Finance expert Brooke Lapides, of Oak Park, wanted the right book to introduce her toddler to foundational concepts that would later make him a savvy adult.
She couldn’t find one. So, the 39-year-old mom wrote her own.
“I couldn’t really find a book that went over the terms I wanted to explain to him so I thought I would just write it myself,” Lapides said.
In late April, she shared her knowledge of the world of finances with her self-published book. She debuted “Financial Fun from A- Z” and read as an author for the first time to fourth graders at Willard Elementary School in River Forest.
Lapides, who holds a masters of business administration degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY., said she always had an interest in helping other people understand financial literacy. Her 10 years in the mortgage industry also brought Lapides opportunities to engage with others on the topic.
“I have done a lot of financial literacy classes,” Lapides said, including classes for soldiers and airmen through a credit union at a military installation. “They were 18,19 [years-old] – fresh out of high school and they didn’t know this stuff.”
Having those conversations with teenagers – and even adults – who did not understand critical aspects of finances inspired Lapides to try to engage others in those conversations sooner.
“Just knowing that so many adults make it to adulthood without basic financial literacy, I wanted to help combat that,” she said. “I just want as many kids as possible to read it so they have a basis of understanding finance.”
Lapides mulled tackling a children’s book for months. In the end, she said it took about a week of writing, although she credits the A-to-Z style of the book for making the process a “little bit easier.”
“I was able to write it and illustrate it within just a couple of months,” she said.
At Willard, Josephine Mensah, 10, said she thought the book was interesting and found the simple language easy to understand.
“It explained it but it didn’t go into it too much to where there was too much information,” Josephine said.
Now that she knows what an “asset” is, Josephine said she believed it was important to learn about money.
“You can use that information now,” she said. “When you get older and you start getting jobs as a babysitter or a waiter, knowing how to manage your money and what is what…you’ll know what life is going to be like and how to manage your money.”
Heinz Hartmann, 10, said he has already been having conversations about money with his parents but also found the book helpful.
“It helped me add on to what I already knew about stocks and stuff,” Heinz said. “I liked the book and it is good for young kids to learn about finances in an easy way.”
“Financial Fun from A- Z” was released on Amazon on April 15 and is available as a paperback or an e-book.
