Price: $6.99 at most bookstores

Who it's for: Four- to eight-year-olds

What it's about: In this charming story by Judith Viorst, Alexander gets a gift of $1 from his grandparents. He has lofty plans to save the money for a big-ticket item but instead blows it all in the face of life's temptations and regrets it.

Why it works: By age four, kids are old enough to grasp the basic concepts of saving and spending, but they're not likely to sit still for a lecture on the topic.

"When children are engaged by a story and see a character's life turn this way and that, they'll learn by example," says Margaret McKeown, a senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh.