10 Investment Books for Kids + Teens (Give them a Jump Start on Investing) (2024)

Investment books for kids are the perfect way to introduce investing to your child (especially if you're not confident teaching investing by yourself).

Boy, do I wish my parents had gotten an investment book for kids into my hands when my interests turned to growing money (which happened when I was a tween).

Can you imagine where my retirement account would be today if I had started at the wee age of 16 instead of at 23?

I knew at an early age that I wanted to have money (think, around the age of 15). I started paying more attention to the adults in my life who I thought were “rich”, and noticed that the people who had money were doing something called “investing.”

I had no idea what this was, and no direction with investing as a child. But things can be different for your own child!

Today, I want to help you give your own kid/tween/teen a leg-up on the investment world by gifting them one of these investing books for kids.

Psst: teaching stocks to high school students? You’ll want to get them active in a free stock market game for students, or using one of these 7 stock apps for kids and stock apps for under 18. Adding one of the kid’s investment books below to your library will help, too.

Investment Books for Kids

I've been asked over and over about investment books for kids that will spark their interest in the stock market. OR, how to explain the stock market to a kid who is already interested in investing part of their allowance (specifically when you, yourself, don't feel completely confident in investing).

Any of these kid investing books is a great way to not only get your kid interested in the stock market but to also teach them some killer money strategies that will serve them in the not-too-distant future.

Hint: these are ordered by suggested age range.

Kid Investing Book #1: Brother Bull and Sister Bear Go to the Stock Market

Age Range: 1st-2nd Grade

Brother Bull (who loves things going up and high) and Sister Bear (who loves things going down and low) take a tour of the stock market, where they eventually work.

Through their adventure, your students will learn some foundational things about the stock market, such as:

• The stock market is a market to help people buy and sell stocks
• Stocks represent ownership in a company
• People who buy stocks are called investors
• The stock market can go up or down
• Most stocks are traded over computers

In the end, they rename UP markets as bull markets, and DOWN markets as bear markets, for Sister Bear and Brother Bull's great work.

Kid's Investing Book #2: I'm a $hareholder Kit – The Basics about Stocks for Kids & Teens

Age Range: 7+ years

What makes this an investing KIT instead of just an investing book?

When you get this for your child or teen, you get a $20 discount on a share of stock for them. You just help them (because they cannot buy stock on their own, under the age of 18) to pick out stock on GiveAShare.com, insert your coupon code, and they can own a piece of stock.

Psst: Yes, you read that right. The kit itself costs $14.95, and then you get a $20 discount on a stock! That's a no-brainer.

There are about 110 different stocks to choose from – many of them are companies your child will recognize, like Nintendo, Disney, or Coca-Cola – and some of them still come with a paper certificate of ownership (that would be cool, for your child to actually receive a stock certificate of ownership).

Then, they also get to learn all about their new piece of stocks (and investing in general) with the spiral-bound book that comes with it.

What I love about this is the first chapter takes the child through lots of investing concepts, from the viewpoint of being a shareholder (which, your child can now be, through your help!). For example, shareholders often receive mail from the company they partly own, and this chapter goes over the different pieces of mail you might receive. Other topics include Dividends, DRIPs, and more.

Kid's Investing Book #3: Investing for Kids, Dylin Redling and Allison Tom

Age Range: 8-12 years

This was a fun investing book read, and I think your kids will find it fun, too!

There are two beginning chapters on money 101, earning money, and saving money (including teaching compound interest) – something your kids will need to do before investing – and then the rest of the book explains lots of different investment strategies and ideas in a kid-friendly way.

Some things I love:

• Thinking about how to start a business by listing out things that “bug you” (aka, problems) that you can fix
• Ordering investment types by lowest risk to highest risk
• Really fleshing out how to research a company, in a very down-to-earth way so kids can understand it
• etc.

Great read!

Kid’s Investing Book #4: Growing Money: A Complete Investing Guide for Kids, Gail Karlitz

Age Range: 8-12 years

This book begins with an overview of the money supply, where money is made, how it’s circulated, inflation, etc. By the way, don’t let these terms scare you; the author breaks it down in everyday language for your kid(dos).

It then moves into savings as a very low-risk investment, before moving into bonds, and then finally the stock market for kids.

I like how this book ties things back to the Great Recession that started in 2008, after your child has learned how to understand the terms and such. I think this is important, as your child lived through that time and likely was confused (as many of us adults were) about what all was going on and why.

There are also sheets in the back to set up The Growing Money Investment Game. This gives your kid(dos) a chance to implement some of what they just learned instead of letting it sit and forgetting it several years later when they are ready to invest some money.

Kid’s Investing Book #5: The Young Investor, Katherine R. Bateman

Age Range: 9+ years

What I love about this book? The author, as a grandmother, wrote down all the things she wanted to teach her grandchildren about being comfortable with money and investing concepts. She, “…wanted them to know what people were talking about when they discussed emerging markets, rising interest rates, or consumer spending…”

This book is the result of her putting this info together for her own grandkids, and the (true) story of Billy Ray + his money is drizzled throughout to show how it all works in real life.

The purpose is very clear, “…how to make your money make money.” A very good purpose, indeed!

I enjoy her activity suggestions throughout that book that really connect your child’s personal world to money + investing. Such as having them bike around their neighborhood and take guesses at the structures that were built with money raised by bonds – such as hospitals, schools, and parking garages. Or her suggestion to find a stock report for a favorite company they’re familiar with.

Her explanation of the stock market? It’s like a local soccer league or major baseball league with “teams, players, and rules.”

Another thing I really like about this book is how she has both macro and microeconomics lessons that are tied into the every day, such as economic clues to look out for when watching the news (jobless claims, housing starts, etc.).

Kid’s Investing Book #6: Blue Chip Kids, David W. Bianchi

Age Range: 8-12 years

I love that this book acknowledges the fact that many Mamas are learning right alongside their kids!

Just look at their subheading: “What Every Child (and Parent) Should Know About Money, Investing, and the Stock Market”.

Bianchi is a father to a 13-year-old, as well as an investor and lawyer with an economics degree. He set out to create a guide for money and investing for his son, explaining lots of money and investing concepts in 100 bite-sized topics.

Answering such questions as what’s the difference between the stock market and the stock exchange, stock charts, and high-frequency investing, Bianchi opens your child up to a whole new world.

I specifically like the section on how to analyze companies – I need that training, for myself!

Kid’s Investing Book #7: How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000, James McKenna and Jeannine Glista

Age Range: 10-14 years

I love that this book is written by the creators of Bill Nye the Science Guy (c’mon, who else remembers him?).

While not fully focused on investing money – it skips the whole “what is money” thing but does go into great detail about getting a job, saving money, starting a business, and setting goals – this book is still a gem.

Some of the points/lessons I really like include:

• Cultivating a Million-Dollar Mindset (MDM)
• Making Short-term, Medium-Term, and Long-Term goals
• Asking for an allowance and/or allowance increase, but offering alternatives for when this does not work out
• The first, unglamorous jobs of really famous people in the likes of what your child is likely to find, such as Oprah’s job stocking grocery shelves and Michael Dell’s job washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant
• The concept of value investing, or sourcing undervalued stocks to purchase (buy low, sell high, right?)
• The various ways to NOT become a millionaire (debt, anyone?)

The message that really resonated with this farm-gal-turned-money-buff? “…when it comes to money, your past does not determine your future. NO matter what your lot in life, no matter where you live or how you live…there are plenty of examples of people who have come from nothing to become something.”

Hint: you'll want to follow these books up with things like investing board games for kids, stock market worksheets (PDFs), and compound interest activities for kids.

Investment Books for Teens

If you've got a teen who is dying to learn about investing (or, you're dying to introduce it to them…and hope that their enthusiasm will follow), then definitely check out books from this section.

Kid’s Investing Book #1: Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens, Robert T. Kiyosaki

Age Range: 11+ years

True wealth is measured by more than money, and Robert is working to help your teen be able to smartly communicate their money fluently.

As a fellow diary-keeper going waayyyyy back to kindergarten (for real! Thanks, Uncle Andy for buying me my first one), I wholeheartedly love how Robert encourages your kid(dos) to pick up a journal and spill the beans on all kinds of things. It’s truly a gift for themselves.

Parent PSA: Robert asks your child, in the introduction, “Do you sometimes feel that what you’re learning in school has nothing to do with your life?” and then your child is prompted to answer “Yes”, or “No.” He then goes on to explain that, like your child who just answered yes twice in the series of questions he asked, he struggled in school…and he still gets to lead exactly the life he wants.

Kid’s Investing Book #2: The Teenage Investor, Timothy Olsen

Age Range: 12+ years

Tim Olsen is actually a 13-year-old kid (at the time of writing this book) who bought this first stock at the age of 8! Actually, that’s why I’ve included this book in this investment books for kids’ list – I like that it’s from the perspective of a young person.

He was a beginner, just a few years ago, like your own child. Sometimes it’s easier to learn from someone who was recently a beginner.

Olsen emphasizes the need to keep your investing costs low (plus how to do so), and how you have to start saving your money in order to get ready to invest it. He illustrates how much your teen could have in investments by the time they’re 65 by starting with small sums your teen can grasp, like $50/month.

Kid’s Investing Book #3: The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens, David Gardner and Tom Gardner

Age Range: 12+ years

I like how this guidebook – from one of the most well-known investing financial organizations – emphasizes the role of mutual funds in a healthy portfolio.

They also have a large section that discusses all the ways your teen should analyze a company before figuring out if it’s a good investment or not.

They introduce the idea of financial independence, right from the beginning, which is a great goal for any child to go after. Also, that every dollar you spend is an investment – so you should spend your money wisely. Finally, I love the way they tell your child that they are a valuable asset in and of themselves.

Think of all your teen is going to accomplish in their lives!