I Will Own a Castle

The stated purpose of I Will Own a Castle is “Helping children learn the value and skill of saving and investing!”

While choosing her costume for her birthday party, Miki, the seven-year-old protagonist of the story, sets herself some challenging goals. She wants to be a doctor and explorer and a princess.

Recognizing that this is a book about “helping children learn the value and skill of saving and investing”, it is reasonable that Miki’s mother focuses on helping Miki identify a financial goal (owning the biggest castle in FantasiaLand). Miki already has set up three financial streams for her money: savings, spending, and giving. Together Miki and her mother discuss and revise plans to achieve Miki’s castle ownership goal.

Having to wait before she can build her castle teaches Miki patience. A flood that destroys some of the space that Miki has just bought teaches Miki about the risks involved in investing. Miki’s mother helps her review her goal and realize that she needs to be determined in the face of challenges.

It took 11 long years, but finally, on her eighteenth birthday Miki was everything she wanted to be: a princess who owns a castle; an explorer who explores her castle; and a doctor who helps all the people who live in her castle.

THE END

Setting aside the fact that owning a castle doesn’t make you a princess and wearing a lab coat doesn’t make you a doctor, my main complaint about this book is the repeatedly stated goal that Miki’s castle has to be the biggest. This storyline is out of touch with today’s increasing awareness and concern about overconsumption.

This isn’t a small detail. Saving, planning, and investing to buy the biggest castle for yourself is the core message of this book.

Despite the great illustrations and the cute little owl and squirrel that accompany Miki on her financial journey, I can’t recommend the message in this book. Perhaps in a future book, when Miki has grown a bit older and wiser, she may want to review whether castle ownership is really all that she dreamt it would be?

Think carefully about whether your students/children need this book. Perhaps you want to invest your money elsewhere.