Hi! I’m Lily Verlin…
…author of Albert the Octopus Accountant. I started this series when a friend of mine told me how hard it was for her to find books for kids about money and finance. Sure, there were a lot of books for older kids and plenty of books for adults on how to raise financially literate children, but there weren’t a lot of options for younger children who were just setting out on their reading journey. How do we start to raise our kids to understand money long before they’re out in the world and making their own? We need to start much earlier with the basics.
Like me, my friend grew up in a household that didn’t really talk about money. Some households still treat it as a taboo subject for “adults only.” But that attitude about money really does us such a disservice. For me, it wasn’t until I was 18 and working my second job that my Grandfather sat me down and taught me how to balance my checkbook for the first time. Even then, I still struggled with money until I was 25 and got interested in budgeting and more conscious of my financial situation. I can’t help but think that if I’d started talking about money at a much younger age I could have avoided a lot of heartache, debt, and overdraft fees!
So I ask you, to whomever found their way here: help me pull back the curtain. Let’s start building financial literacy in children at a younger age. Let’s work together to build a nation of budget-conscious kids eager to read, learn, and save!