Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Book recommendations: age 9-12

blackcat, those were my thoughts exactly after reading the description.

The author and translators are pretty emphatic that it isn't actually a kids book, just written in language anyone can understand. (Which makes it fair game around here.) They also call it a critique of communism. I think the author is definitely anti-capitalist, but falls into more of a love/hate relationship with communism.

Here's the author being interviewed by one of the translators.

I wanted to add two magazine recommendations. AQUILA and Muse

AQUILA is pricey but DS10 really enjoys it.

Written by a professor of economics, Thomas J. DiLorenzo, the book The Problem with Socialism (2016) may be of interest for a gifted 11-year-old.

As a separate resource, there is a 72-page report (free downloadable PDF) dated October 2018, and titled "The Opportunity Costs of Socialism."

For future readers of this thread, adding a link to Books for 10yo who's read it all, in the General Discussion forum.

The Tuttle Twins series of books by Connor Boyack are intended for children ages 5-11 and include
The Tuttle Twins and the Search for Altas (2017) and The Tuttle Twins and the Road to Surfdom (2016).

These books are made available through the Mises Institute, which carries on the work of Austrian Economist Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973).

Several of Boyack's books are also available on Amazon, which provides customer reviews.

For future readers of this thread, adding a link to nonfiction books for middle schooler, in the General Discussion forum.

I think it is great that you are helping your son find resources to learn about this topic. The survey results at this link may be of interest. The annual poll (by YouGov, UK) basically asks Americans how much they know about socialism, communism, collectivism, Marxist ideology... and how favorably they view socialism, communism, collectivism, Marxist ideology:
1) https://victimsofcommunism.org/annual-poll/
2) 2017 - https://victimsofcommunism.org/annual-poll/2017-annual-poll/
3) 2018 - https://victimsofcommunism.org/annual-poll/2018-annual-poll/
4) 2019 - https://victimsofcommunism.org/annual-poll/2019-annual-poll/
It appears that the less one knows about socialism and communism, the more attractive these ideas are.
A free, 146-page curriculum is available on the VOC website and can be downloaded by clicking on "Programs" / "Education," and supplying your email address. The curriculum is titled, "Communism: Its Ideology, Its History, and Its Legacy," 2nd edition.

Others have recommended:
- the movie version of Dr. Zhivago, although both its length and adult themes may be somewhat of a distraction from observing the impacts of the Russian Revolution. Therefore even an 11-year-old who is quite gifted may benefit from watching with an adult who would provide guidance.
- the book "Tumbleweed," by Eddie Doherty, a biography of his wife, Catherine deHueck Doherty, who escaped communism.
- the book "Confucius Never Said," by Helen Raleigh (2014), "A four-generation family journey from repression and poverty to freedom and prosperity."

A friend has recently sent me a link to the website of Manning Johnson (1908-1959), a former Communist and author of Color, Communism, and Common Sense (1958). In addition to the 2009 Web Version which can be accessed free online, reprints of the 1958 edition are available for purchase at book stores and online at Amazon. The website of Manning Johnson also contains his Farewell Address (36:18), in which he discusses many issues which are still at the forefront today, more than 60 years later. An important slice of history.

More recent books by other authors which may be of interest include:
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism (2011)
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism (2017)
These are available in several formats: paperback, hardcover, audio books.

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UPDATE: As of March 2022, Manning Johnson's website is no longer active, however it has been archived many times over the years.
1) Read his book online, FREE:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220205041255/http://manningjohnson.org/book/CCCS_Contents.html
Reprints of his book are also widely available.

2) Listen to his farewell address posted online:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220206095915/http://manningjohnson.org/speech/Manning_Johnson--Farewell_Address-32k.mp3 (36:18)

3) Follow along with transcript of Manning Johnson's "Farewell Address"
https://web.archive.org/web/20210731144351/http://www.manningjohnson.org/speech/transcript.html
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For those interested in specifically examining economics, The Mises Institute has arranged its offerings to include groupings called "Study Resources," "Young Readers," "For Beginners."

The groups contain titles such as:
- Lessons for the Young Economist,
- An Introduction to Economic Reasoning, which is described as "aimed at teaching the intelligent young reader...,"
- Lessons from a Lemonade Stand, "...the ideas of freedom can heal our world and improve our lives...,"
- Concise Guide to Economics, "... connection between economics and freedom...,"
- Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action. "... modern civilization itself rests on the market economy...".

A capitalist economy is a market economy based on supply-and-demand, in which participants earn money by anticipating and meeting the wants and needs of others. It is very different from a socialist or communist economy, which is a government-controlled economy.