Toby Gold and the Secret Fortune is Everett's first novel about a teenage boy who has "freakish" money skills and uses those skills to solve a crime, plus save his friends and school. When asked what he means by "freakish" money skills, Everett said that Toby is gifted in math and can, among other things, calculate compound interest in his head. Toby also has a Midas touch when it comes to making money with businesses like dog-walking and trading in fruit snacks. This is not surprising when you consider that the author has been very involved in the high-school entrepreneurship organization, Junior Achievement.
Everett, father of five, is a big supporter of the financial literacy movement. And, like many of us supporters, he is disappointed that financial education programs for kids have mixed results. His solution to this lack of stickiness with financial concepts is to hit kids from as many angles as possible to reinforce basic money lessons. Fiction, he believes, is one of the angles. The time value of money, reading financial statements, and return on investment are just a few key concepts that readers of Toby Gold books will be exposed to.
This book, said Everett, will be the first of several in a Toby Gold series aimed at the same 9 to 14 year old crowd that reads Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books. When asked what the biggest money lesson is that kids will take away from the book, Everett said, "Save half." That is Toby's catch phrase and it refers to saving half your income and investing the rest so that you become financially independent very quickly.
How can you help get this book into teenage hands? Please go to TobyGold.com and choose from one of the many pledge levels.
Copyright 2012. Laura Thomas. All Rights Reserved.
For reprint permission contact moneyme at telus dot net.
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