I just received a set of the Tuttle Twins books series for elementary age kids! Woo-hoo! New books! Want an honest review of the series? Keep reading and I’ll deep dive into what these books teach and what our family really thought about them.
- What are the Tuttle Twins Books for Kids?
- What do the Tuttle Twins teach?
- What age group is the Tuttle Twins for?
- Are Tuttle Twins religious?
- Who writes the Tuttle Twins?
- Is Tuttle Twins a curriculum?
- What my kid thought about the Tuttle Twins books
- My honest review of the Tuttle Twins series
What are the Tuttle Twins Books for Kids?
The Tuttle Twins books are a series of 14 easy-to-read picture story books targeted for elementary-age learners that teach concepts of freedom, economics, and personal responsibility. They take difficult-to-understand concepts and boil them down into simple kid-friendly language with engaging illustrations.
The books center around 9-year-old twins, Emily and Ethan Tuttle, that go on fun adventures investigating the community around them and learning concepts about liberty. Each book is a stand-alone book and can be read independently.
Several of the books are based on classic texts written for adults that are paraphrased and adapted for younger audiences. The first book, for example, is based on as essay written in 1850 by a French economist Frederic Bastiat entitled, The Law. Except, the Tuttle Twins version is way more fun!
The Tuttle Twins Learn About the Law
Children are often taught that government protects our life, liberty, and property, but could it be true that some laws actually allow people to hurt us and take our things?
What do the Tuttle Twins teach?
The Tuttle Twins books series cover a vast array of economics and freedom-related topics that help children understand their role in community and government. They are a fabulous way to begin the discussion about civics and each individual’s contributions to our nation.
The Tuttle Twins series teaches kids about:
- Liberty
- Economics
- Personal responsibility
- Government
- Critical thinking
- Individual rights
- Free market
- Bartering & inflation
- The dangers of socialism
- Entrepreneurship
- Banking & interest
- Civics
- Capitalism
Tuttle Twins 14 Book Combo Pack
Read the first 14 Books By Conner Boyack and Illustrated by Elijah Stanfield – Libertas Institute
What age group is the Tuttle Twins for?
The Tuttle Twins books are targeted for elementary children ages 5-11. In the first book, the twins are said to be 9 years old and so it is no surprise that the reading level of these books seems appropriate for kids in the 2nd-3rd grade reading level.
But, since the books are filled with really well-done illustrations that are bright, captivating, and engaging, even younger children will enjoy hearing the books read aloud.
However, I even really enjoyed them as an adult! Truly! Reading through them, I was thinking they would make a good refresher for my older kids and teens on the concepts of free market and liberty. For an adult or teen, they’re a super quick read but concisely challenge the reader with well thought out arguments.
They make for fun and engaging whole-family discussions!
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Toddlers
On a side note, Tuttle Twins offers board books for toddlers focusing on the ABCs about liberty. How cute is that?
Tuttle Twins Toddler Books
Adorable board books for toddlers like the ABC’s of Economics, Liberty, and the American Revolution
Teens
They also offer books for teens. I haven’t tried those yet, but they are on my wish list for my older crew. They also offer a full online academy for teens with courses on entrepreneurship, logic & critical thinking, civics, and finance. Plus, more courses are in the works for economics, character, persuasion, as well as US and World History. I’m looking forward to checking these out soon.
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Are Tuttle Twins religious?
No, the Tuttle Twins books are not religious books. They do not promote or even mention a specific religion. The very first book in the series, The Law, mentions God as the source of our rights, but it is the only book in the series to do so.
The Tuttle Twins books are, however, clean and wholesome. In the stories, they promote good values and characteristics like family, learning from the elderly, appreciating wisdom, curiosity, valuing education and hard work along with promoting the values of liberty for which they are known.
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Who writes the Tuttle Twins?
The author of the Tuttle Twins series is Connor Boyack, the president of Libertas Institute, a free market think tank. He started writing the books back in 2012 for his own kids. He paired with the amazing illustrator, Elijah Standfield, for one book and the rest of the series grew from there!
Fast forward a little over a decade and they now have a podcast, a blog, an animated cartoon series, a monthly magazine for kids called the “Tuttle Times”, a US History Curriculum, an online teen curriculum, and books about liberty for toddlers, kids, and teens. Wow!
Is Tuttle Twins a curriculum?
No, the Tuttle Twins books are not technically a full-blown civics curriculum. However, the books do have companion PDF Activity Workbooks and could easily become part of your homeschool history or civics lessons. They pair especially well with American History studies!
The workbooks have activities that help kids think through the ideas presented in the books to deepen their understanding.
Included in the workbooks are things like
- coloring sheets
- handwriting copywork
- crossword puzzles
- fieldtrip ideas
- projects
- writing prompts
One nice perk is that the workbooks come in PDF so parents can reprint from them over and over as needed for multiple kids!
If you’re looking for more of a full curriculum, Tuttle Twins offers an elementary course called America’s History (1215-1776) and American’s History Volume 2 (1776-1791), but I haven’t tried it out yet myself. I would imagine the Tuttle Twins book series would pair with it very well.
What my kid thought about the Tuttle Twins books
When the books first arrived on our doorstep, my 5th grader eagerly ripped open the box. At first glance, she thought they looked babyish and easy, but she grabbed the first one and started reading.
She could blow through a book in about 20 minutes because they are geared for a slightly younger audience but enjoyed them so much that she read through the entire series over the course of 2 or 3 days. She said they were fabulous! Her favorites were book #1, #8, and the newest book #14.
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The compelling stories kept her interest but the advanced concepts in the stories snagged her curiosity and made her want to keep reading, despite the easy reading level. We’ve had some great discussions so far about the fresh concepts in the books.
My honest review of the Tuttle Twins Series
Quality
First, I was really impressed with the quality of the books. The text is simple and easy to read for a 2nd– 3rd grader. The illustrations are beautiful and bright. Physically, the books are inviting and pretty.
Content
But, most importantly, I was blown away with the content. Really! The author is able to translate difficult civic and government concepts into kid-friendly language in such a delightful way.
Concepts
After all, concepts like supply and demand, trade, inflation, and legal plunder are not typical topics of conversation for elementary age kids. But these books introduce all these topics and more. They definitely expanded my kid’s vocabulary – and solidified these concepts for me at the same time!
Controversy
I can completely understand why these books may be a bit controversial. In today’s divided society, concepts about capitalism and free market are not being taught to most children across the country. And while this series definitely leans libertarian, I appreciate that these books expose socialism and Marxism!
As someone who values freedom, I am so thankful to see books like these on the market for young kids! Even if a parent wants to hash out some of the nuances, it is a great beginning for family discussion.
Plus, since the books are simple free-standing stories, a publicly educated child or a homeschool kid can easily digest the books as a stand-alone product without it being part of a full curriculum. This also allows parents and educators to hand-pick which books to hand to kids.
Value
Honestly, reading through the books was even a great reminder for me of the principles of democracy and freedom. Anyone who values liberty will absolutely embrace the Tuttle Twins books as a great way to teach these important civic values to the next generation.
I am so excited to add these books to our homeschool library as staples of our civics teaching for kids! I haven’t been this excited about new kids books in a while!
Where to Buy
The best way to see everything Tuttle Twins has to offer is to jump over to their website to order any of their products, including the book series being reviewed here.
Tuttle Twins Show – Animated Cartoon Series
Your kids might also enjoy watching the Tuttle Twins show. The animated cartoon episodes are not the same as the book series. It’s a spin-off featuring grandma in a time-traveling wheelchair! So fun! You can stream it on Angel Studios.
Disclaimer: I received a set of the Tuttle Twins books series for the purpose of this review, but the opinions about the product are completely my own. I liked them so much that I subsequently decided to become an affiliate with the company. As such, I earn a small amount if you purchase products through the links on this page. Thanks! It really helps out this self-employed, private Mommy blogger!