The Toothpaste Millionaire [Hardcover]

Jean Merrill (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Rufus, a sixth-grader, succeeds in business without really trying when he develops and markets his own toothpaste.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Merrill's idealistic construct of how to succeed in business without really trying functions both as a light story and as an explication of free enterprise mechanics." Booklist, ALA

About the Author

Jean Merrill is the award-winning author of over thirty books for children, including The Superlative Horse, The Black Sheep, and the wellknown satirical novel The Pushcart War.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (May 8, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395185114
• ISBN-13: 978-0395185117
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,571,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read & life lessons you don't realize you're learning, February 7, 2005

By 

Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Toothpaste Millionaire (Paperback)

SYNOPSIS: Rufus Mayflower is a kid with a great business sense and imagination. When he decides that toothpaste costs too much, he starts his own toothpaste making business with local kids. From his meager beginnings with re-used baby food jars up to a fully professional operation with stockholders and a tube-filling machine, he rakes in the cash and confounds the leaders of the pharmaceutical industry with his methods.

MY TAKE:
This book (purchased at a garage sale) became one of the books I re-read repeatedly throughout my youth. Besides being a great story about how a kid with imagination and ingenuity can outsmart even grownups (which I loved as a kid), it also teaches you to avoid sexism and racism without being "preachy" about it.

Growing up in a very rural area (there was literally only one black family in our high school), the fact that the book's genius is black was a positive idea for me to take in. Not only that, but Rufus Mayflower refuses to treat his best friend differently because she's white...or even a girl. (She's Kate McInstrey if I recall the name right..I'm writing from work and don't have my copy immediately handy).

The book also subtly teaches you a little about marketing, product costs and even "price wars". I probably learned more business ideas from this book than many classes at school.

As final proof of the lasting value of the book, I submit that I am now 34 years old, with my first child just born, and I intend to introduce the book to him when he's old enough. It's an "old" book that doesn't date for modern readers..after all, doesn't toothpaste still cost too much?

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars super as a text in entrepreneurship, August 2, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Toothpaste Millionaire (Paperback)

This book could be used to teach the whole content area of entrepreneurship! A black boy and a white girl, both sixth graders, make toothpaste from baking soda. From looking at their productive resources to getting a loan to issuing stock to a price war and collusion and exit opportunity, this story holds the attention of most preteen and early teen readers. lots of good vocabulary. math problems become real life problems to the main characters. very readable! i use this book with teachers as well as with my own elementary students.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of all the books I have read in my life, this book is my fav, February 29, 2004

By 

G. Shay (Wichita, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Toothpaste Millionaire (Paperback)

I first read this book approximately twenty-five years ago when I was in grade school. It kindled a fire of entrepreneurship deep within me. I often thought about the book throughout the years but did not remember the title or the author. Recently, I ran across it on Amazon.com. Now, I am thirty-five years old and using it to fan that same flame that has been instilled in my children. My kids love this book as much as I do. I firmly believe this book should be required reading for every child. In addition to entrepreneurship, it also contains lessons of true friendship, anti-racism and business finance. Of all the books I have read throughout my life, this is number one on my list!