His debut book, “The Digital Transformation of Money” (2023), was written for adults. Now, he is reaching out to a younger audience with his new series, “Nimbus Presents Money Wise Tales: Adventures in Financial Literacy for Kids”.
“I want to create awareness and spread knowledge on this topic. We use money every day, we work for it, it’s the foundation of civilisation – yet many of us don’t really understand it,” Redza, 45, told FMT Lifestyle.
“We need to know how money works. Who makes money and determines what it’s worth? Does someone control it? Why do things keep getting more expensive? Understanding all these will help us make better decisions in our lives.”
The Petaling Jaya-born author believes children should be introduced to healthy financial habits from as young an age as possible, so they can grow up viewing money not as a source of stress but as a tool to be managed wisely.
Redza has over 17 years of experience in the finance, tech and public sectors, and has served at Khazanah Nasional, the United Nations, and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.
His new series, published by Dusit International Sdn Bhd, comprises five books: “The Terrific Token for Trade”, “Budi’s Budget Bonanza”, “Adam’s Enterprising Adventure”, “Sofi’s Spending Surprise”, and “The Magician’s Inflation Creation”.
Each edition is narrated by Nimbus, a fantastical and friendly Cumulus Cat, and features vibrant art by local illustrator Reja. The books tackle all sorts of topics including saving and spending, entrepreneurship, borrowing money and interest, and the causes of inflation.
The stories are told in a charming rhyming style evocative of Dr Seuss. Also provided are glossaries, fun activities, and questions to help readers reflect on and absorb some of what they have read.
While the books are meant for children, Redza believes older readers – including adults and teachers – will be able to learn something from them as well!
“I think if you understand something well enough, you should be able to explain it to anybody,” Redza shared. “So, I’ve tried to distil what I know into a financial knowledge foundation that should be able to benefit anyone.”
Still, he acknowledged that simplifying complicated financial topics to make them easily understandable for young readers could at times be difficult.
He also recalled sending a copy of an unpublished manuscript to a friend, who showed it to his nine-year-son. According to this friend, the child was captivated by the story, with a “spark” in his eyes as he read.
This gave Redza the confidence he needed to keep working on the series. Now, thanks to sponsors, 10,000 of his books have been distributed to 2,000 students across over 20 schools.
So, what’s next for him? The reluctant author says he only pens new books if he feels the need to share knowledge on something.
In the meantime, Redza is seeking help to translate his new series into Malay, and hopes the “Nimbus Presents Money Wise Tales” books will find homes on as many Malaysian shelves as possible.
“These books are a call to action to anyone who cares about or is interested in financial literacy. I hope we can start a movement to raise more awareness about it everywhere,” he concluded.
For more information or to purchase the book series, contact Redza Arbee via his website.