Nana’s 3 Jars: Saving Pennies is the second in a series of three planned books, we reviewed the first one, Nana’s 3 Jars: Giving Generously, in the Spring issue of Learning Tangent. The author generously sent the second book at no charge for us to review as well.
Saving Pennies continues the story with Charlie, Emma, and their grandmother, Nana. In the second book, they learn about her second jar, “Saving,” and what makes saving fun.
The children ride in the car to Nana’s house, where she has a surprise waiting for them. While there, they visit the farmers market where Nana explains just what that is, and why it’s important, discuss how and why
to save money, and purchase apples from the local growers.
Back at Nana’s house, they make applesauce with the apples purchased at the farmer’s market, and discover how delicious saving can be.
Throughout this book (and the first book too!), you find two very well-behaved, grateful children who love being with their grandmother, and love helping people. What a fantastic alternative to some of the more unruly children featured in modern literature!
The book would be wonderful to read to pre-readers, and more independent readers could read it themselves. The illustrations are lovely, and very inviting. Included in the book is, of course, Nana’s applesauce recipe. These are books intended to be used, not read and set aside. There are labels that you can cut out and tape to jars you would like to use for your own set of 3 jars. I found my boys (10) enjoyed the story, the lessons taught, and were inspired to make cookies (from the first book), and share with neighbors. Applesauce is a favorite here, and we’ll be making the applesauce also, probably with apples from our local farmers market.
Something worth noting, is that every lesson in the book, from saving to buying locally is based in good solid values. It’s not restricted to this faith or that, and truly has a wide appeal to all parents seeking to teach their kids to live a responsible, and generous, life. In our modern hustle and bustle world, it’s nice to have a book (or series of books!) that helps open discussions and teach lessons on valuing the things that really mean something.
You can find Nana’s 3 Jars: Saving Pennies at Amazon.com for about $13.
Disclaimer: This book was given to us at no charge in exchange for our honest opinions, we have endeavored to be fully honest and thorough in the review. We are NOT required to give a positive review. There are affiliate links which pay us a small commission on purchases of items when using those links, but they do not affect the cost of the products you purchase. See our full disclosure policy.
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