Meet Figgy. A small bear with big pockets, bigger ideas, and absolutely no idea how money works. Yet.
The truth is
They see us tap cards and assume money is invisible. They hear "we can't afford that" but don't understand why. And by the time they're old enough for a bank account, the habits are already formed.
What if we started earlier? What if the lessons came wrapped in a story they actually wanted to hear again?
Meet Figgy
Figgy has big eyes, a round belly, and one very deep pocket full of things that are definitely not money.
Figgy wants the shiny thing in the shop window. But shiny things cost coins, and coins don't just appear, no matter how confidently you try to sell a rock.
Through trial, error, and a lot of burnt biscuits, Figgy discovers that earning, saving, and sharing aren't just grown-up things. They're Figgy things too.
What this changes
For your child
Coins come from doing.
Not from asking, not from the card. Figgy tries five things. Only one works.
Waiting is a skill.
Not a punishment. The shiny thing's still there next Tuesday.
Giving sometimes feels better than keeping.
When Figgy hands Hazel a coin, your child feels it land before you've finished the sentence.
For you
Have the awkward money chat cold.
The story starts the conversation. You just answer the questions it sparks.
Repeat the same lesson five times.
A character they care about teaches it once. Then they remind you of it.
Wonder if any of it is landing.
"Mum, why did Figgy give Hazel the coin?" is the moment you'll know.
Book 1
A story about wanting, earning, failing, trying again, and discovering that the best things aren't always shiny.
By the last page, your child will start to understand:
19-page picture book · Story + four activity pages · Ages 5-8
A full story arc with Figgy learning where money actually comes from, four hands-on activity pages (drawing, sorting, a maze, and a planning worksheet), and a cliffhanger that makes them ask for Book 2.
A peek inside
"Figgy stared at the coin like it had fallen from the sky."
Why this exists
We had love, food on the table, and parents who worked themselves into the ground. We picked up plenty by watching them — patience, kindness, the value of hard work. But money itself was never explained. How it worked, where it came from, why we sometimes had less of it. That part was always in the background, never sat down and talked about.
I'm doing alright now. Educated, decent job — the kind of things I had to figure out the slow way. But I see the gap from both sides. The kids I grew up with who never got those money conversations, and the kids today who seem to think money just appears out of a card.
That's why Small Change Kids exists. To give every family a way to start those conversations early, without it being awkward, and without it costing more than a coffee.
We had everything ready for a printed book. We pulled it at the last minute. Going to print meant charging £14.99 to make the maths work — and that defeats the entire point.
Going digital means £4.99. Read it together on a phone, doodle the activities on a tablet, or print it at home if that's how you'd like to use it.
I hope Figgy becomes a small voice in the back of your child's head. The one that pipes up when they're trying to sell rocks, or saving for something shiny, or thinking about giving something up to help a friend.
The voice that says, "What would Figgy do?"
The journey ahead
Small Change Kids is a growing series. Each book follows Figgy through a new lesson, like saving, giving, fairness, and patience. Each one builds on the last.