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MAY MOON RESCUES THE WORLD ECONOMY
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May said, thinking out loud. But she didn’t add the dark
thought in the back of her mind: It was clear that there
was at least one kid with a big problem—herself.
As if she could read her mind, the librarian said:
“Don’t worry about it, May. The whole town is going
through a difficult time just now. The economy’s bad.
All the adults are stressed. And that stress gets passed
on to the children.”
May knew what Mrs. Luck was talking about. The
grown-ups in town had been SO gloomy lately. Although
she knew more about saving money than most kids, she
didn’t understand the complicated world of economics,
which she knew was something about how money
and things moved from place to place and person to
person.
“I wish I understood all that stuff,” she said.
The librarian lowered the book she was reading.
“May, you already know more about money than all the
kids here, and probably many of the adults.”
“Yes, but I only know about pocket money and
savings and stuff. The news reports on TV keep talking
about stock market crashes and financial downturns
and that sort of thing. I don’t really get all that.”
Mrs. Luck nodded sympathetically.
“It IS complicated.”
From hearing grown-ups talk to each other, May
knew that young adults were finding it hard to get jobs,
and many older ones had lost theirs. Even grown-ups
who had kept their jobs, such as her mother, were
depressed.
Mrs. Luck, a tall woman who wore colourful clothes
and bright scarves, walked over to where May was sitting
and held out a book.
“Have a look at this,” she said. “It’s rather odd, but
it might be just what you need. I have no idea where it