Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: libertarian books for kids?

  1. #1

    Question libertarian books for kids?

    I'm planning on getting libertarian books aimed at grade schoolers this year. My church will have an Angel Tree in the narthex, and I'd like to get a kid or two into libertarianism at a young age via free literature. Can you suggest some titles? I'm not familiar with anything geared toward kiddos. :/ Thanx! ~hugs~
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12



  2. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  3. #2
    Have Spacesuit, Will Travel Robert A. Heinlein

  4. #3

  5. #4

  6. #5
    Bob Murphy has a children's book out - "The Three Lads and the Lizard King"

    It's available at amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Three-Lads-Liz...8086917&sr=1-1

    Here's a customer review from Amazon:

    Quote Originally Posted by G. Morin
    Full disclosure: I'm already an admirer of Robert Murphy's professional writing (economics) - he writes in a clear and engaging style and can make a subject as mundane as economics actually interesting and entertaining. So I was curious about his foray into the world of children's literature. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Not that I expected Bob to do a poor job but I'm thinking "It's a story for 8-10 year olds... how interesting can it be for a 40 something year old?" Thankfully my skepticism was shattered. Each chapter was a page turner. As each chapter ended I had no choice but to proceed to the next. I literally read it cover to cover in one sitting. There is no higher honor for an author then to write a book that is so engaging that the reader simply cannot set it aside. Bob achieve's that with this book

    For those of you who are fans of his economic works you won't be disappointed either. He manages to weave some basic lessons about money, value, trade, etc without hitting the reader over the head with it. I think most children will absorb the lesson without even realizing it it was in any way educational (it's also a lesson most adults need as well). But it is only a part of the overall story, I don't want to give the impression the whole thing is just some econ lesson in disguise. Overall it has everything a good children's book requires: relatable characters, adventure, exploration, overcoming challenges and some good old fashion fantasy. Highly recommended. You won't be disappointed.
    The Bastiat Collection · FREE PDF · FREE EPUB · PAPER
    Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850)

    • "When law and morality are in contradiction to each other, the citizen finds himself in the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense, or of losing his respect for the law."
      -- The Law (p. 54)
    • "Government is that great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
      -- Government (p. 99)
    • "[W]ar is always begun in the interest of the few, and at the expense of the many."
      -- Economic Sophisms - Second Series (p. 312)
    • "There are two principles that can never be reconciled - Liberty and Constraint."
      -- Harmonies of Political Economy - Book One (p. 447)

    · tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito ·

  7. #6
    You might also want to check out the "Tuttle Twins" stuff: http://tuttletwins.com

    They've got one on Frédéric Bastiat's The Law: http://tuttletwins.com/law/

    A page from which:

    Last edited by Occam's Banana; 12-08-2014 at 11:07 PM.

  8. #7
    I have heard great things about Richard Maybury's books.
    Here's one:
    http://www.amazon.com/Whatever-Happe...dp/0942617622/

    If you browse around on Amazon you'll see bunches more addressing various topics, often either advancing libertarian ideas, or covering historical periods from that slant, or teaching things about personal responsibility and finances and stuff.

  9. #8
    update: I spoke with the lady in charge of the drive, and I found that I can shop for kids from age 1-18 (the exact age will depend on the individual's card I find on the tree). I'll keep you updated in the future and if I need moar ideas. ~hugs~
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12



  10. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  11. #9
    I think classics like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Ant and the Grasshopper" are good for teaching about respecting private property and taking care of yourself.
    I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States...When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank...You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, I will rout you out!

    Andrew Jackson, 1834

  12. #10
    xxxxx
    Last edited by Voluntarist; 05-13-2016 at 12:08 PM.
    You have the right to remain silent. Anything you post to the internet can and will be used to humiliate you.

  13. #11

  14. #12

  15. #13
    I remember hearing an interview with an author who did a libertarian children's book in the style of Dr. Seuss but unfortunately I can't recall the name of the author or book. Sounded interesting though

  16. #14
    Interesting premise, but the author of the book excerpted above isn't using any subtlety. Obvious morals turn off most folks; no one likes being talked down to. I hope that isn't an accurate representation of the whole book.

  17. #15

  18. #16
    I'd suggest history books as a starting point: nothing libertarian at all, just good age-appropriate history books. Go with either adventurous narrative history (e.g. something about Julius Caesar or Magellan) or a reference work like an historical atlas (map, pictures, and brief descriptions of different historical societies). This gets them interested in how different societies work and (given the powerful imagination of children) how society ought to work, which is the segue into ethics. Then, come adolescence, when most every kid becomes a bit rebellious, they start thinking about ethics in a more critical way: rebelling against this or that convention. At this point, give them Orwell, Huxley, or Ayn Rand. You're trying to instill in them an intuitive love for liberty and dislike of government authority. This is a basis for deotological libertarianism. Last comes economics (and thus consequentialist libertarianism). Since they're already hostile to state intervention for purely moral reasons, give them something which weaves the moral and economic case together. Mises' "Ominipotent Government" would be good, or Bastiat's "The Law." Once they're interested in economics in its own right, just point them to the LvMI library and let them go hog wild.

    tl;dr -- for grade-schoolers, just find some nice history books, that'll set them on the right path even though there's nothing explicitly libertarian in them
    Last edited by r3volution 3.0; 09-05-2015 at 01:45 AM.



  19. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Occam's Banana View Post
    You might also want to check out the "Tuttle Twins" stuff: http://tuttletwins.com

    They've got one on Frédéric Bastiat's The Law: http://tuttletwins.com/law/
    Bump for CNN vs. The Tuttle Twins.



Similar Threads

  1. libertarian books for kids?
    By heavenlyboy34 in forum Education Freedom
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 12-08-2014, 11:05 PM
  2. Books for kids
    By wharfrat in forum Ron Paul Forum
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 08-11-2011, 11:22 AM
  3. Green Books for Kids and the Environmentalists' Meltdown
    By FrankRep in forum Education Freedom
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-10-2010, 07:33 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •