Today is ‘National Teach Children to Save Day’ and as part
of this, I want to showcase, one more time, The Money Mammals and its creator –
John Lanza.
of this, I want to showcase, one more time, The Money Mammals and its creator –
John Lanza.
As a follow up of my review of the great kit we received
from ‘The Money Mammals’ (my original review of this kit and more details about
it are here), here are a few comments from my kids after they have used it for
the past few weeks since we got it.
from ‘The Money Mammals’ (my original review of this kit and more details about
it are here), here are a few comments from my kids after they have used it for
the past few weeks since we got it.
“The movie is fun – we love to watch it! We like that we can
see how much we have in each jar. We
also love the separate jars for saving (we both discuss what we want to save
for and which jar money goes into each time we get money), sharing (we like
that we can use this money to help others), spending smart (is kind of cool –
we can spend money and feel smart about it too).”
see how much we have in each jar. We
also love the separate jars for saving (we both discuss what we want to save
for and which jar money goes into each time we get money), sharing (we like
that we can use this money to help others), spending smart (is kind of cool –
we can spend money and feel smart about it too).”
I agree with them totally and I love that this kit is really
teaching them responsibility and preparing them for their lives by ingraining
in them all these great habits. It is definitely teaching the kids to save, not
just today, but every moment of every day.
teaching them responsibility and preparing them for their lives by ingraining
in them all these great habits. It is definitely teaching the kids to save, not
just today, but every moment of every day.
The Interview:
And here is John himself – Thank you so much John for this interview! My kids and I enjoyed coming up with the questions for this interview and reading your answers as well..
What was the first thing you saved for as a child? (that you
recall)
recall)
John: I really don’t recall saving for
things as a child. We received an allowance and my parents were frugal and I’m
glad for that, but we didn’t really have any kind of financial literacy plan.
That’s one of the reasons I started the Money Mammals – to help parents help
their kids.
things as a child. We received an allowance and my parents were frugal and I’m
glad for that, but we didn’t really have any kind of financial literacy plan.
That’s one of the reasons I started the Money Mammals – to help parents help
their kids.
What will you – your inner child –
save for today?
save for today?
John: I’ve always been a tech guy so it
would likely be a DS, Kindle or iPad.
would likely be a DS, Kindle or iPad.
Which money mammal is your favorite?
John: Joe the Monkey has been in my head
even before I created the Money Mammals so I think I’m closest to him. A little
known fact is that I sang the vocals on the tracks to which the puppeteers
originally performed the songs. Of course, we rerecorded the audio tracks with
the actual puppeteers. Our fans can be thankful we did that.
even before I created the Money Mammals so I think I’m closest to him. A little
known fact is that I sang the vocals on the tracks to which the puppeteers
originally performed the songs. Of course, we rerecorded the audio tracks with
the actual puppeteers. Our fans can be thankful we did that.
Would you love to play to on the
SuperVine 3000?:)
SuperVine 3000?:)
John: Who wouldn’t want to be able to
swing nimbly enough to do the “Loop-Dee-Loo”?!
swing nimbly enough to do the “Loop-Dee-Loo”?!
Are the money mammals based on
people you know?
people you know?
John: There are
little bits of my brother, Mark (who wrote the songs), and George Costanza from
Seinfeld in Piggs. People always ask if Joe is me and he’s really not – he’s
learning money smarts much earlier than I did. Of course, my wife, Eileen, has
been a money maven since birth so I suppose there is a little bit of her in
Clara, the original keeper of the Share, Save & Spend Smart money jars.
little bits of my brother, Mark (who wrote the songs), and George Costanza from
Seinfeld in Piggs. People always ask if Joe is me and he’s really not – he’s
learning money smarts much earlier than I did. Of course, my wife, Eileen, has
been a money maven since birth so I suppose there is a little bit of her in
Clara, the original keeper of the Share, Save & Spend Smart money jars.
Yummy Book Reviews:
Chloe’s Quick and Easy Vegan Party Foods (from Chloe’s Kitchen) – This short butdelicious e-book contains 10, as the title says, a selection of quick and easy party foods from the book ‘Chloe’s Kitchen’, that
are yummy as well as great-looking. I first read Chloe’s books when I saw
Chloe’s Vegan Desserts and my daughter has ear-marked so many pages on this
dessert compilation.
Considering there are only 10 recipes – a mini-book – I
would have loved more photos – at least one for each recipe. But that said, the
ones that are included give us a glimpse of the end results and after having
tried almost all of them, I love Chloe’s creations even more!
would have loved more photos – at least one for each recipe. But that said, the
ones that are included give us a glimpse of the end results and after having
tried almost all of them, I love Chloe’s creations even more!
My favorite – the Spinach Artichoke dip!
Chloe’s Vegan Chocolate Classics (from Chloe’s Kitchen) –again, a selection of 10 totally lip-smacking dishes – my favorite part of the
meal – dessert – are included in this e-mini-book. I already have Chloe’s Vegan
Desserts book but these 10 recipes are in addition to the 100+ recipes included
in my desser book – yay – more for me!
My favorite – Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes with Raspberry
Sauce – I have included the photo here – photo courtesy – this book!
Sauce – I have included the photo here – photo courtesy – this book!
Rating for both these books: Lip-smacking!
Disclaimer:Thank you to Edelweiss for sending me a digital
review copy of these books above. I was not compensated for my reviews. My thoughts on
these books were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my
personal opinions formed when I read the books.
review copy of these books above. I was not compensated for my reviews. My thoughts on
these books were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my
personal opinions formed when I read the books.
Tuesday Memes:
For Teaser Tuesdays over at Should be Reading, I have a teaser from a book I just finished reading – I received the book from NetGalley and this will be a treat for fans of Hunger Games – I will be reviewing it tomorrow here.
‘It’s hard to believe dry, decayed earth is just over the
horizon. Whoever cared for the land here did their job well.’
horizon. Whoever cared for the land here did their job well.’
Pg 54 – digital ARC – The Testing
The Top Ten Tuesday theme this week over at The Broke and the Bookish is books you loved more/less than you thought you would: For this, I picked from books I read in the past few years mainly.
Books I enjoyed way more than I thought I would:
- Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer – This was one of the first YA books I picked up as well as one of the first books to do with vampires – surprisingly, I did like them though I do think the hype around the books and the movies is still a whole lot more than needed.
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie – I had been unable to read a couple of other books by Rushdie – but maybe I read them when I was not ready for them, so was not sure what to expect here. But now, this is a book I recommend a lot to everyone who will listen.
- Zeb and the Great Ruckus by Josh Donellan – What can I say? I did have a feeling I will love it and I did – it is on this list because I loved it way more than I thought I would. Look forward to a fun interview with Josh this Friday.
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I picked up this book because I saw it on so many Top Ten lists and was not too sure how much I would enjoy it but…. my review says it all.
- Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay – My first novel in verse – I totally devoured it..
- Journeys on the Silk Road – A non-fiction book after a long time and I was not sure if I would enjoy it but I did and loved it.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – you might wonder why I have this here – kind of an oxymoron – but I had read this book and stopped at the weirdly magic number of page 33 so often in the past that I was worried about picking it up again – but I am soo glad I did!
For three more on my top ten, these are among the ones that were less than I hoped they would be
- The First Men in the Moon – I love H.G.Wells and I thought I could read this one – I did complete it but it did not make the ‘more’ list – instead, fell short of my expectations.
- Two and Twenty Dark Tales: I picked this book since I had earlier read a few retellings of children’s stories that I had enjoyed and I am also a big fan of short-stories. But this did not capture my interest fully.
- Mrs.Noodlekugel: The cover and the summary made me feel I will love this book but that was not the case.
