一本让孩子思考金钱与价值的成长小说：《Millionaires for the Month》

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如果有一天，你的孩子突然得到一百万美元要花完，而且不能告诉任何人、不能捐、不能存，只能花掉——他们会怎么做？（其实大人也可以想想如果是自己的话会怎么做~~）

这就是美国作家 Stacy McAnulty 在小说《Millionaires for the Month》中设计的精彩故事开端。


🏦 故事简介

两个中学生——Felix Rannells 和 Benji Porter

——在一次偶然的机会里，把一位女亿万富翁落下的钱包归还给她。

按理说这是一件小小的善举，但这位亿万富翁却决定“考验”他们：

“我给你们三十天，每人一百万美元，你们必须全部花掉，

不能捐、不能送人、不能投资，也不能买别人给你买的东西。

否则——你们什么也得不到。”

听起来像是个梦幻般的任务，但当两位少年真的开始“花钱”的冒险，他们发现——金钱并不能解决一切，反而带来麻烦、误解，甚至友情的考验。

他们要学会权衡欲望与责任，学会思考“什么才是真正的财富”。

Felix Rannells

The seventh-grade teachers of Stirling Middle School did not put any thought into the important task of assigning field trip partners. Their poor decision-making had tethered Felix Rannells to Benji Porter for the entire day. When Felix received his assignment at 6:00  a.m., he considered faking an illness—something tough to prove, like a toothache—but his mom had already driven off. And the field trip was to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, a place he’d always wanted to go.

So instead, Felix climbed the bus steps and took the inside seat next to Benji. Felix tried to pass the two hours by reading, while Benji tried to entertain everyone by offering to do stupid tricks for money.

“For a dollar, I’ll eat gum from the bottom of the seat.”

“For a quarter, you can draw on my back with a Sharpie.”

“For ten dollars, I’ll moon that tractor-trailer.”

Benji wasn’t making much. He earned a buck off Aidan Rozman and a lot ofews from everyone else.

Ideally, Felix should have been paired with someone who respected rules, like a teacher. Or better yet, no partner at all. He liked to be alone, or maybe he was just used to it. Was there really any difference?

Benji and Felix knew each other, of course. They were in Ms. Chenoweth’s homeroom, and they both played basketball—Felix, a point guard, and Benji, a center. Benji’s nickname on the court was Barney (not that Felix would ever call him that) because he was the biggest guy out there, and he was always smiling. Benji had wavy brown hair, braces, and zits and would probably grow a mustache before they were out of middle school. And like the purple dinosaur, Benji was kind of awkward.



💬 作者介绍

Stacy McAnulty 是一位屡获好评的美国儿童文学作家，她原本是一名机械工程师，后来转向儿童创作。她的作品风格轻松幽默，却总能触动孩子的思考。

她擅长把看似普通的主题——数学、金钱、自我成长——写成既有趣又充满教育意义的故事。

她的代表作包括：

《The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl》（闪电女孩的误算）

《Millionaires for the Month》

《The World Ends in April》

《Forever Twelve》

以及她为低龄儿童写的绘本系列，比如《Our Universe》系列（如 Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years、Sun! One in a Billion

等）。



💡 推荐理由

培养理财观念的“小说课堂”

故事并不说教，却让孩子在笑声中反思：

“钱能买到幸福吗？”、“如果我真的有很多钱，我会怎么用？”

融合友情、成长与责任感

两位主角从“花钱比赛”中，慢慢懂得生活的意义与人与人之间的价值。

节奏快、情节有趣，适合中高年级阅读

故事充满轻喜剧色彩，又有悬念与温情，是一部既能引发讨论、又让孩子乐于读完的小说。

📚 适读年龄 & 蓝思值

适读年龄：9–13岁（小学高年级至初中）

Lexile（蓝思值）：约 680L–740L

（适合有一定英语阅读能力、能独立读章节书的孩子）



🏁 家长可以这样陪读
读前讨论：“如果你突然得到一百万美元，你会怎么花？”

读中思考：观察主角如何面对诱惑、冲突和友情考验。

读后反思：一起聊聊“真正的富有”是不是金钱带来的？


《Millionaires for the Month》不是一本讲“发财”的书，它是一本关于成长、选择与价值观的故事。

孩子在读完后，也许会惊讶地发现：

最值得珍惜的“财富”，

其实是

善良、智慧与友情。