Roslyn parent launches a world-first financial fantasy fiction book for kids

When it comes to children and their education, a great deal of emphasis is placed on reading, writing, arithmetic and science. But are kids learning financial literacy? As far as Roslyn Elementary School  parent Mark Tilden is concerned, the answer is no. So he did something to change that.

Mr. Tilden has been an investment advisor for 18 years and believes children should be taught how to handle money from a very young age. That's why he was at Roslyn in Westmount, to launch the world's first financial fantasy fiction stories, complete with illustrations, for kids under the age of eight.

Mr. Tilden held a launch/reading of "The Adventures of Princess Mikalia and Prince Pete" for kindergarten and Grade 1 students. Mikalia is also the name of the author's daughter. Mr. Tilden said he wrote the book because there isn't anything out there like it.

"There are six different stories and each one focuses on one major aspect of finances. And many of them have a second or a third because it happens to fit in with the story well."

'The Tree' is one of the stories that was read to the children. Princess Mikalia and Prince Pete want to build a tree-house and learn the difference between spending money on things they need instead of things they want.

The stories about money made an impression on many of the students including five year old Gabriel Aziz. "You can buy stuff with it," he said. "You can earn it...you should get stuff that you need. Like if you don't have any food, you should buy food."

"The Adventures of Princess Mikalia and Prince Pete" is available for purchase online and is also sold at  Babar Books in Pointe-Claire.