The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn a Living

Careers for Kids #3

by Karl Beckstrand, Yaniv Cahoua (Illustrator)

(Career/Business) #1 in 3 Amazon categories since May. Selected for Vermont’s elementary school financial literacy curriculum. “5 stars. A clever storyteller. … A very educational resource.” - Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite. A child with a knack for solving problems helps some hungry fish and finds a treasure. Illustrated Asian folk tale teaches the value of work and includes career and business ideas plus online resources (for ages 4+). Young children will be captivated by the story; older ones will want to apply the things they learn. 530 words in dyslexic-friendly font, by a former Silicon Valley recruiter. Hard cover, soft cover and ebook, 26 pages

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Business, Ebooks

26 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2017

About the author

Karl Beckstrand is the bestselling author-illustrator of 50+ cross-cultural children's and young adult books published through Premio Publishing and its KidsWorldBooks imprint (est. 2004, St. George, Utah). His titles have been reviewed by Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book, and School Library Journal, and adopted by the Library of Congress, the USDA (via Virginia Tech), and the State of Vermont for primary school curriculum. He has won the 2025 Global Book Award for Nonfiction (Abundant Paths), the 2016 International Book Award for Fiction (To Swallow the Earth: A Western Thriller), and the 2014 UP Author's Design Award (Bright Star, Night Star: An Astronomy Story). His biography Agnes's Rescue: The True Story of an Immigrant Girl is tied to the 2011 film 17 Miracles.
Raised in San Jose, California, Beckstrand earned a B.A. in Journalism from Brigham Young University, an M.A. in International Relations and Conflict Resolution from American Public University, and a film and broadcast certificate from the Film A Academy. He taught college media for eleven years and English to immigrants in North and South America. Before founding Premio, he was a technical recruiter in Silicon Valley, a Stanford Hospital chaplain, a Spanish interpreter for Angel Flight (aviator nonprofit), and a rock band front man. He consults in English and Spanish on publishing and cross-cultural education.

Reviews

[N.N. Heaven]

A boy is walking through the forest and spots an old woman sitting near the river. She looks perplexed and so the helpful boy offers his assistance. A folk tale teaching young and old the value of helping others, spotting an opportunity and making money.



The only word that comes to mind after reading this is brilliant! Beckstrand weaves a fable rich with subtext yet delightful for the youngest reader. The illustrations are gorgeous watercolor paintings with an Asian flair. The words, while simple to read (thanks to dyslexic-friendly font), convey themes of kindness, adventure, trying something new, helping others, making money and spotting opportunities. It reminded me of Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel. Geared for readers five and up, adults will enjoy reading this business fable. I highly recommend this diverse book and can’t wait to read more from this prolific author.



My Rating: 5 stars



This review first appeared: https://princessofthelight.wordpress.com

[Wayne McCoy]

'The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn a Living' by Karl Beckstrand with illustrations by Yaniv Cahoua is a story to spark imagination and innovation in young minds.

A child walking in the woods runs into some fish who are stuck. He finds a way to help the fish, and it turns into a chance to make some money.

The story gently teaches the story. The boy helps the fish, and ends up providing a service. There are additional activities in the back of the book to reinforce the lessons of the story.

It's a simply told story. The illustrations are rather nice. I liked the fact that the story wasn't so heavy-handed.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Premio Publishing & Gozo Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Ryan]

Color me not impressed. This story is supposed to be a parable on how to earn a living. A boy sets out in the woods, meets a woman who asks him to collect the sticks in the water so the fish might eat. Along comes a stranger who pays the boy to walk over the “bridge” he has created, and from now on, he spends his days getting paid for people to walk over his bridge. It’s supposed to be a life lesson on working and providing for your family, but I didn’t think it was that well done. The story was kind of boring and too simple.

[Kim Kirkham]

I received a free copy of this book. I found it to be quite insightful. This book will help open children's minds to their entrepreneurial spirit. I think I will also share it with some of my entrepreneur friends. The will LOVE this for their children!

[LyricTrotter]

The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn Money
By Karl Beckstrand
Genre:Children Illustrations, Entrepreneurial



Short and simple, yet effective.

Karl Beckstrand has presented us with a small illustrated story of a very young boy that finds his first step into the world of entrepreneurship. Although the story is small and not complex like most B-school directives, it is very effective, especially for the age group of five and above that is the target group.

Through a series of well illustrated images, we are taken into the story of a small boy who finds a reward for helping the needy. It is almost fable-like and didactic until one realizes a commercial overtone in the concluding pages, which is further elucidated in the last two pages. The story is quite economic yet cheerful and appealing.

We can all finish it in a single read and appreciate introductory business lessons given at the end. This book is recommended for all the school going entrepreneurs with a big dream. Have a jolly time reading through.

My Rating:3.5 /5(Give it a read)

P. S. :A word of gratitude to the author for providing a review copy.

[Anna del C. Dye]

The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn Money is entertaining and educative at the same time. The story of a kids who help a fish, is a great idea to teach children how to earn money. I remember when I was young, and even just barely married, how much stress I had trying to find ideas of how to make extra money for our small family.
In this book, you will find great ideas and all your children need to get into an entrepreneurial mindset. It will help you to teach your children the value of money and hard work. It will also guide your children to ask more questions and start thinking in a more down to earth manner. Most kids don’t know how to use their money or lack ideas and motivations to find and do something real to better themselves and their future. This book will help with this task. I think that it will be a great fit for all kids from a young age to adults alike. They are many adults who have no idea what to do with their future either, and this book will give them a little taste of reality. Great job Karl Beckstrand.

[January Gray]

An incredible book that teaches children how to create and use their ideas to achieve a goal. Beautiful little book. I recommend this for your children.

[Emily-Jane Orford]

In this fast-paced world of trinkets and high tech toys, it is so easy to get caught up with the newest and latest toy, discarding the old toys with random abandon. There is a growing need to take a step back and visualize what’s really important in life and how to create useful objects out of nothing. For one little boy, his ability to make ingenious and useful objects out of discarded things defined him as being very resourceful. In fact, it became a way in which he could earn a little bit of money and enjoy himself as well. A chance encounter with an old woman sitting by a stream turns into a very lucrative enterprise. When the boy asks the old woman what she is looking at, she simply says, “Trouble and treasure.” The boy asks for an explanation and she tells him that the scattering of branches in the stream is causing a blockage that the fish can’t swim past. And the treasure? That’s what the boy will discover when he bundles up the branches and allows the fish to swim past freely. And it’s not what you would think.



Karl Beckstrand’s picture book story, The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn a Living, is exactly what its title suggests: a parable. There was once a time when we would sit at the knees of elders and listen to stories and parables. We would learn from these parable because there was always a hidden message buried within the story lines. The tale unfolds like a story being shared by a clever storyteller. It is colorfully illustrated to help move the events along. At the end of the book, once the treasure is revealed, the author allows the reader to peruse some further ideas of how to build one’s own treasure and make a little bit of money. A very educational resource and a good story as well.

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite

[Rajalakshmi Prithviraj]

This is Karl's second book that I am reading, the first one being Muffy and Valor: A True Story. This story is completely different from the earlier one.

The story revolves around the values of hardwork, industry, initiative and confidence. In fact, this story is a great start to encourage children to learn the art of earning. By the way, if you want to know more about what exactly the story has in store, then read the book.

Karl never ceases to amaze me. The simplicity with which he puts across complex concepts is commendable. He surely has a way with words. His narration has no jerks, is lucid and evokes the right imageries throughout.

There is a protagonist and the story basically revolves around him. No major secondary character, except one, have much role to play. However, to be honest, neither the references nor the appearances of random characters seemed out of place.

To sum up, the story is a must read for every parent and teacher who wants to introduce the concepts of work, helping others and spotting opportunities. This story is perfect for introducing financial literacy to a child as young as three years old. I read it to my children and they are enamoured with the very idea of earning their own pocket money by helping around. It is an amazingly excellent story by a writer who understands children.

P.S - Karl is an amazing storyteller whose stories have a depth and substance. Loved this bridge of the golden woods. My review is my honest opinion after reading this story.

[J.L. Smith]

I'm all about anything that would help teach children how to learn anything by more efficient means, especially when it concerns both reading and the management and earning of money. So I was very excited to read this parable on how to earn money because this world is just downright crazy. You can't depend on any one thing. You have to have something of your own concerning the building of wealth in order to develop and sustain a future. Just as important, learning this should start as early as possible.


Personally, as I read I saw that it's not enough to just earn money but to prepared to earn as the titular character was, before the time for earning or opportunity arises. This is an important lesson because opportunities come up but if one is not prepared then said opportunity becomes wasted.




Among other valuable keys that children will take away from this is that obstacles will come but don't stop. It's easy to stop but don't. Those roadblocks can become roadmaps to the very afforded opportunities that were initially thought to be blocked.


It is always good for children to learn these lessons and the value of a dollar as young as possible so I'm giving this 5 stars out of 5 stars.

The illustrations are beautiful and the story and its message are easily understood.

[Angie Mangino]

The Bridge of the Golden Wood
By Karl Beckstrand
2017
Reviewed by Angie Mangino
Rating: 4 stars

In this “parable on how to earn money” for children, the author tells a story of a boy who finds a problem and in helping others discovers an opportunity to profit from his work solving the difficulty. The illustrations and short story give a strong message quite simply and effectively.

At the story’s end the author asks two questions:

What did the boy do that helped him to find the treasure?

How might you find treasure in trouble?

In reply to these questions is a paragraph of explanation for those who may need more clarification. Earning ideas with examples follow, offering encouragement that education, in any of its many forms, increases one’s income.

The book concludes with a website link “for information on finding customers, managing money, and moving up in an organization.”

While the book speaks to children, the message it contains is one that additionally would profit everyone, regardless of their age.


Angie Mangino currently works as a freelance journalist and book reviewer, additionally offering authors personalized critique service and copyediting of unpublished manuscripts. http://www.angiemangino.com

[Lilly]

Ok, I’m starting to love these children books and I don’t even have my own yet. This is my second book by Karl Beckstrand and I have not been let down yet. However, I believe “The Bridge of the Golden Wood” is not suitable for young ages, as 3-5 year olds may not fully understand the concept of money and where it comes from.

With this in mind, we have yet another great and wise story about a boy who, after freeing the fish from the river, uses the branches to build a bridge and help an old lady pass through it. With these lovely gestures, comes income for the poor boy. So every kind gesture is returned in one form or another. I believe this book encourages children to help where possible, while explaining a little the concept of making money.

Although there are some holes in the plot, I believe every page has reached its purpose. The illustrations are sometimes fuzzy, but when the focus is on a particular object or being, they are quite nice. From my kindle version, I would have wanted a bit brighter colors, but that did not make the experience any lesser.

All in all, I liked this book and, after two titles by Karl Beckstrand, I like his approach on providing useful lessons for children.

[Renee Delcourt]

This little gem is a book to encourage children to not just find clever and innovative ideas, but to use those ideas to better their lives. A little boy comes across a stream where an elder woman is concerned about branches that are blocking the fish from passing along. She encourages the boy to find a solution.

Now the illustrations are lovely, which in this house is important to my children. There's this little fox that seems to follow the boy around that my two middle children thought was the cutest. And he kind of is.

At the end of the book there even a few suggestions for children to encourage them to build their own business and make their own money. I thought this was a nice touch and some of the ideas were things I hadn't thought of encouraging my boys to do. I think they plan on doing one or two this summer even.

I would recommend this book to any family with children. It's an all ages book that can be read allowed at bed time or read in their own reading time.

I did receive this book from Net Galley for reviewing purposes. This does not change how I reviewed the book whatsoever.

[Barbara Ann]

This short picture book is an interesting tale about a young boy who is given a choice by an old woman. The reader is introduced to a young Asian boy who likes to make things and always carries tools with him. One day he is walking along a stream near his home when he comes across an old woman sitting on its banks. She appears to be staring at a pile of branches piled against the rocks in the stream. She informs the boy that these objects are both “trouble and treasure.” They are trouble for the fish that cannot swim past them, but she will offer him a treasure if the boy will help her. Immediately the clever boy comes up with an ingenious solution to solve the problem. Then the old woman disappears, but her promise is delivered in an unexpected way.

Beautiful watercolor illustrations enhance the uplifting message and serene mood of the book. Beckstrand includes interesting ideas and activities to enhance the book's value. My main criticism of the book lies in the layout of the text, which is so small that it is difficult to read. I would recommend the story, especially as a read-aloud for elementary grade children, though the message is certainly pertinent to any age group.

[Karisa Sortor]

Rating:
★★★★★ = I loved this book and would reread it to my children in the future.

Genre:
Childrens books

Plot:
A young boy learns a valuable lesson from an old woman he meets during his adventures

Pros:
1.) Well illustrated
2.) A good read for kids of all ages
3.) The length of the book is good for children with short attention spans.
4.) Children can learn from this book, not just look at pictures.


Cons:
1.) It is short. This is a good thing for fidgety children, not so much a good thing for older ones.


Quotes:
"Trouble and Treasure"


My thoughts:
I read this book to my children ages 3, 5, and 9. The three-year-old particularly loved the photos and proceeded to ask a million different questions about them which I loved. Any book that gets the conversation going is a good book in my eyes! My nine-year-old enjoyed the book as well. He did end up reading the book on his own later that day which was surprising to me because he doesn't tend to read much on his own. Personally, I like that the book kept my kids interested. The bit at the very end with ideas for kids on how to be frugal was awesome too. All in all a great read. I would love to read more books by this author to my children. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

[Teresa]

Once there was a boy who liked to make things is how this wonderful book starts out. The young boy meets an old lady at the stream he was playing in. She was staring at the water which was blocked by branches. She told the boy that this could be treasure or trouble. Trouble because the fish could not get through to food and treasure because the boy could do something with the wood. The boy thinks about and decides to help the fish. In doing so he turns the wood into treasure by his bundle of sticks being mistaken at first for a bridge. The boy ends up being able to make a living and help his family by allowing people to pay to cross his bridge.

This is really a great book and very short. I love books for the kids that teach them a lesson as well as being fun for them. At the back of the book there are some ideas for the kids to make money. Wonderful conversation starters for you and the kids.

[Lee]

I like this book. It's a very good parable with a lot of wisdom to impart. The illustrations are colorful and realistic, and I quickly got caught up in the story. It shows a good bit of industriousness on the part of the boy in the story. I like the setting in the woods, and how events center on nature. I think it makes it easy to relate to the resources around us as possible sources of income. When the boy happens upon this golden opportunity, he seizes it, and his whole family benefits from the steady money that comes in. And he seems happy to stay and keep this opportunity going. I like the creativeness and the tips and ideas at the end of the book. It's definitely a good children's book, and they could benefit from the story and moral behind it, as well as the extra content at the end. I recommend this book, The Bridge of the Golden Wood.

[Marichus Real]

The book reminds me of the legends I read when I was a little kid. Legends always with a message to learn. Be hard-worker and you’ll receive a reward. That’s what happens to the boy in this story.
At the end of the story, there are some pieces of advice which were very difficult to read because the size of the letters was very small. They are very good to encourage children to do some works. However, I think there is a big gap between the age of the children reading the book and the age of the children doing those kinds of works.
Although the pictures are very nice, one thing I don’t understand is why is there a raccoon in nearly every page of the book?
I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book.

[Magy]

A resourceful boy who loves to make things meets an old woman near a stream. The old woman points out a problem fish are having: old sticks piled up in the river are not allowing the fish to get upstream to eat. But, she also tells the boy that the sticks are treasure and worth as much as gold. Though the woman disappears before the boy understands, he decided to help the fish anyway and clear the sticks. As he finishes, the boy discovers how those sticks are as valuable as gold.

The Bridge of the Golden Wood illustrates how there are opportunities around us, even for children, to make money and to help others. The book also includes ideas and examples of how kids can earn money if they are so inclined.

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

[Dawn]

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

The Bridge of the Golden Wood is short but a good story with delightful and colorful illustrations. It’s good as just a story but older children might want to use the ideas to spot opportunities that they might otherwise have overlooked. The last three pages have ideas for earning money, working for others, or even working for yourself. It has examples and tips and of course suggests checking with an adult to make sure what is chosen is appropriate.

Great quote from the book: “The only guarantee of success is what you guarantee yourself through your imagination, effort, and persistence.”

[qazwiz]

Kids need this info

as we dumb down our educational system each new generation is becoming dependant on others, this book not only illustrates how a kid can earn money but also subtly points out Yes We CAN.

The missing star is due to missing substance in the story. The picture book story is mystical thus suggesting the subject is fantasy. Then the "suggestions" section is just text which may turn away the audience expecting a picture book.

Final section, which appears to be half the book (according to the kindle reader % read meter), looks to be a "what a prolific author, come hire him" section. I

But a smart kid Wil get ideas that may help him\her earn and start an occupation

[T.A. Beasley]

The Bridge of the Golden Wood tells the story of a boy who meets an older woman who teaches him the value of making money by using a talent. This is an educational book for children to learn about values, finance and responsibility. It provides not only a story, but also exercises and examples at the end, which relate to the activities the boy encounters in the book.

My favorite thing about this book is that it is a teaching book and leaves the reader with an interactive component. The illustrations were beautiful which enhanced the visual aspect of the book’s message. However, I would have preferred the characters to have names because it would have increased my connection with them.

[Sunnie]

This book by Karl Beckstrand is geared for children about age 5 and up. It is designed to help children learn about the value of work in their lives and how by working, you will receive a treasure in return. I felt this was an especially good concept for children to learn. There are some additional online resources and ideas for work that might help bring them a bit of treasure.
I think children with like this parable of learning how to do service for others.

I enjoyed the writing and the colorful and attractive pictures in the book. I think younger children will enjoy this book.

I received a free ebook from the author for my honest review.

[Carolyn Wilhelm]

This is a gentle lesson for children thoughtfully notice the wider world around them and use their thinking abilities to form new ideas and make their own opportunities in life. This is especially good for economics lessons in the primary grades. There are few resources at that level and we often do not teach children about the importance of making and saving money until their economic ideas have already formed. The author has free curriculum to support the book for teachers. At the end of the Kindle version, there are several teaching ideas as well.

[Susan Underbrink]

A big thank you to NetGalley and Premio Publishing for the free ARC. I had some issues with the PDF I could not get the words to enlarge so the text and pictures were too small. I had difficulty reading it and showing the pictures to anyone.. A 4 year old asked me why the boy kept turning into a red panda? It certainly appeared that way on several occasions. The story was simple and straightforward. Interesting parable.

[Tara]

I received this arc from Netgalley for an honest review.
When a boy comes across an old woman near the bank of the river, he learns an important life lesson. The woman points out the sticks and wood that have fallen across the river, blocking the fish from swimming downstream. The boy decides that he must do something and decides to see if it can be fixed. Beautiful illustrations and a good story.

[Holly Lenz]

The Bridge of the Golden Wood is a cute picture book with an inspiring message for young readers and lovely illustrations. After the story the book includes some helpful ideas which may be too old for the kids who would read or listen to the book, but the idea is to inspire, and it does that.

I'd reccomend this book for a large color screen or in print. It was hard to read on my black and white kindle ereader.

[Vanessah]

This is such a great little book for little kids! The little boy in this story was very determined and kind. It's a very great representation for everyone to follow!

However, I'm thinking the lesson of how to "earn a living" didn't teach us anything. I felt like the lesson could've been presented in a better way. Despite that though, I liked it! The illustrations were also outstanding. I loved it!

[giftedteacher]

This beautifully illustrated book has several important messages. It shows how helping others can also help oneself, and that ingenuity is rewarded. Many discoveries were accidentally found, as is true in this instance. I especially like that the story encourages children to become problem-solvers.

I received a free electronic copy of this book from the pubisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sandra Megyesi-hallas]

Excellent little book for children

This is a sweet story written for young children. The soft pictures in the book are lovely and the lesson of a young boy who is able to earn rewards because he chooses to help those in need is a good lesson to learn when young. So many important social skills can be taught in a gentle way when we are raising our children to become useful and kind adults. This is one of those gentle lessons which stay in the mind of your child.