The Little Blue Penguins of Wallaby Street: Adventures in Finance

Meet Ripley, a spunky, little blue penguin who lives along the pristine, southern Australian coast. Brave-hearted and resilient, she is determined to resist Banjo, the cruel dingo who virtually has enslaved her family and a hundred of her fellow little blue penguins.

Years before the story’s events unfold, Banjo and his henchmen—cruel seagulls and Tasmanian devils— made a bargain with Ripley’s ancestors to protect the penguins from fierce predators. In exchange, Ripley and her friends must work. And work. They dive all day for anchovies that they fork over as repayment for their debt.

In a surprise twist of events, Ripley, who has secretly amassed a large personal savings, is introduced to concepts of banking and investing by an unexpected ally. But who is her mysterious mentor? How does she do it? And could the lessons she learns help other kids, too?

Through a heartfelt story that has standalone appeal, this book aims to inspire a love of learning about and experimenting with finance.

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THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE BOOK

I, Ashley, might not get many chances to convince young readers that finance is cool! This needs to count.

I’m grateful that kids are exposed to basic concepts of earning, spending, and saving in most public elementary school curricula. But saving alone, with some rare exceptions, won’t cut it. Savings are unlikely to help a person buy a home, retire, or amass any significant level of wealth. There is just so much more that we can be teaching our kids – all kids – about money.

The Little Blue Penguin of Wallaby Street is a fictional tale but one with plausible, real-life scenarios. I could have written a tedious textbook, replete with financial concepts and math exercises. When I thought about it some more, it was clear financial concepts would be easier to digest with some story-telling and Mary Poppins-style ‘spoonfuls’ of sugar. This ‘medicine,’ the underlying money messages, help kids develop healthy financial habits – not unlike healthy eating habits – that will benefit them for a lifetime.

I bet many of our young readers will learn of interest, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and the stock market for the first time in this book. I echo Investopedia’s sentiment that, “The earlier you start teaching your kids about finances, the better.” Time is a superpower in the game of finance, investing, and growing wealth. Let’s start our kids young, when their potential is at its greatest. But first, let’s make these fun, life-changing concepts accessible to all kids.

The Little Blue Penguins of Wallaby Street seeks to do just that. Concepts like saving and investing should inspire. Then they need to become entrenched habits. I hope The Little Blue Penguins of Wallaby Street proves a compelling story that helps convince kids of what’s financially possible, regardless of where they start or how little money they currently have.