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Twenty-two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank
"A biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who from a young age was determined to make difference in the world and eventually revolutionized global antipoverty efforts by developing the innovative economic concept of micro-lending. Includes an afterword and author's sources"--
40 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Paula Yoo
12 books85 followersPaula Yoo is an acclaimed book author, TV writer/producer, and musician. Her children’s and Young Adult nonfiction books and novels have won many awards, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the National Book Award Longlist for Young People’s Literature, ALA-YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Honor, Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, the Asian Pacific American Youth Literature Award, several IRA Notables and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections, plus many starred reviews.
Her latest YA nonfiction book, RISING FROM THE ASHES: LOS ANGELES, 1992. EDWARD JAE SONG LEE, LATASHA HARLINS, RODNEY KING, AND A CITY ON FIRE, was published on May 7, 2024 by Norton Young Readers (W.W. Norton & Co.). It was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard and has received five stars so far from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Horn Book, School Library Journal, and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.
The paperback version of her award-winning YA nonfiction book, FROM A WHISPER TO A RALLYING CRY: THE KILLING OF VINCENT CHIN AND THE TRIAL THAT GALVANIZED THE ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT (Norton Young Readers 2021) is now available along with a teacher’s guide.
Paula is also the author of several award-winning nonfiction children’s books for Lee & Low Books which include SIXTEEN YEARS IN SIXTEEN SECONDS: THE SAMMY LEE STORY, SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY, and TWENTY-TWO CENTS: MUHAMMAD YUNUS AND THE VILLAGE BANK. All three picture book biographies are available in chapter book form in Lee & Low’s “THE STORY OF…” series. Paula’s three CONFETTI KIDS early reader books for Lee and Low include LILY’S NEW HOME, WANT TO PLAY, and THE PERFECT GIFT, which have received starred reviews and were chosen as a CCBC Choices by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections.
As an executive producer/screenwriter, Paula has written for over a dozen TV shows, from NBC’s The West Wing to Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle and The CW’s Supergirl. She has sold several TV pilots and features to places like Peacock, Onyx/Hulu, and Amazon. She has been a member of the WGA (Writers Guild of America) since 2002.
As a former journalist, Paula wrote for The Seattle Times, The Detroit News, and PEOPLE Magazine. She graduated with a B.A. cum laude in English from Yale University, an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College, where she was the recipient of the Larry Levis Fellowship in Fiction.
Paula also works as a professional violinist, having played with such ensembles as the Southeast Symphony, Vicente Chamber Orchestra, Torrance Symphony, Glendale Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony, and the Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra. She performed, toured and recorded with bands such as Il Divo, No Doubt, Fun, Arthur Lee, Love Revisited, Spiritualized, and the King Crimson tribute band The Great Deceivers. She is a member of the AFM Local 47 (American Federation of Musicians).
Paula lives with her family and cats in Los Angeles, California. Her brother, David Yoo, is also an acclaimed book author who has written many Young Adult and adult novels for Hyperion, Delacorte, Balzer & Bray, and Grand Central. https://www.daveyoo.com/author/
Her latest YA nonfiction book, RISING FROM THE ASHES: LOS ANGELES, 1992. EDWARD JAE SONG LEE, LATASHA HARLINS, RODNEY KING, AND A CITY ON FIRE, was published on May 7, 2024 by Norton Young Readers (W.W. Norton & Co.). It was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard and has received five stars so far from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Horn Book, School Library Journal, and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.
The paperback version of her award-winning YA nonfiction book, FROM A WHISPER TO A RALLYING CRY: THE KILLING OF VINCENT CHIN AND THE TRIAL THAT GALVANIZED THE ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT (Norton Young Readers 2021) is now available along with a teacher’s guide.
Paula is also the author of several award-winning nonfiction children’s books for Lee & Low Books which include SIXTEEN YEARS IN SIXTEEN SECONDS: THE SAMMY LEE STORY, SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY, and TWENTY-TWO CENTS: MUHAMMAD YUNUS AND THE VILLAGE BANK. All three picture book biographies are available in chapter book form in Lee & Low’s “THE STORY OF…” series. Paula’s three CONFETTI KIDS early reader books for Lee and Low include LILY’S NEW HOME, WANT TO PLAY, and THE PERFECT GIFT, which have received starred reviews and were chosen as a CCBC Choices by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections.
As an executive producer/screenwriter, Paula has written for over a dozen TV shows, from NBC’s The West Wing to Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle and The CW’s Supergirl. She has sold several TV pilots and features to places like Peacock, Onyx/Hulu, and Amazon. She has been a member of the WGA (Writers Guild of America) since 2002.
As a former journalist, Paula wrote for The Seattle Times, The Detroit News, and PEOPLE Magazine. She graduated with a B.A. cum laude in English from Yale University, an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College, where she was the recipient of the Larry Levis Fellowship in Fiction.
Paula also works as a professional violinist, having played with such ensembles as the Southeast Symphony, Vicente Chamber Orchestra, Torrance Symphony, Glendale Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony, and the Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra. She performed, toured and recorded with bands such as Il Divo, No Doubt, Fun, Arthur Lee, Love Revisited, Spiritualized, and the King Crimson tribute band The Great Deceivers. She is a member of the AFM Local 47 (American Federation of Musicians).
Paula lives with her family and cats in Los Angeles, California. Her brother, David Yoo, is also an acclaimed book author who has written many Young Adult and adult novels for Hyperion, Delacorte, Balzer & Bray, and Grand Central. https://www.daveyoo.com/author/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
March 19, 2018
Although the story and pictures aren’t especially engaging, this book is still a good way to simply explain the concept of micro finance in an accessible way.
January 7, 2015
When Muhammad Yunus was a boy growing up in Chittagong, Bangladesh, he witnessed a lot of poverty in this bustling city, on the streets and even at home, where his mother often gave food to hungry people who came to her door. But Muhammad was lucky, he lived in a two story house and was encouraged to go to school, and even join the Boy Scouts.
While still young, Muhammad began to notice that when people had just a few coins, it could feed a family for a week. His father had always told him to learn from the world, and so, when he traveled to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship, he saw how young college students like him were effectively demonstrating to against the Vietnam war.
While still in the US as a teacher, Muhammad began to organize rallies, too, calling for peace between Bangladesh and Pakistan, where fighting had broken out when British rule ended. When peace finally came, Muhammad went home. Now he was the head of the Economics Department at Chittagong University.
By then, Muhammad has accomplished much, but he wasn't done. He still saw poverty all around him. In 1976, he met a woman named Sufiya Begum. She and her children were very poor but she had to borrow money at a high interest rate from a moneylender in order to buy bamboo to weave her beautiful baskets. Paying back the loan left her with not enough money to feed her kids. It was a terrible cycle of poverty she and so many other women were caught up in.
Muhammad decided something needed to be done, so despite obstacles, he opened a new kind of bank, a microbank, that lent small amounts of money to women at low interest. The bank was called Grameen Bank, meaning village bank. What was different was that the borrowers were divided into groups and it was the group that borrowed and the group that made sure everyone in to paid back their individual loan. What a difference Muhammad's idea made in the lives of so many women and their children. So much of a difference that Muhammad was given a Noble Prize in 2006 for it. Not only that, but his banks were by now all over the world, helping other people like Sufiya.
What a wonderful job Paula Yoo has done writing not just the story of one man's life and how he helped change the lives of many other people, but also for bringing economic ideas to a level that young readers can understand without talking down to them.
Twenty-two Cents is a book every teacher or homeschooler will want to use to teach their students something about economics, about life in other countries and about how one person can make a difference. I thought how inspiring for kids to read about one man, one idea and a whole of lot of change for the better.
The pastel chalk illustrations by Jamel Akib add so much to the story. Done in a mixed palette of colors they at once reflect the richness of Bangladesh and the harshness of poverty.
Backmatter includes an Afterword, which should not be skipped, and a list of sources Yoo used for writing her excellent book.
Twenty-two Cents is a picture book for older readers you won't want to miss.
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Lee & Low
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
While still young, Muhammad began to notice that when people had just a few coins, it could feed a family for a week. His father had always told him to learn from the world, and so, when he traveled to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship, he saw how young college students like him were effectively demonstrating to against the Vietnam war.
While still in the US as a teacher, Muhammad began to organize rallies, too, calling for peace between Bangladesh and Pakistan, where fighting had broken out when British rule ended. When peace finally came, Muhammad went home. Now he was the head of the Economics Department at Chittagong University.
By then, Muhammad has accomplished much, but he wasn't done. He still saw poverty all around him. In 1976, he met a woman named Sufiya Begum. She and her children were very poor but she had to borrow money at a high interest rate from a moneylender in order to buy bamboo to weave her beautiful baskets. Paying back the loan left her with not enough money to feed her kids. It was a terrible cycle of poverty she and so many other women were caught up in.
Muhammad decided something needed to be done, so despite obstacles, he opened a new kind of bank, a microbank, that lent small amounts of money to women at low interest. The bank was called Grameen Bank, meaning village bank. What was different was that the borrowers were divided into groups and it was the group that borrowed and the group that made sure everyone in to paid back their individual loan. What a difference Muhammad's idea made in the lives of so many women and their children. So much of a difference that Muhammad was given a Noble Prize in 2006 for it. Not only that, but his banks were by now all over the world, helping other people like Sufiya.
What a wonderful job Paula Yoo has done writing not just the story of one man's life and how he helped change the lives of many other people, but also for bringing economic ideas to a level that young readers can understand without talking down to them.
Twenty-two Cents is a book every teacher or homeschooler will want to use to teach their students something about economics, about life in other countries and about how one person can make a difference. I thought how inspiring for kids to read about one man, one idea and a whole of lot of change for the better.
The pastel chalk illustrations by Jamel Akib add so much to the story. Done in a mixed palette of colors they at once reflect the richness of Bangladesh and the harshness of poverty.
Backmatter includes an Afterword, which should not be skipped, and a list of sources Yoo used for writing her excellent book.
Twenty-two Cents is a picture book for older readers you won't want to miss.
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Lee & Low
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
May 15, 2016
SUMMARY: Growing up in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus witnessed extreme poverty all around and was determined to eradicate it. In 1976, as an Economics professor, Muhammad met a young craftswoman in the village of Jobra who needed to borrow five taka (twenty-two cents) to buy materials. No bank would lend such a small amount to an uneducated woman, so she was forced to borrow from corrupt lenders who charged an unfair interest rate, and left her without enough profit to buy food. Muhammad realized that what stood in the way of her financial security was just a few cents. Inspired, Muhammad founded Grameen Bank where people could borrow small amounts of money to start a job, and then pay back the bank without exorbitant interest charges. Over the next few years, Muhammad’s compassion and determination changed the lives of millions of people by loaning the equivalent of more than ten billion US dollars in micro-credit. This has also served to advocate and empower the poor, especially women, who often have limited options. Twenty-two Cents is an inspiring story of economic innovation and a celebration of how one person―like one small loan―can make a positive difference in the lives of many.
REVIEW: This is an excellent summary of the life of Muhammad Yunus who even as a young boy was so concerned about families who did not have enough to eat and could not become self-sufficient through their own endeavors due to usurious loan practices of the money lenders and no availability of banks for microloans. Through determination and education, he helped poor, especially women, throughout the world develop their talents through the development of his Village Bank system. It has been so successful he has received awards from all over the world. This book is a quick, very interesting read about a man who has made a huge difference economically for many people and yet is relatively unknown.
FAVORITE QUOTE: "Learning from the world is the greatest learning."
REVIEW: This is an excellent summary of the life of Muhammad Yunus who even as a young boy was so concerned about families who did not have enough to eat and could not become self-sufficient through their own endeavors due to usurious loan practices of the money lenders and no availability of banks for microloans. Through determination and education, he helped poor, especially women, throughout the world develop their talents through the development of his Village Bank system. It has been so successful he has received awards from all over the world. This book is a quick, very interesting read about a man who has made a huge difference economically for many people and yet is relatively unknown.
FAVORITE QUOTE: "Learning from the world is the greatest learning."
December 31, 2021
Beggars wandered side by side with businessmen along the densely crowded Bengali streets.
Learning from the world is the greatest learning.
The Grameen Bank 16 decisions:
1.The four principles of the Grameen Bank - discipline, unity, courage and hard work;
2.Prosperity for the families;
3. Not to live in dilapidated houses;
4.Grow vegetables all the year around;
5.During the planting seasons, plant as many seedlings as possible;
6.Plan to keep our families small and minimize expenditures;
7.Educate the children and ensure that they can earn to pay for their education;
8.Always keep the children and the environment clean;
9.Build and use pit-latrines;
10.Drink tube-well water. If it is not available then boil water or use alum;
11.Not take any dowry in sons' weddings, neither give any dowry in daughters' weddings and keep the center free from the curse of dowry. Not to practice child marriage;
12.Not inflict any injustice on anyone or allow anyone to do so;
13. Collectively undertake bigger investments for higher income;
14.Always be ready to help each other. If anyone is in difficulty then all help them;
I15.f there is any breach of discipline in any center then help restore discipline;
16.Introduce physical exercise in all centers and take part in all social activities collectively."
Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. and for showing that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.
Learning from the world is the greatest learning.
The Grameen Bank 16 decisions:
1.The four principles of the Grameen Bank - discipline, unity, courage and hard work;
2.Prosperity for the families;
3. Not to live in dilapidated houses;
4.Grow vegetables all the year around;
5.During the planting seasons, plant as many seedlings as possible;
6.Plan to keep our families small and minimize expenditures;
7.Educate the children and ensure that they can earn to pay for their education;
8.Always keep the children and the environment clean;
9.Build and use pit-latrines;
10.Drink tube-well water. If it is not available then boil water or use alum;
11.Not take any dowry in sons' weddings, neither give any dowry in daughters' weddings and keep the center free from the curse of dowry. Not to practice child marriage;
12.Not inflict any injustice on anyone or allow anyone to do so;
13. Collectively undertake bigger investments for higher income;
14.Always be ready to help each other. If anyone is in difficulty then all help them;
I15.f there is any breach of discipline in any center then help restore discipline;
16.Introduce physical exercise in all centers and take part in all social activities collectively."
Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. and for showing that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.
February 19, 2016
Although some readers may consider this account of the origins of microfinance to be a little bit text-heavy, I found it intriguing, informing, and inspiring. The author tells the story of Muhammad Yunus who founded the Grameen Bank, which gives low-interest loans to individuals unlikely to get loans from traditional banks. Readers learn about his formative years, his years spent in the United States studying and then teaching economics, and his return to Bangladesh. Meeting Sufiya, a talented artisan trapped in the cycle of poverty, changed his life. Although he could have easily given money to Sufiya, he wanted her to be able to be self-sufficient. Microfinancing turned out to be the key to improving her life and the life of others. So invested was Yunus in his project that he established the bank when other, more traditional banks refused to help. The book's Afterword shows Yunus with his much-deserved Nobel Peace Prize and provides information about how branches of Grameen Banks have been established in the United States as well. A sucker for this sort of real life hero and social activist, I loved this story and its chalk pastel illustrations. This one is perfect for sharing with students in class or including in a text set centered around individuals who are making a difference in the world around them.
January 1, 2021
It is important to note that this book on Muhammad Yunus (founder of Grameen Bank, and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner) is part of a series of short biographical pieces on notable personalities intended for readers aged between 8-12. Therefore, for readers who are looking for something more detailed about either his learnings or the story of the Grameen Bank you are best to read "Banker of the Poor" (2003), "Building Social Business" (2011) or "A World of Three Zeros" (2018) and these three titles were also all written directly by Muhammad Yunus.
The story of Yunus and Grameen Bank is one that I would encourage everyone to become familiar with and I think for the intended audience this book gives a concise, engaging overview. The value concept and ideals Muhammad shows in the way he is able to see human potential in poorer people in a way that banks and moneylenders are not prepared, is the type of message we should be teaching children in the hope they can help us to create kinder future generations that allow society better conditions to prosper through the principles of generosity and equality (or rather as Grameen's mission would encourage, discipline, unity, courage and hard-work).
The story of Yunus and Grameen Bank is one that I would encourage everyone to become familiar with and I think for the intended audience this book gives a concise, engaging overview. The value concept and ideals Muhammad shows in the way he is able to see human potential in poorer people in a way that banks and moneylenders are not prepared, is the type of message we should be teaching children in the hope they can help us to create kinder future generations that allow society better conditions to prosper through the principles of generosity and equality (or rather as Grameen's mission would encourage, discipline, unity, courage and hard-work).
January 30, 2015
A biography of the “Banker To The Poor” for younger students is welcome, to help explain the serious problems of those who are both poor families in the world, and who are preyed upon by moneylenders. This story shares the path of Muhammad Yunus from childhood to the position of economics professor back in his homeland, Bangladesh. When he began to be more and more interested in the extreme poverty of a nearby town, and the mothers whose families were starving, but still making crafts to try to earn a little money, he began the dream of small loans, which became a worldwide enterprise, the Grameen Banks. It’s an inspiring story, and the pages illustrated by Jamel Akib add to the interest of the story.
December 15, 2015
Now, here's a person I'd love to meet! I've admired his work with helping women get out of poverty for years. This children's book describes his life from childhood in what is now Bangladesh to his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, and beyond. It relates how meeting one poor woman gave him the idea for a bank than grants microloans. Anyone reading this book should feel inspired to want to help too. I wish the author had provided information in the book about how children can help, or how their mothers could apply for a microloan. Still, I highly recommend this book and its revolutionary idea.
August 10, 2016
An inspiring picture book biography of economist Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameem Bank and its policies of microcredit banking. Paula Yoo does an excellent job distilling complex economic principles into an accessible narrative. Yoo with Jamel Akib's chalk pastels make Yunus and his vision come alive with compassion and common sense. This is an important biography with a transformational message that is overlooked and little understood, but extremely relevant in today's world. Readers of all ages will appreciate Muhammad Yunus contributions.
April 17, 2018
Muhammad Yunus was a very inspirational man and he created many great opportunities for many people. This story first teaches you about Muhammad's youth and what he experienced to make him become the man that he is. The story starts out with Muhammad as a youth with his mother while she is cooking, a poor women and her daughter knocked on their door asking for food. This was a common occurance at the Yunus residence, Muhammad's parents often helped out the less fortunate. Muhammad and his family lived in the bustling city of Chittagong, Bangladesh.
His mother Sofia Khatun and father Hazi Dula Mia Shoudagar both left school in their early years, but both pushed for Muhammad to receive the best education he could and explore the world in the best way that he could. He joined the boy scouts “Learning from the world is the greatest learning” Muhammad’s father told him (Yoo, & Akib, 2014) Being part of the boy scouts opened up Muhammad’s eyes to the world around him and he became very interested in helping others.
When Muhammad was only seventeen years old he enrolled in college at Dhaka University where he studied economic. After graduation Muhammad began his path in educating people in economics as a lecturer and research assistant, he won the Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States where he saw student protests and people questioning the way things are ran. While Muhammad accepted a teaching job in the U.S., there was turmoil in his home country.
After a great war where Bangladesh defeated Pakistan, Muhammad decided to go home and accepted a job at the economic department at Chittagong University. Here he witnessed what poverty was and how deeply it was affecting his home country. Muhammad spent some years interviewing people in low social economic situations. Here he stumbled upon a women named Sufiya who weaved stools from bamboo, she was in a vicious cycle of borrowing money from loan sharks. Wanting to help Sufiya, but not give her the money directly Muhammad set up a new way of banking.
Unlike other banks Muhammad's bank catered to women and not only that but women who had nothing to lose. Typical banks called these women “untouchables” deeming them worthless in the eyes of the bank. Grameen Banks or the “village bank” Muhammad created what is known as microfinancing, and later won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
This book has many strengths, it offers a diverse background with accurate and useful information about the protagonist. This book would be excellent to use in a discussion about influential people all around the world possibly paired with a book such as Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson. These books and other books can help support a strong understanding of different cultures and how people around the world are helping each other.
His mother Sofia Khatun and father Hazi Dula Mia Shoudagar both left school in their early years, but both pushed for Muhammad to receive the best education he could and explore the world in the best way that he could. He joined the boy scouts “Learning from the world is the greatest learning” Muhammad’s father told him (Yoo, & Akib, 2014) Being part of the boy scouts opened up Muhammad’s eyes to the world around him and he became very interested in helping others.
When Muhammad was only seventeen years old he enrolled in college at Dhaka University where he studied economic. After graduation Muhammad began his path in educating people in economics as a lecturer and research assistant, he won the Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States where he saw student protests and people questioning the way things are ran. While Muhammad accepted a teaching job in the U.S., there was turmoil in his home country.
After a great war where Bangladesh defeated Pakistan, Muhammad decided to go home and accepted a job at the economic department at Chittagong University. Here he witnessed what poverty was and how deeply it was affecting his home country. Muhammad spent some years interviewing people in low social economic situations. Here he stumbled upon a women named Sufiya who weaved stools from bamboo, she was in a vicious cycle of borrowing money from loan sharks. Wanting to help Sufiya, but not give her the money directly Muhammad set up a new way of banking.
Unlike other banks Muhammad's bank catered to women and not only that but women who had nothing to lose. Typical banks called these women “untouchables” deeming them worthless in the eyes of the bank. Grameen Banks or the “village bank” Muhammad created what is known as microfinancing, and later won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
This book has many strengths, it offers a diverse background with accurate and useful information about the protagonist. This book would be excellent to use in a discussion about influential people all around the world possibly paired with a book such as Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson. These books and other books can help support a strong understanding of different cultures and how people around the world are helping each other.
September 4, 2023
It's not every day one reads a biography of a banker.
Things I love about this book:
-I love how this book shows a person's curiosity, intellectual inquiry, how he chose to learn about a societal problem, and how his reflection on the problem led to possible solutions, than action.
-I love how this book is a biography for young people of a person of global significance from Bangladesh. I've never come across one before.
-I love how this book can help children understand why some people are poor.
-I love how this book can help children understand how some people are exploited. Poverty isn't necessarily their fault.
-I love how this book can show children the power of education.
-I love how this book can show children the power of accountability and collaboration.
-I love how this book shows kids why small loans aren't made (the text doesn't explicitly say that the costs to loan a high amount and a low amount are probably similar, therefore it makes sense for banks to pursue lending big amounts, but the adult sharing the book can explain that).
-I love how the author's note details the ageism Muhammad Yunus experienced. That's a very real prejudice for people to tackle.
-I would add a map (s) to show where his hometown is and where Bangladesh is on the planet. Not everyone will go get one to show a child where it is. Make it easy for them to learn that too.
Things I love about this book:
-I love how this book shows a person's curiosity, intellectual inquiry, how he chose to learn about a societal problem, and how his reflection on the problem led to possible solutions, than action.
-I love how this book is a biography for young people of a person of global significance from Bangladesh. I've never come across one before.
-I love how this book can help children understand why some people are poor.
-I love how this book can help children understand how some people are exploited. Poverty isn't necessarily their fault.
-I love how this book can show children the power of education.
-I love how this book can show children the power of accountability and collaboration.
-I love how this book shows kids why small loans aren't made (the text doesn't explicitly say that the costs to loan a high amount and a low amount are probably similar, therefore it makes sense for banks to pursue lending big amounts, but the adult sharing the book can explain that).
-I love how the author's note details the ageism Muhammad Yunus experienced. That's a very real prejudice for people to tackle.
-I would add a map (s) to show where his hometown is and where Bangladesh is on the planet. Not everyone will go get one to show a child where it is. Make it easy for them to learn that too.
January 7, 2022
Muhammad Yunus is an important person for his development of micro-lending and his criticism of IMF and WorldBank appraoches to global development. I think it's great that this biography was made so accessible so that young readers can have an introduction to this person, these concepts and criticisms of global finance, and to give young people an introduction to issues of global economics, in particular from a more anti-colonialism lens than is usual. I believe I mostly skimmed this book, I did not necessarily find it particularly astounding, but I don't recall there being anything wrong with it. That's probably mostly because I was mostly reading it to screen it to see if I should buy it as a YA library addition then for my own learning, as perhaps I should have. As I recall, it gets the job done. It's an easy and interesting enough read. I think it's an important addition to any YA library, and I highly recommend it for anyone particularly interested in YA biographies.
April 16, 2022
I'm always looking for new biographies/memoirs/stories to show students examples of role models and people who thought outside the box to solve problems. Muhammad Yunus is someone I knew nothing about but I know will be sharing his story with students. I did not know anything about microloans until a few years ago when I started regularly contributing to a microloan lender. It made so much sense to me. People who don't have huge gifts to give can contribute to microloans where all the smaller gifts join together to help others in the same way that the loans of small money help to change the lives not only of the individual but the families and their communities. This book was very well written and told the story in a wonderful way because it explained how this learning and thinking grew over time. Everything we learn can help us with our ideas later in time and every once and a while, create an idea that can make a tremendous difference.
May 27, 2017
This picture book biography of Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the micro-credit lending Grameen Bank is an inspiring tale of empowerment. The book begins with his childhood and includes background information about the political and economic situations of the time. This is a great book for introducing kids to breaking free from the cycle of poverty. It is also an inspirational message of how one person can improve the world. Readers of this book will be encouraged to start asking their own hard questions and perhaps find their own solutions to current and future problems.
See other books in our Inspiring Muslim Leaders and Thinkers booklist here:
https://kitaabworld.com/blogs/news/in...
See other books in our Inspiring Muslim Leaders and Thinkers booklist here:
https://kitaabworld.com/blogs/news/in...
April 26, 2018
Although Twenty- Two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank by Paula Yoo, is a biography of Muhammad Yunus, it also gives a glimpse of the life of women of Bangladesh. Women who gave all they had to pay back "mahajon's" the money they were loaned in order to produce goods to provide for their family. The book is mostly oil pastel illustrated; What I noticed was that when women were shown in the illustrations throughout the book, there was a bright ora around them. I would recommend this book for 5th graders who want to research about Nobel Peace Prize winners or any kind of social activists who have helped those who live in poverty. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, although the pages are a little wordy, it's definitely worth the read!
October 1, 2019
Maybe not the best format for the information.
One of those 'important but not particularly engaging' titles. Reads more like a middle grade book and has a small font size, but the large format and very accomplished but kind of bland pastels make this look like a much younger title. (Also, that size font is hard to read placed on light to medium textured pastels, more contrast would have been helpful.) I wonder if a non-fiction graphic novel might have grabbed the target audience more. Does a good job of explaining microcredit. Since it's already so verbose I wish it explained a little more about the partitioning and Bangladesh. Or even took a moment to try to explain to children why the majority of microcredit users are women.
One of those 'important but not particularly engaging' titles. Reads more like a middle grade book and has a small font size, but the large format and very accomplished but kind of bland pastels make this look like a much younger title. (Also, that size font is hard to read placed on light to medium textured pastels, more contrast would have been helpful.) I wonder if a non-fiction graphic novel might have grabbed the target audience more. Does a good job of explaining microcredit. Since it's already so verbose I wish it explained a little more about the partitioning and Bangladesh. Or even took a moment to try to explain to children why the majority of microcredit users are women.
May 27, 2018
A picture book biography of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, economics professor in Bangladesh who introduced micro loans. Not a book most kids will pick up and read, it would be a terrific read aloud for older kids to learn about poverty, the concept of micro loans, and how one determined person can change the life of many.
October 11, 2018
My roommate picked up this book and said that she was only going to read 4 pages out loud cause it was too long. And then we all got so into the story that we finished it instead of sleeping! Mind you this story isn’t long, but for a group of college girls to sit in a living room and listen to someone read a picture book out loud, it must be a pretty great story.
October 23, 2018
This book is very moving and inspirational, it really puts perspective on how troubled the world was at one time, with different problems than we have today. It is really awesome that so many people wanted to make a difference and made such efforts to make sure that the people of their village's could have more.
November 6, 2019
This book was cute but it was hard to finish because there are just too many words on one page to keep my attention. Children would probably not do well having this book read to them simply because of its length.
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May 12, 2022This book is a biographic picture book about Muhammad Yunus and his work in creating banking opportunities for the people in his hometown facing poverty. The book is inspirational but I feel like it paints poverty in a strange and misguiding way.
May 25, 2017
Illustrations are beautiful but the book is a page turner so its hard to stop reading and admire the illustration. cool story overall
June 6, 2017
Fascinating! I had never heard of this man or the important work he did. This would be great to use with math lessons to show kids how an economics professor helped poor people all over the world.
August 20, 2017
An important story, about microloans in Bangledesh, told through lovely images and informative, serviceable text.
October 12, 2017
This is a semi biographical. It has some information about Muhammad Yunus's life but really only the bits that are connected to him starting the Village Bank. It's a great book with amazing pictures.
June 13, 2018
lovely book.
January 27, 2021
Detailed and accessible, if not particularly lyrical.
January 9, 2025
Long-form non-fiction picture book biography recommended for ages 8-11. An amazing educational resource spanning finance, social work, women's studies, caste and class.
September 5, 2020
Ages 6 and up. The story of Bangladeshi Nobel Prize winner Dr. Yunus, his invention of the concept of microcredit and how that has come to help those living in poverty.
December 15, 2014
Richie’s Picks: TWENTY-TWO CENTS: MUHAMMAD YUNUS AND THE VILLAGE BANK by Paula Yoo and Jamel Akib, ill., Lee & Low, September 2014, 40p., ISBN: 978-1-60060-658-8
“We can change the world
Rearrange the world”
-- Graham Nash, “Chicago”
“Muhammad realized that Sufiya’s life depended on just a few cents a day. He reached into his pocket. It jingled with many coins. He could easily give Sufiya the twenty-two cents she needed to buy more bamboo. Then she wouldn’t owe the mahajon [loan shark] anything and could keep all the profits for herself.
“But Muhammad hesitated. If he gave Sufiya the money, she would always be dependent on strangers for charity. Giving her the twenty-two cents would not solve her problems in the long run. He needed to figure out a way to help Sufiya and others in her situation break out of the cycle of poverty.”
No real bank can afford to have its executives spend time making pocket-change loans to poor people. Right?
That’s what most educated adults would reckon. But Muhammad Yunus saw things differently.
Muhammad Yunus grew up learning compassion by watching his parents perform acts of charity and by participating in Boy Scout community service projects, The son of uneducated parents colonial India’s Bengal region. Muhammad was a good student who attended college to study economics, thinking that it would “teach him how to help the poor manage and save their money better.”
Yunus subsequently landed a Fulbright scholarship and a job teaching in a U.S. university. After the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh independence, he felt compelled to return home.
As the head of the economics department at Chittagong University, Yunus and his students encountered Sufiya Begum and other impoverished women who needed small loans to create sustainable lives. The banks would have nothing to do with them, so Muhammad Yunus decided to start his own bank to help these poor people.
“In 1977 he launched Grameen Bank, which means ‘village bank’ in the Bangla language of Bangladesh.” He developed a procedure through which a number of poor loan seekers would become a support system for one another.
Muhammad Yunus’s system worked. By 2006, when he and the bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their good work, this “banker to the poor” had changed lives by lending more than ten billion U.S. dollars to millions of people around the world.
It’s inspiring to read about someone who saw a problem, identified it, and came up with a brand new solution rather than just accepting things the way they were. As a child and adolescent, I occasionally read books that caused me to see things differently, books that changed my life. Investing ten or fifteen minutes in reading TWENTY-TWO CENTS could well have a similar effect on many of today’s young people.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
https://www.facebook.com/richie.parti...
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
“We can change the world
Rearrange the world”
-- Graham Nash, “Chicago”
“Muhammad realized that Sufiya’s life depended on just a few cents a day. He reached into his pocket. It jingled with many coins. He could easily give Sufiya the twenty-two cents she needed to buy more bamboo. Then she wouldn’t owe the mahajon [loan shark] anything and could keep all the profits for herself.
“But Muhammad hesitated. If he gave Sufiya the money, she would always be dependent on strangers for charity. Giving her the twenty-two cents would not solve her problems in the long run. He needed to figure out a way to help Sufiya and others in her situation break out of the cycle of poverty.”
No real bank can afford to have its executives spend time making pocket-change loans to poor people. Right?
That’s what most educated adults would reckon. But Muhammad Yunus saw things differently.
Muhammad Yunus grew up learning compassion by watching his parents perform acts of charity and by participating in Boy Scout community service projects, The son of uneducated parents colonial India’s Bengal region. Muhammad was a good student who attended college to study economics, thinking that it would “teach him how to help the poor manage and save their money better.”
Yunus subsequently landed a Fulbright scholarship and a job teaching in a U.S. university. After the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh independence, he felt compelled to return home.
As the head of the economics department at Chittagong University, Yunus and his students encountered Sufiya Begum and other impoverished women who needed small loans to create sustainable lives. The banks would have nothing to do with them, so Muhammad Yunus decided to start his own bank to help these poor people.
“In 1977 he launched Grameen Bank, which means ‘village bank’ in the Bangla language of Bangladesh.” He developed a procedure through which a number of poor loan seekers would become a support system for one another.
Muhammad Yunus’s system worked. By 2006, when he and the bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their good work, this “banker to the poor” had changed lives by lending more than ten billion U.S. dollars to millions of people around the world.
It’s inspiring to read about someone who saw a problem, identified it, and came up with a brand new solution rather than just accepting things the way they were. As a child and adolescent, I occasionally read books that caused me to see things differently, books that changed my life. Investing ten or fifteen minutes in reading TWENTY-TWO CENTS could well have a similar effect on many of today’s young people.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
https://www.facebook.com/richie.parti...
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
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