Should you ‘orange pill’ children? The case for Bitcoin kids books
Bitcoiners want to pass on their values to the next generation and BTC kids books aim to help. But is it education or indoctrination?
Any kid who doesnt learn something about Bitcoin is missing out, says Bitcoin advocate Ben De Waal.
De Waal explains that his 12-year-old daughter Samantha has already convinced a couple of her schoolmates and a teacher to hop on the
The book doesnt shy away from taking a few playful jabs at fiat currency, proclaiming that dollars, like rocks, dont mean much and gently introducing them to inflation in a passive-aggressive way.
The Silly State prints dollars, all day and all night. They Keep printing dollars, and prices take flight! the book declares.
I just think its important that children understand that money isnt just what the government says it is and that anyone should be free to use whatever money they like.
Sibley believes that children dont have the ability to think fiat is weird yet, but hes confident that hearing these stories with an underlying message now will come in handy later in life.
I have no doubt that as they get older, they will wonder why people had cash, went to banks no different than people in their 20s and 30s today find writing a check so odd, he says.
The simple lessons conveyed in these books can serve as a foundation for children to engage in a chinwag with their schoolmates, allowing them to develop their understanding even further.
De Waal says Sam is pretty good at actually kind of talking about Bitcoin to other kids and explaining What is Bitcoin? Why does Bitcoin exist?
She read the [Bitcoin Money book] to the class, and you know, there were a lot of questions which came out of that, which was great.
Parents want to orange pill their kids during bull markets
Interest in Bitcoin kids books is much higher during bull markets than bear markets.
The sales of Bitcoin kids books perfectly track the price of Bitcoin, says Moore, adding he can forecast his earnings several months in advance just by looking at the price.
Two to three months after the coin price goes up, theres more frequent sales, and then when the price goes down, you know theres a lot less sales, Moore adds.
Its not necessarily a lucrative area, though, and authors often do it as a labor of love rather than as a money-making scheme. For example, Don doesnt have a marketing team and relies on Bitcoiners on Twitter sharing photos of the book to help grow the books audience.
Sibley explains that the majority of his sales are to people already in the Bitcoin space that have or are starting families and sees those embracing alternative approaches to education as a potential audience.
We anticipate more homeschool families gravitating towards Bitcoin education, but that will take some time.
Similar to how Bitcoin requires time for mainstream adoption, the books for children are still a fair bit away from topping the charts anytime soon.
One of the most popular Bitcoin kids books sold on Amazon is Bitcoin Money: A Tale of Bitville Discovering Good Money by Michael Caras and Marina Yakubivska, which has more than 250 reviews and an average rating of 4.6.
My First Step in Crypto and Bitcoin Investing for Kids and Beginners: Simplified Introduction of Cryptocurrencies for Dummies by Sweet Smart Books and Kelly Rhodes is another hot product for Bitcoiners with 95 reviews and an average rating of 4.2.
But their success is relative: Mainstream kids books such as I Love You to the Moon and Back by Amelia Hepworth and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, have 66,074 and 33,920 ratings, respectively.
The authors personal motivations
The motivation behind creating a Bitcoin childrens book for many authors seems to originate from the desire to share their passions and beliefs with their offspring.
It is not uncommon for childrens books that tackle political or ideological concepts to be inspired by a desire from the author to communicate their beliefs to their own children.
For example, Ibram X. Kendi wrote Antiracist Baby to share his views on race and racism with his four-year-old daughter.
He said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that the idea was to open up the conversation with parents and little children about racism before they can even understand it.
The idea is that when theyre older, they will have heard so much about it, it wont be anything mysterious or taboo.
Similar books include A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara, which explores social justice and promotes LGBT equality through playful illustrations, and Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty, which challenges traditional gender roles through witty writing and creative drawings.
While anti-racists, activists and Bitcoiners all see teaching their beliefs to their kids as education, opponents may view it as indoctrination.
DeFi Dad, a popular crypto podcaster and influencer with over 152,000 Twitter followers, tells Magazine he has refrained from exposing his two young children to Bitcoin kids books and would be cautious to do so anytime soon.
As a parent, despite how bullish I am on crypto, I would still be cautious of any Bitcoin kids books until I read them myself to verify they are objectively educational and not some form of propaganda.
Even if the books present themselves to be educational, he believes that these books should be complementary to childrens education about fiat currencies and not replace any such books.
In the United States, I would bet more than 99% of children are not exposed to any form of education on fiat or basic finance, he says, adding there was a real lack of financial literacy as a result.
De Waal explains that, while he introduced Sam to reading books about Bitcoin and is running a Bitcoin family, he is OK if she decides to go her own way too.
Maybe one day, shell come to me and say, Hey, dad, you know, I think Bitcoin is terrible. Ill say, Okay, tell me why, you know, Explain to me why, and well discuss this. Im not just going to say, Youre wrong.
Explaining a complicated subject
The authors have the best of intentions, however. Moore says that he wrote B Is for Bitcoin with his young niece in mind, wanting to have something special to read to her.
Sibley explains that as a family with a then infant, he wanted to expose her to Bitcoin before she could even walk.
We wanted to be able to make it easier for her to be able to jump down the Bitcoin rabbit hole as early as possible, he says.
For Don, who isnt a parent, the motivation behind writing the book was because he found most so-called entry-level Bitcoin books too complicated for beginners.
Bitcoin can be daunting, difficult to explain, and even more difficult to wrap your mind around, he says.
One day, I was reading a so-called beginner book, and it really wasnt for beginners. So, I thought, Why not try to create a beautifully illustrated book that would appeal to people of all ages, something to ease people into the rabbit hole and that explains why Bitcoin is so important.
Despite not having a child of his own to test the book on, he was able to recruit his mates kids.
I was able to send the manuscript and illustrations to a number of friends with children for feedback, which I think proved incredibly helpful, he says.
The authors opt for self-publishing
Don asserts that while there is a market for childrens books about Bitcoin, publishing houses are hesitant to take the risk. He sent the manuscript and illustrations for Rhyming Bitcoin to a publishing agent he has a relationship with, but they questioned how profitable the book would actually be.
The feedback in terms of marketability wasnt great. Rather than fight an uphill battle there, I opted for more control through self-publishing.
Moore also opted for self-publishing, as he was reluctant to lose massively on sales, on the back end.
Although he acknowledges the advantage of getting your $200,000 advance through traditional publishing, he argues that relying on a publisher means betting less on yourself and forfeiting long-term rewards.
He draws a parallel to this arrangement, similar to being an employee rather than owning your own business.
What has the feedback been like?
Moore says the feedback has been great besides those Bitcoin maxis who werent too thrilled about the inclusion of a non-Bitcoin currency.
So, a few people who just wanted to be Bitcoin strictly, you know, Bitcoin maxis, of course, they werent huge fans that E was for Ethereum.
But overall, the feedback has been positive, with many parents happy they can share their love of Bitcoin with their offspring.
Its being able to share something that you love with your kid while teaching them how to read. Thats been the really heart-warming feedback that I want.
Bitcoin should be introduced to children naturally
While it may be tempting for Bitcoin maxis to orange pill their child as young as possible, Sibley says it is better to take baby steps when introducing Bitcoin to children.
He says:
If there are ways you can work in little lessons throughout the day when things are happening, that will probably stick the best.
Sibley explains that integrating Bitcoin into everyday life, along with reading books, is the best approach.
There was a service light on in our car that our daughter noticed one day and asked what it was. I explained to her how people have jobs fixing cars and that ours might need something done, but that would cost money. She then asked if wed pay in Bitcoin, which shows how she is already thinking about transactions for value.
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Author: Ciaran Lyons
