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Today I’m reviewing four children’s books about starting your own business, plus two wonderful new board book releases.
Kids’ Books About Starting a Business
I don’t remember going through a phase when I wanted to own a business as a kid (I wanted to write horror novels and be a spy: a perfect combo), but many kids do. My daughter says she wants to run a cat rescue pet store. I’m allergic to cats, so I told her she could do that when she moves out! These four children’s books are great for kids with big business ideas.
Leena Mo, CEO by Deena Shakir, illustrated by Nez Riaz
This delightful picture book releases on September 24. Leena Mo does not like doing chores. She’d rather be daydreaming up new invention ideas and tinkering. While shoveling snow — boring — Leena comes up with an idea for a new invention. She tinkers and creates a robot that sucks up snow. When neighbors see her robot, they want ones of their own, and Leena finds herself running a production line of robots and hiring help. Kids will love this whimsical read.
The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class: Rohan Murthy Has a Plan by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Kat Fajardo
The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class is my new favorite early chapter book series. In this one, 3rd grader Rohan Murthy wants to start his own business to raise money for the school’s garden. His mom is an entrepreneurial success, so he also wants to prove that he can be one, too. He decides to run a pet babysitting business, but there’s one giant problem — he doesn’t like touching animals. He’s never cared for a pet before, and he’s not sure he likes them. Can Rohan conquer his fears and run a successful business to raise money for the school garden?
Wednesday Wilson Gets Down to Business by Bree Galbraith, illustrated by Morgan Goble
This is the first book in a super fun early chapter book series that currently has three books in it. Wednesday is an entrepreneur, even though she hasn’t technically come up with a business idea quite yet. Her best friend is the future business’s vice president. She’s still brainstorming ideas for the business when she has an altercation with the class Emmas and blurts out that she’s making a Secret Keeper. What exactly is a Secret Keeper? Well, she needs to figure that out soon. I love that Wednesday has two moms, and the series does a great job of introducing and defining business terms for kids.
The Startup Squad by Brian Weisfeld & Nicole C. Kear
This is the first book in a middle grade series about entrepreneurship centering girls. Resa’s fifth-grade class is participating in a lemonade stand competition. Whichever group can raise the most money at their lemonade stands gets a special prize. Resa is paired with four other girls in her group, and initially, they struggle to make their differing visions align. Can they create a winning concept for their lemonade stand? Back matter includes entrepreneurial tips. There are currently three books in this series.
New Board Book Releases Out This Week
We Share This Neighborhood by Dan Saks, illustrated by Brooke Smart
This is the third book in the Community board book series. The other books are We Share This School and We Share This Earth. These upbeat, rhyming community board books celebrate the ways children can contribute to and enjoy the communities they’re members of. This one explores diverse families in four types of neighborhoods: suburban, urban, rural, and a trailer park. It’s a great series to gift new babies and toddlers.
Kitty-Corn Club: Things That Go by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
The Kitty-Corn picture books are so very popular, and now Hale and Pham are expanding the series to a younger audience with board books! It’s a rhythmic, silly picture book about a topic that is almost universally beloved by toddlers: things that go. Each page spread shows a series of related vehicles, except the fourth one is all wrong: “tricycle, bicycle, unicycle, popsicle?” These not quite right moments will create big laughs. This is a really entertaining and clever read.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Bookish Goodies
Book Lover Pencil Pack by PerryPencilCo
Start writing out your business plans with these fantastic bookish pencils. $9
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My daughter brought home her first homework assignment this week. She needed to cut out some words, sound them out, and then write them on a sheet of paper. She decided to draw an elaborate story about a cat going to the vet to pair with the words. I hope she always finds a way to make homework fun like this!
If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, X @AReaderlyMom, Bluesky @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.
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