes that structural issues play a far bigger role than individual decisions. Final art not seen.

A wide-ranging conversation about the role money plays in the world and our lives.