# Lifestyles & Discussion > Family, Parenting & Education > Books & Literature >  libertarian books for kids?

## heavenlyboy34

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~

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## GunnyFreedom

_Have Spacesuit, Will Travel_ Robert A. Heinlein

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## Suzanimal

Good suggestions in this thread.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...t=tuttle+twins

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## TaftFan

http://tuttletwins.com/

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## Occam's Banana

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:




> 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.

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## Occam's Banana

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:

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## erowe1

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.

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## heavenlyboy34

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~

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## willwash

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.

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## Voluntarist

xxxxx

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## Bastiat's The Law



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## Bastiat's The Law

Another idea.

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## emazur

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

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## Cissy

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.

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## Ronin Truth

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...57.D4rdviRRZRI

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## r3volution 3.0

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

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## Occam's Banana

> 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*.

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