Jill Cataldo


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My Valentine’s Day gift: “Coupon Madness!”

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I had to share this hilarious Valentine’s Day gift I got from my husband today – a children’s book called “Coupon Madness!”

In the book, PBS Kids superhero WordGirl is called upon to fight crime when a grandmother decides to print up a bunch of counterfeit coupons for free items and use them all over town! Oh, this book’s got it all… theft, intrigue, and coupon fraud! Take a look…

“Granny May goes on a crime spree by using her coupon printing press to get things for free.” Now, grammarians have long argued that the term “for free” is grammatically incorrect, despite its wide use in the vernacular. I might have expected better from a PBS-endorsed Scholastic children’s book! But let’s continue…

Incredibly, the bank security guard fell for Granny’s coupon for “One Free Toaster… and ALL the Money in the Bank!” And the used car dealer accepted a coupon for a bunch of free cars, plus a semi to haul them away in. Oh, but Granny isn’t done…

The grocery store manager might have gone for Granny’s counterfeit coupon for Buy One Get One Free tuna… except for the part about turning over the free combination to the store’s safe. What kind of message is Granny sending here – when your fake coupon is denied, assault the store manager?

“It’s just so hard for a little old lady… Is it so wrong to hunt for bargains?” Ahh, but there’s a big difference between bargain-hunting and counterfeiting. As the book continues, WordGirl destroys Granny’s coupon printing press and the police take her to jail. Coupon counterfeiting doesn’t pay, kids.

Well, this was a memorable Valentine’s Day gift! It’s been a long time since I read a children’s book about couponing or bargain-hunting — “Don’t Forget The Oatmeal,” in which Cookie Monster decides to stock up on a year’s worth of cookies during a good sale, was my previous favorite. “Coupon Madness” will now join it on the shelf over my desk…

Comments

  1. Oh my gosh! That was clever of your husband finding that. I love finding things like that. Enjoy the rest of your Valentines Day!

  3. Who would have thought that there was a kids book about couponing, let alone, coupon fraud. You should shoot an email over to the people at TLC. If little kids know not to do it, then so should they. :)

    I loved the book. Have a great day! :)

  4. Granny May is one in the collection of villains on the show, as pictured on the back of the book. She is NOT related to Word Girl!

  6. That is so funny. Sometimes we catch that show when we wake up way too early. (It comes on at 6 am on WTTW)

    Also, as a knitter, I love that one of her Evil Super Powers is using her yarn and needles for nefarious purposes! Oh, did you think knitters were nice? Well, bless your heart!

    (No, seriously, if you google “I thought knitters were nice” there are all kinds of put out people complaining about how MEAN knitters are because the knitters won’t give them free stuff. It’s really funny.)

jillcataldoheadshotI'm Jill Cataldo, founder of Super-Couponing® workshops and author of the nationally-syndicated newspaper column and video series "Super-Couponing Tips" enjoyed by over 20 million people each week.

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