Children’s Literature and its Life-long Lessons in Business (CBL)

For many our first endeavor into the world of business is the lemonade stand at the end of the driveway and the first key decision is what to charge. A nickel, a dime, or a dollar? The price will make or break the business -- charge too much and no one will buy your lemonade; charge too little and you will not have enough. Welcome to your first lesson in business. Or is it? Our business education starts at a much earlier age. Children’s literature is ripe with economic metaphors and references to business. While Farmer Boy teaches children about sustainability, The Lorax forces us to consider how business activity interacts with environmental concerns. In these and other ways, stories exert a profound influence on humans, by engaging our imaginations and teaching us economic concepts while entertaining us. While learning about the power of storytelling, students will become better versed in some basic economic principles and explore the many ways these ideas are communicated to children at a very young age. As a culminating experience, students will create their own project to further economic literacy in local schools. (CBL)