Review - ABCs of Economics

ABCs of Economics
by Chris Ferrie & Veronica Goodman
illustrated by Chris Ferrie
Date: 2020
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 26
Format: e-book
Source: library

Chris Ferrie's bestselling scientific series is expanding!

It only takes a small spark to ignite a child's mind! The ABCs of Economics introduces babies (and grownups!) to a new economic concept for each letter of the alphabet. From asymmetric, business cycle, and capital, all the way to zero sum. It's never too early to become an economist!

With scientific and mathematical information from an expert, this is the perfect book for enlightening the next generation of geniuses.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

It's never too early to become an economist? Um... I think it can be.

I laughed my way through this one. It's a board book about economic principles. Teach your toddlers about Keynesian Economics and Nash Equilibrium! Make sure your infant knows all about zero-sum situations. Seriously? This is one of those books that's aimed squarely at adults, a book they can leave out when their friends are over to signal how brilliant Junior is. Never mind that the baby would rather chew the thing than listen to anything that's between its covers.

Also, X is not for eXternalities. If you're aiming an alphabet book at an audience that doesn't even know the alphabet yet, don't confuse them.

I question the value of this even for older children. I found parts of it confusing as an adult. Formatting it as a board book limits the audience, too, as older kids will probably turn their noses up at it. This is for pretentious, virtue-signalling parents who want the world to know how special their baby is. Really, though, they're probably the only ones who will get anything out of the book.

Premise: 1/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 1.83 out of 5