Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Billy Wants It All: Value of Money: Billy Growing Up, Volume 7 is a fiction book for children, grades 4-6, written by James Minter and illustrated by Helen Rushworth. Billy hated going grocery shopping with his mom, but she thought it was only fair that he help her get the food he eats. The shopping trip did give him an opportunity to pick out a dental chew toy for Jacko and to point out some kids who were skateboarding to his mom. One of them had the skateboard that Billy really wanted -- the Element Nyjah Weaver. His mom wondered why the skateboard that he had bought from Don wasn't good enough anymore. Billy explained that he was getting really good and that Stu, who had been giving him lessons, thought he should compete in the under-fifteens category in the local skateboarding competition. That new board could help him build his technique and skills. It was an expensive board, however, and Billy's school also wanted the parents to buy computer tablets for their children. Billy would have to save up and buy his own board. Mum suggested giving skateboarding lessons to other kids as a way to invest in his board, and Granddad helped him figure out a company name and how to make his own business actually happen.

Billy goes into business for himself and becomes the youngest competitor ever to enter the under-fifteens category in the Boards and Bikes Skateboarding Competition in Billy Wants It All, but there's so much more going on in this early coming of age story. Billy's learning about responsibility in helping Mum shop and caring for Granddad after his surgery, and Jacko after his mishap. He's astounded when his mom tells him how much their house cost and begins to understand the need to manage money responsibly as she discusses how her and Billy's dad's money goes to pay their expenses. Billy Wants It All is an absorbing story that's got an exciting finish as Billy conquers his fears and actually competes with kids much older and more experienced than he is. Minter's plot is compelling and designed to reach kids without having them feel that they're being lectured to, and it reads beautifully. Rushford's illustrations effectively and often dramatically set the tone for each of the chapters they precede. Billy Wants It All: Value of Money: Billy Growing Up, Volume 7 is most highly recommended.