About the Book
Book: Twelve Weeks to Midnight Blue
Author: Steve Searfoss
Genre: Fiction
Release date: January 26, 2020
Chance Sterling launches a pool cleaning business over the summer. Join Chance as he looks for new customers, discovers how much to charge them, recruits an employee, deals with difficult clients, and figures out how to make a profit. Oh, and his sister Addie wants in on the action too. Will they learn how to be business partners? He has twelve weeks to reach his goal. Will he make it? Only if he takes some chances.
KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the story.
I am a Christian and a parent. My wife and I pay close attention to the books and media our four children consume, and try to make sure the content is edifying, just as Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:8. I wanted to write a book that met that standard, and was also fun and engaging. KidVenture teaches kids the importance of hard work, of keeping your word and being trustworthy, and telling the truth, even when it means delivering bad news. As the story progresses, the protagonist understands that business is about more than making money as he appreciates the responsibility he has to his customers, his employee and his partner. How you treat people matters in tangible ways.
At the center of the story is a strong family. The two main characters are a brother and sister, who engage in their share of sibling rivalry, but also learn how to work together and forgive each other. At key junctures when they face big dilemmas, they turn to their parents for advice. The kids learn a healthy mix of independence, risk taking and learning through trial and error — balanced with knowing when to ask for help. All of this is presented in a way that is not preachy or hokey, but wrapped inside a story full of unexpected plot twists, witty banter and memorable characters.
Click here to get your copy!
When a boy desires a brand new bike, his father assists him in learning the value of a dollar by giving him the opportunity to clean the family pool. With illustrations showing calculations and more, the author creates a worthwhile story that demonstrates how Chance and his sister form a partnership to clean pools that capitalizes on their strengths.
Each chapter concludes with challenge questions designed to make the reader think. I feel this book does an excellent job explaining entrepreneurship and economics. I also appreciate how the author allows the readers to explore the thoughts of Chance and his sister as well as providing illustrations of those thoughts along with any calculations. The cooperation between Chance and his sister provides an excellent character-building acitivty for the reader.
I also appreciate how Chance’s father requires him to work for the bike rather than just giving him the money. I also enjoyed getting to know Chance’s clients as well as his friend Amit. It shows how we all make mistakes, but how we handle them makes a huge difference.
As the parent of four children, I wish this book existed when our children were younger. I definitely would have selected this book for them to read. I love the idea of children learning how to start a business because it helps them develop skills they can benefit from in the future. So if you have children or know of a young person who could benefit from this type of book, check it out for yourself.
About the Author
I wrote my first KidVenture book after years of making up stories to teach my kids about business and economics. Whenever they’d ask how something works or why things were a certain way, I would say, “Let’s pretend you have a business that sells…” and off we’d go. What would start as a simple hypothetical to explain a concept would become an adventure spanning several days as my kids would come back with new questions which would spawn more plot twists. Rather than give them quick answers, I tried to create cliffhangers to get them to really think through an idea and make the experience as interactive as possible.
I try to bring that same spirit of fun, curiosity and challenge to each KidVenture book. That’s why every chapter ends with a dilemma and a set of questions. KidVenture books are fun for kids to read alone, and even more fun to read together and discuss. There are plenty of books where kids learn about being doctors and astronauts and firefighters. There are hardly any where they learn what it’s like to run small business. KidVenture is different. The companies the kids start are modest and simple, but the themes are serious and important.
I’m an entrepreneur who has started a half dozen or so businesses and have had my share of failures. My dad was an entrepreneur and as a kid I used to love asking him about his business and learning the ins and outs of what to do and not do. Mistakes make the best stories — and the best lessons. I wanted to write a business book that was realistic, where you get to see the characters stumble and wander and reset, the way entrepreneurs do in real life. Unlike most books and movies where business is portrayed as easy, where all you need is one good idea and the desire to be successful, the characters in KidVenture find that every day brings new problems to solve.
More from Steve
I am a Christian and a parent. My wife and I pay close attention to the books and
media our four children consume, and try to make sure the content is edifying,
just as Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:8. I wanted to write a book that met that
standard, and was also fun and engaging. KidVenture teaches kids the importance
of hard work, of keeping your word and being trustworthy, and telling the truth,
even when it means delivering bad news. As the story progresses, the protagonist
understands that business is about more than making money as he appreciates
the responsibility he has to his customers, his employee and his partner. How you
treat people matters in tangible ways.
At the center of the story is a strong family. The two main characters are a
brother and sister, who engage in their share of sibling rivalry, but also learn how
to work together and forgive each other. At key junctures when they face big
dilemmas, they turn to their parents for advice. The kids learn a healthy mix of
independence, risk taking and learning through trial and error — balanced with
knowing when to ask for help. All of this is presented in a way that is not preachy
or hokey, but wrapped inside a story full of unexpected plot twists, witty banter
and memorable characters.
Blog Stops
Lots of Helpers, September 8
Cats in the Cradle Blog, September 8
Texas Book-aholic, September 9
For Him and My Family, September 10
Boondock Ramblings, September 10
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, September 11
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 12
Mary Hake, September 12
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, September 13
Inklings and notions, September 14
Blogging With Carol, September 14
deb’s Book Review, September 15
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, September 16
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 16
Little Homeschool on the Prairie, September 17
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, September 18
Splashes of Joy, September 18
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 19
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 20
Lights in a Dark World, September 20
The Meanderings of a Bookworm, September 21
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Steve is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/11817/twelve-weeks-to-midnight-blue-celebration-tour-giveaway
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