Kids corner
Short illustrated stories that make economics easy for kids.
What is praxeology?
A big word for something you do every day
All of us, big or small, do three things every day:
- We want something. Everything we do, we do for a reason. Robinson wanted lots of fish, so he made a net.
- We choose. With your pocket money, an ice cream or a small toy? There isn’t enough for both, so you pick the one you want more. What you give up is the cost.
- We swap. You give a friend one of your cards and get one of theirs. Each of you wants what you get more than what you give, so you are both better off.
Praxeology studies how people act and choose, and economics grows out of it. You’ll see it at work in the stories below!
Robinson’s Island
Read the books in order · Ages 6–9
Whose Hut Is It?
A picture book for kids: a newcomer finds the hut Tiko built empty and settles in for the night. So whose hut is it? Around the fire, the islanders work out what is “mine” and what is “yours”, without any chief.
The Pink Shells
A picture book for kids: new friends come to Robinson’s island, and swapping turns into a big muddle. Then everyone starts giving and taking little pink shells, without anyone deciding it.
Robinson and Friday
A picture book for kids: Friday sails his canoe to Robinson’s island. When each of them does what he does best and then they swap, they both end up with more fish and more coconuts.
The Candlemakers’ Petition
A picture book for kids: in Paris in 1845, Monsieur Bougie the candlemaker asks the Chamber of Deputies to close every shutter to keep out the sun, and Amélie discovers what is hiding in the dark.
The Broken Window
A picture book for kids: in a small French town in 1850, Léon breaks the baker’s window with his ball, and his grandma, Margot, shows him what nobody else sees.
Robinson’s Net
A picture book for kids: alone on an island with Zachary the parrot, Robinson eats a little less for a few days to make a net, and then catches far more fish.
Who Made My Pencil?
A picture book for kids: Sophia follows her pencil around the world and discovers that thousands of people who have never met made it together.
How Money Came to Be
A picture book for kids: how people swapping one thing for another ended up with money, without anyone planning it.
More stories are on the way.