by Lorinda K. F. Newton

Scrolling through my Facebook feed one day, I noticed an ad for a children’s book series that highlighted a negative review. I don’t recall the exact wording, but the reviewer complained that the books brainwashed kids to believe in a conservative view for society. That sold me. I never bought a product impulsively based on an online ad before, but I saw that these books would be a valuable resource for homeschooling and educationally involved families.

I have intentionally taught my kids a biblical and conservative worldview since they were little. If parents don’t make a conscious effort to pass on their worldview to their children, the cultural elites— academia, mainstream media, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue—will. Their plan for society has birthed an overbearing government, anti-patriotism, and the recent riots that have destroyed the centers of many American cities.

Recognizing that schools no longer teach classical liberty, Connor Boyack wrote these books to instruct his kids on how a free society functions.

His worldview may seem a bit extreme to some readers, especially his apparent antagonism towards the government. Libertarians believe that the governments that rule the best rule the least.

Even if you don’t hold such a strong view about government,you will still find these books useful in training your children on how civics and economics work in a free society. Family discussions on how people hold different views on these topics will benefit everyone.

Many of the one-star reviewers on Amazon object to the reference to God in the first book, The Tuttle Twins Learn About the Law. I agree with Boyack that our inalienable rights come from God, and a government will only safeguard these rights if its leaders submit to a transcendent power. Despite this, those who may dislike “religion” will still find this series helpful. The other ten books don’t reference faith or God.

Meet the Tuttle Twins

Book #1, introduces readers to the nine-year-old twins, Ethan and Emily Tuttle. The publisher says after book one, the other books can be read in any order. Even so, some books do reference back to previous books, but generally, each adventure stands on its own.

These books seem to be a cross between the Boxcar Children series and the Magic School Bus series. Like the children characters in the Boxcar Children, Ethan and Emily seem too perfect and precocious as they engage with the community at a higher maturity level than most nine-year-olds. But these characteristics make them good role models, which our society dearly needs.

Each book’s message takes priority over the story line in the same way the Magic School Bus science lessons overshadow the adventures. Also similar to the Magic School Bus books, the numerous illustrations in this series move the story along. The length and reading level is comparable to the Magic School Bus series as well.

The author bases each book on a publication that expounds on a free society idea at a philosophical manner. For instance, presents the ideas of Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) in his book The Law.

The Rest of the Series

• The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil, based on the classic essay “I, Pencil” by Leonard Read, teaches children on how the free market allows people all over the world to work together to make pencils through trade and the division of labor.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Creature from Jekyll Island, based on G. Edward Griffin’s book The Creature from Jekyll Island, explains banking, bartering, inflation, and the monetary system.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Food Truck Fiasco, based on Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt, demonstrates the importance of competition and the problems caused by protectionism and excessive regulations.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Road to Surfdom, based on the book The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek, illustrates how government decisions, whether intended or not, can negatively affect businesses and their communities.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Golden Rule, based on Ron Paul’s book, A Foreign Policy of Freedom, encourages peace, friendship, and nonaggression towards others. The principle of nonaggression means one should “never attack another person or their belongings, and only use force to defend yourself.”
• The Tuttle Twins and the Search for Atlas, based on the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, contrasts the free market concepts of personal responsibility and the work ethic with the socialistic idea of equal pay regardless of skill and effort.
• The Tuttle Twins and Their Spectacular Show Business, based on Competition and Entrepreneurship by Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek, explains how to write a business plan, consider the financial risks, and handle competition.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Fate of the Future, based on Murray Rothbard’s essay, “Anatomy of the State,” teaches the libertarian concept of a predatory government and how to build a peaceful society through persuasion instead of coercion. This book recalls many of the concepts introduced in the previous volumes. I found this book encourages utopian thinking that fails to recognize the sinfulness of human nature.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Education Vacation, based on John Taylor Gatto’s book The Underground History of American Education, shows how public schools were designed as assembly lines to mold students according to what the state wants them to be instead of allowing students to follow their own interests and abilities. The Tuttle family chooses to homeschool the twins during an extended vacation, and the major cities of Europe become their classroom.
• The Tuttle Twins and the Messed Up Market, based on Human Action: A Treatise on Economics by Ludwig von Mises, demonstrates how subsidies, government interference, and individuals’ different motivations to be in business can mess up how a free market operates and can make it difficult for some to make a profit even though they have a good product.

Each book closes with a one-page summary of the book on which the lesson is based, has a short glossary (vocabulary for a school lesson), and five discussion questions. To extend the learning experience, Libertas Press has created an accompanying for each book and a weekly, free-market curriculum.

Despite a few libertarian beliefs that some others might find a bit extreme, overall, these books will serve as excellent tools for parents to teach their children how the free market and a free society works. And parents, I bet you will learn a thing or two as well.

Lorinda K. F. Newton began homeschooling her children in 2004, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She writes about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview at Lorinda’s Ponderings and Lorinda’s Ponderings on Facebook.