Volumes 1 & 2 out now
The Business Guinea Pigs
With Rocky, Mr. Grey, Toffy & Mojito
Economics and politics for kids 10+ – told as everyday adventures. Bilingual German/English, so bright minds learn the key terms in both languages at once. Knowledge school leaves out, told as a story.
New · paperback & eBook
Volume 1: Wer kassiert mit? (Who takes a cut?)
“Do you actually pay taxes?” With this question, neighbour Berger crashes the best lemonade stand on the street. Daria and Christian have no answer – but luckily four guinea pigs live in the garden who know more about money than many adults.
Income, costs, profit and taxes – worked out at a real lemonade stand. With the Business Guinea Pigs dictionary (German/English), profiles of all heroes and an activity page. 38 pages, fully illustrated in colour.
New · Volume 2 · ages 10+
Volume 2: The Lazy Supplier
The cheapest seller delivers late and poorly – and still wants his money. This time Mojito reads the fine print: it is about contracts, the small print and your rights – explained for kids.
Purchase contract, delivery, consumer rights and complaints – told as an everyday adventure, bilingual German/English. Available as a paperback and eBook.
The idea
Two kids encounter something in everyday life they do not understand – a lemonade stand, a payslip, rising prices. They come home, feed their four talking guinea pigs and tell them what happened. And then the pigs explain everything: economics, history, fairness – and the fine print.
① Everyday trigger
The kids run into something they do not know.
② Guinea pig time
Feeding, telling – the familiar routine in every volume.
③ Explanation
Each guinea pig explains from its own perspective.
④ Knowledge page
Key terms in German + English, briefly explained – plus outlook.
Four guinea pigs, four perspectives
Rocky
The showman
"Of course Rocky knows that – who else?"
Economics, entrepreneurship, stocks and markets. Charismatic, confident – turns every explanation into a performance.
Mr. Grey
The professor
"Even the Romans had this problem..."
History, politics, democracy and the EU. Precise, uses big words – and then explains them after all. Always right in the end.
Toffy
The heart
"But is it fair for everyone?"
Saving, social issues, fairness. Warm, empathetic, always a little hungry – the moral conscience of the group.
Mojito
The trickster
"Did you read the fine print? No? Pity."
Taxes, contracts, consumer rights. Funny, sarcastic – spots the catch everyone else misses.
And the two kids
The book character and the real-life inspiration
Daria
The entrepreneur
"Why wait? Let's just start!"
Always a new idea, acts first, sometimes thinks too little – and learns something new in every volume.
The book character and the real-life inspiration
Christian
The tinkerer
"Wait – did we really run the numbers?"
Prefers to calculate twice, wants to know HOW things work – and turns out right when everyone else has long since run off.
No coincidence: the two are named after us – Daria and Christian, the founders of FLITCH. The kids in the book embody us and our mission: stay curious, ask questions, do it yourself.
The real guinea pigs
Rocky, Mr. Grey, Toffy and Mojito really exist – they live in our garden. The four heroes of the books are based on our own guinea pigs. Here is how they got their names:
There were only meant to be three. Then Christian saw the fourth – and Mr. Grey simply belonged.
Ten volumes – knowledge that builds on itself
Each volume stands on its own – together they form the big arc: from the first lemonade stand to understanding how the economy, the state and Europe are connected.
VOLUME 1
Who takes a cut?
Daria opens a lemonade stand. It goes great – until an adult asks: “Do you pay taxes?”
Economics: income, expenses, profit Politics: taxes – what, why, where to?
VOLUME 2
The lazy supplier
The cheapest supplier delivers late and badly – and still wants money. Mojito reads the contract.
Economics: suppliers, price comparison, costs Politics: contracts, consumer rights
VOLUME 3
Rocky becomes boss!
The lemonade stand is to become a real company. But: business registration, liability, rules...
Economics: costing, types of companies Politics: business registration, GmbH
VOLUME 4
Why is so little left over?
The neighbour shows his payslip: gross a lot, net a little. What is deducted – and why?
Economics: wages, gross/net, social contributions Politics: unions, labour law
VOLUME 5
Everything is getting more expensive!
Toffy's favourite vegetable suddenly costs twice as much. Why? And what do politicians do about it?
Economics: inflation, supply & demand Politics: European Central Bank
VOLUME 6
Rocky buys a share
Rocky wants to invest the savings in shares. But what is a share – and what can go wrong?
Economics: shares, risk, returns Politics: stock exchange, regulators
VOLUME 7
The carrot bank
The XXL enclosure costs too much. A bank loan? Toffy is sceptical.
Economics: banks, interest, saving, credit Politics: creditworthiness, credit bureaus
VOLUME 8
Borderless!
A visitor from France: why does the euro exist? And what actually is the EU?
Economics: euro, trade, import/export Politics: EU, single market, European Parliament
VOLUME 9
Who decided that?
The city park is to be built over. The kids are angry – but how do you change that?
Economics: municipal budget, public goods Politics: democracy, elections, petitions
VOLUME 10
Rocky saves the day
A company goes bankrupt, a father loses his job. What is insolvency? What does the state do?
Economics: insolvency, the economic cycle Politics: welfare state, state aid
Bilingual. One of a kind.
Every page tells the story in German and English. Kids pick up economics and politics vocabulary in both languages along the way – a format that did not exist for these topics before.
Why economics for kids?
Kids are surrounded by economics every day: pocket money, supermarket prices, advertising, the first sales stand. But hardly anyone explains how it all connects – at school it often comes up late or not at all. That is exactly the gap the Business Guinea Pigs fill.
We believe learning should be fun. Those who understand income, costs and taxes at ten make more confident decisions at twenty. And those who experience it as a story – with four guinea pigs who know more about money than many adults – never forget it.
Volumes 1 and 2 are now available on Amazon – more volumes to come.
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