خطة ماميناتا

I read this aloud to my French class and the kids were glued to Maminata's story about her brother sending money from Mali. The lesson about spending wisely lands without feeling preachy, which is hard to pull off with eight-year-olds.

I read this with my kids to talk about saving money. The part where the brother gives her the cash and tells her to spend it wisely really got them thinking.

My niece is half Malian and we read this together in French — she lit up seeing a story about a family like hers. Maminata learning to spend her brother's money wisely is such a simple, warm lesson, and the French is easy enough for her to follow without me translating every line.