Title: Through the Maize
Author: Steve Searfoss
Series: KidVenture, book 3
Major Themes: Business, Finances, Farming
Synopsis: Chance has a new idea for a business—a corn maze—but will he be able to pull it together in time?
Over the past few years, I have enjoyed reading the first two KidVenture books, about a boy who started two different businesses. Each of these books taught children a lot about finances and business principles. My children didn’t enjoy them as much as I did, but I thought they were good encouragement. So, of course, I was quite interested in reading the third book, Through the Maize, when it was offered!
Publisher’s description:
Chance, Addie, and Sophie launch a new venture when they get lost in the country and stumble on the idea of starting a corn maze business. They quickly discover that while it’s easy to rush into a maze, finding your way out is hard. They will need to convince an investor to fund the venture, persuade a reluctant farmer to let them build their maze on his cornfield, and figure out a way to work with his headstrong nephew. Along the way, they will realize just how little they know about planting corn, designing mazes, and writing business plans. Through many twists and turns—and dead ends—they will learn how to keep a partnership together and what the true job of a leader is. There’s only one thing harder than finding your way out of a maze: creating a maze people want to get lost in.
My thoughts:
Through the Maize is my favorite so far in this series. There are a lot of lessons about business and finances, but even more of this book has to do with relationships and how to work with people. Chance was very excited about his new business opportunity, but very quickly found himself in over his head trying to figure out how to work with people. I really liked the way he asked his father for advice. The lessons Chance learned through the summer are valuable for anyone. As with the first two books in the series, there are frequent tables with the lessons he is learning. Some of these have to do with working with other people, and some are about the financial decisions he has to make. These tables help to keep all the lessons organized and clear. At the end of each chapter are several questions to help children think through the concepts and discuss what the right way to respond would be. The basic storyline in this book kept my interest all the way through, and I found myself laughing out loud at times; I love the humor that is woven into it. Chance’s 3-year-old brother is as funny as most toddlers, and of course, there is the broken joke detector that appears in each book.
I have not yet read this book to my children, so I don’t know what they will think about it. Their response to the first two books was disbelief that Chance could have been so foolish in some ways. Having had a bit more life experience, however, I can see how he would have missed some things that seem obvious when reading the story! I definitely like this series, and especially this third book, both for the life lessons taught and for the example of a family who works together, with a father who is there to offer help and advice when needed but who lets his children make mistakes and learn from them as well.
There is one thing I found annoying with this book—the formatting. I didn’t notice it when I read the ebook, but it made the print book harder to read. That was the beginning of the paragraphs: They are not indented. All three books are printed the same way, and I find that it makes it harder to know exactly who is talking. So, it’s not a huge deal, but rather jarring and distracting for me!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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