Who would think that stories dealing with supply chains could or should be written for young children? Author Megan Preston did, and she created this inventive series of Supply Jane Adventure stories, presented in three colorful storybooks.
The stories teach about supply chain problems, and feature Jane and her dog Fifo as the problem solvers. The other story characters are people and dragons—an odd cast of characters that help make the stories entertaining. The three books are:
- Supply Jane and Fifo Fix the Flow – fixing problems with mineral water fountains caused by interrupted flow
- Supply Jane Clears the Way – a manufacturing supply chain for Dragon Food with inefficiencies to be identified and corrected
- Fifo Saves the Day – dragon eggs sitting too long before being sold present a problem solved by adopting a store policy of FIFO (first in, first out)
The books are 24 to 28 pages long and can easily be read in one sitting. The stories are interesting and will get children thinking about supply chain issues. However, the illustrations are likely to appeal most to students because of the cartoon-style drawings, rich colors, and fanciful inclusion of dragons.
The stories can be read aloud to children as young as five or six, and independent readers up through about age 10 can enjoy them on their own.
Supply Jane and Fifo Fix the Flow, the longest book of the three, has two extra pages with activity suggestions. One page has five images related to the story Supply Jane Clears the Way that are “hidden” within the book for children to find, images like the Dragon Food factory and a consumer eating from a box of Dragon Food. This is a cute way to tie the stories together, but it works even if children haven’t read the other story. The second page poses questions to help children think about supply chains regarding familiar products like toys, food, or other items in their homes.
The Supply Jane Adventure books aren’t the type of resource I normally review, but I think they address some important concepts that children should know even if they are not part of the normal curriculum.
