Author Bair has serious finance credentials. She is a former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and current chair of Fannie Mae d, now, an author of whimsical personal finance books for young children. In each of the cautionary stories in the Money Tales series (2 titles), a fictional character in a fantastical setting makes a financial mistake, such as incurring large amounts of unnecessary debt from credit or signing an untenable mortgage. The consequences of that decision threaten the character with looming financial ruin. By the end, disaster is averted, and both character and reader are taught an explicit lesson about financial responsibility. Different illustrators create a distinct atmosphere for each tale. The stories are written in sometimes-strained rhyming verse with a didactic edge, and the message of each comes through unmistakably. Billy the Borrowing Blue-Footed Booby tells how an avian spendthrift "lost all, to his dismay, / While helping Seal get rich. / All because he had no control / When he got a spending itch." A factual appendix at the end of each book explores the concept in greater depth and may be more appropriate for older readers.