Grow Learning: Books for Middle Schoolers

According to a poll of middle and high school students, conducted by the National Education Association, 56% of students said they read more than 10 books a year. Survey results stated that middle schoolers read the most, with an average of 70% reading more than 10 books a year, compared to 49% of high school students. At Junior Achievement we love literacy, financial literacy in particular. Here are our top books on Entrepreneurship, work/career readiness and, as mentioned, financial literacy.

Entrepreneurship | Work / Career Readiness

Billy Sure Kid Entrepreneur (5 / 5)

“Meet Billy Sure, twelve-year-old inventor and CEO of Sure Things, Inc., and discover all of his wild and wacky inventions in this start to a hilarious middle grade series!

Everyone is talking about Billy Sure, the twelve-year-old CEO of Sure Things, Inc. and genius inventor of the All Ball, a ball that turns into different sports balls with the push of a button. Now Billy wants to help other kids achieve their inventing dreams just like he has!

So Billy is hosting an online contest for other kid-inventors to share their inventions, and the winning submission will be produced by his company. Ideas like the Sibling Silencer, No-Wash Socks, and a pencil that does all your work start pouring in. With so many great ideas, how is Billy supposed to pick a winner?

And that’s not all. Billy also has to keep the secret that could take him from hero to zero in a flash if anyone found out. Can Billy Sure find a way to stay on top of the world and help other kids achieve their dreams at the same time?

Each book in this series includes Billy’s drawings and doodles of inventions and more!”

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Cleonardo, the Little Inventor (4.5 / 5)

“Cleonardo's father is an inventor. So was her grandfather, her great-grandfather, and all the great-greats before them. Cleo wants to be an inventor too. She tries to help her father in his workshop, but he never uses her great ideas. Can Cleo invent something big and important and perfect all by herself?

This imaginative story of a father and his daughter brings the magic of creativity to little inventors everywhere.”

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How This Book Was Made (4.5 / 5)

“You may think you know how this book was made, but you don't. Sure, the author wrote many drafts, and the illustrator took a long time creating the art, but then what? How'd it get into your hands? Well, open the cover and read through these pages to find out. Just beware of the pirates and angry tiger.

New York Times best-selling creators Mac Barnett and Adam Rex reveal the nitty gritty process of making a book . . . with a few unexpected twists along the way! Budding writers and artists will laugh at the mix of reality and the absurd as the story makes its way to a shelf, and a reader.”

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The Making Of A Young Entrepreneur: A Kid's Guide To Developing The Mind-Set For Success (4.5 / 5)

“A 16-year-old earning $60,000 a month working with such clients as IBM and Microsoft? A 14-year-old earning $1.2 million in a year . . . making jam? The number of child entrepreneurs has increased unimaginably over the past 20 years, and this rate will not decrease anytime soon. The Making of a Young Entrepreneur is geared toward helping kids build a solid business foundation using the same principles the author employed when she started her own business at age 9. This book is a golden display of the heart of a young girl who wants to see people reach their full potential by refusing to be spectators of their own dreams!”           

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Better Than a Lemonade Stand!: Small Business Ideas for Kids (4 / 5)

“Filled with delightfully simple business ideas, Better than a Lemonade Stand! is a fun guide packed with creative ideas that show how to start a business with little or no start-up costs, attract and retain customers, develop negotiating skills, and more.

Originally written and published when the author was only fifteen years old, Better than a Lemonade Stand! has already helped thousands of kids start their own profitable small businesses. Now an adult and father himself, Daryl Bernstein has polished and expanded his book for a new generation of budding entrepreneurs.

This indispensable resource includes more than fifty, fun, simple business ideas—complete with tips about supplies, time needed, what to charge, and how to advertise—all completely updated with strategies based on Bernstein’s own experience as a successful entrepreneur and father.”

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Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs With Big Ideas! (4.5 / 5)

‘’You've heard the saying, It's never too late; We say, It's never too early! Even children can be introduced to basic business principles and the rewards of entrepreneurship. Our goal with Kidpreneurs is to outline some basic tools and strategies kids can use to gain valuable experience in starting, managing, and growing a successful business venture. Through easy-to-understand basic principles and a creative approach, we outline some key techniques that will have a powerful and positive impact on your child's ability to understand entrepreneurship. Using kid-friendly design and illustrations, we break down some of the major points of entrepreneurship, so your child can have fun as he or she learns. Also, your child will enhance his or her decision-making skills by trying out simple businesses as he or she grows up. Tomorrow's future starts today. Share Kidpreneurs with your children, and help plant the seeds for a stronger future.”

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Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire (4.5 / 5)

“Cleopatra Edison Oliver has always been an entrepreneur, just like her inspiration, successful businesswoman Fortune A. Davies. So when Cleo's fifth-grade teacher assigns her class a "Passion Project," Cleo comes up with her best business idea yet: the finest "tooth-pulling" company in town. With the help of her best friend Caylee, a Nerf gun, her dad's tablet, and her patented Persuasion Power, Cleo's Quick and Painless Tooth Removal Service starts to take off.

But even the best made plans, by the best CEOs, go awry sometimes. A minor barfing incident during a tooth-pulling operation causes Cleo to lose customers. Caylee, initially enthusiastic about the business, grows distant as Cleo neglects their friendship in lieu of getting more customers. And when a mean classmate makes fun of Cleo for being adopted, everything comes crashing down. Will she be able to rescue her business, salvage her friendship with Caylee, and discover that her true home has been here all along?”

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Financial Literacy

Welcome to Wonderland#1: Home Sweet Motel (4.5 / 5) 

"Eleven-year-old P. T. Wilkie may be the greatest storyteller alive. But he knows one thing for a fact: the Wonderland Motel is the best place a kid could ever live! All-you-can-eat poolside ice cream! A snack machine in the living room! A frog slide! A giant rampaging alligator! (Okay, that last one may or may not be made up.) There’s only one thing the Wonderland doesn’t have, though—customers. And if the Wonderland doesn’t get them soon, P.T. and his friend Gloria may have to say goodbye to their beloved motel forever. 

They need to think BIG. They need to think BOLD. They need an OUTRAGEOUS plan. Luckily for them, Gloria is a business GENIUS, and OUTRAGEOUS is practically P.T.’s middle name. With Gloria’s smarts and P.T.’s world-famous stories and schemes, there’s got to be a way to save the Wonderland! 

 
BONUS: Includes fun extras like P. T. Wilkie’s outrageous (and sometimes useful) things you learn living in a motel. Installment 1: How to say “Help! The toilet is clogged!” in over twenty languages!”

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The History of Money: From Bartering to Banking (4 / 5)

“What can take the form of a stone with a hole in the middle, a string of shells, a piece of paper, or a plastic card? The answer is money, of course. But when did we start using it? And why? What does money have to do with writing? And how do taxes and interest work? From the Stone Age to modern banking, this lighthearted and engaging account traces the history of the stuff that makes the world go round.”

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