3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires: Giveaway & Review: "Three Cups" . . . a Children's Storybook About Money [CLOSED]

I suppose it is a reflection of the economic times that I received a noticeably large amount of requests at the beginning of 2010 to review books and other products having to do with teach children how to handle money responsibly. This storybook appealed to me because my husband and I have been discussing starting an allowance for our 6yr old son.

Three Cups by Mark St. Germain is a children's book based on a true story, which tells about how a 5yr old boy learned to be responsible with his money in such a way that it stayed with him through college all the way up until he had his own 5yr old son. The lesson is based on the simple concept of the three cups, of which one represents "savings", the second "spending", and the third "charity". We have actually adopted a similar system with our own son's birthday money and other monetary gifts, except there was a fourth category for investing. I think we might just eliminate that fourth category because it makes the system too complicated for a young child.

I have to say that this is an excellent book and the story is well told. Having said that, my son was very resistant to sit down and read it with me because of the style of illustration. He said that it looked "boring." April Willy, the illustrator, did a great job evoking a timeless feeling with the cover and the pictures inside, but they are not appealing to a younger child like mine, who would prefer something more whimsical. My husband ended up reading Three Cups to my son as a bedtime story and my son actually apologized to me afterwards for being so resistant. He ended up enjoying the story very much, so I had to use the "You can't judge a book by its cover" line on him.

Ultimately, this book does a good job explaining several financial concepts to a child my son's age. It talks about savings accounts, deposits, and earning interest. It also shows the reward of saving for something one really wants and how nice it is to be generous to others you know and those you do not through donating money or goods to worthy charities.

At only $10.00 for a hardcover copy, this book would be an excellent gift for any school-aged child. I highly recommend this book for a child who is starting to receive an allowance for the first time. I am going to decorate three cups with my son especially to adopt this simple system because I think he is ready for an allowance.

You can purchase this book right on the 3 Cups website. You can also find it on Amazon.com where it happens to be eligible for Super Saver Shipping.

Thank you to Three Cups, LLC for providing us with a review copy of the book to base this article upon and for also offering a book as the prize for this contest.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive their own hardcover copy of Three Cups by Mark St. Germain.

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me something your child would like to save his or her money to buy (or you can tell me about something you are saving up for yourself). You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND 3CupsBook.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:

This contest ends on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!