PRUNEDALE >> When going to the store, many of us find ourselves in situations where we have to make spending decisions. This is not something that begins in adulthood, as even kids have had to ask questions like, “Should I spend my $1 on a pack of gum or something else?” or “Should I buy that toy now or save up money for more toys?”

To ensure kids make smart financial decisions before they begin spending money, author Christina Davis has made that the theme of her new children’s book, “Tilly the Troll’s Shopping Spree,” which she raised funds for on Kickstarter and will release in April for National Financial Literacy Month.

Davis, now a resident of Prunedale, grew up in Boulder Creek where she read a lot of books out of her local library. By the time she turned 12, she began writing her own books.

“I ran out of books to read that were like the type of thing that I wanted to read,” she said. “I’d gone through all the shelves.”

Being homeschooled, Davis had a lot of time to write books and wrote four or five throughout her high school years. Her love of writing led to a degree in journalism from San Jose State University and then a seven-year career at the Sentinel. Writing under her maiden name of Christina Gullickson, Davis initially worked as an intern taking sports scores over the phone, then wore several hats as a sports writer, copy editor, page designer and later as the paper’s online editor.

Throughout it all, Davis continued writing books as a hobby and eventually published her Da’Valia young adult fantasy trilogy about a half-human thief looking to make a name for herself. As she got more involved in the world of publishing, writing became more of a business than a hobby.

In 2023, Davis moved into the world of children’s picture books with her Enchanted Rainbow Realm Series about the exploits of unicorns in a magical world, all featuring messages of kindness.

“Whatever their theme is, it ties into kindness somehow, mostly around social-emotional skills that young kids would probably be developing around the time that they’d be reading those books,” she said.

Davis said her current book, “Tilly the Troll’s Shopping Spree,” was inspired by her daughter Savona getting an early lesson in financial responsibility. For her 4th birthday a few years ago, Savona received a gift card to a local toy store, and Davis said she wanted to buy everything on the shelves, including baby dolls, crafting supplies and puzzles.

“Pretty much everything in the store, she held up at one point because she wanted to buy it,” she said. “Towards the end of our excursion, which I think lasted over half an hour, she had really hard choices to make, so just watching her do that was a learning experience for me.”

Savona ended up settling on a superhero costume, which Davis said she has worn often since. The situation got her thinking about how often kids want to purchase things not on their parents’ shopping lists, so she felt it would make for a good story involving her character Tilly the Troll, who was actually the antagonist in a previous book.

“Tilly the Troll’s Shopping Spree” sees Tilly eyeing a pair of enchanted high tops at the flea market and taking out her life savings to buy them. However, the salespeople try to sell her on other clothing, leaving her with insufficient funds by the time she gets to the shoe aisle. With returns not allowed, Tilly saves up enough gold to be able to buy the shoes after a year, but to save herself from impulse buys, she makes a shopping list.

“I’m pretty passionate about personal finance, so this is my love of storytelling and my love of that combined,” said Davis.

After previously publishing her young adult books through Amazon, Davis decided she wanted a little more control over the final product. She attended an independent publishing conference in Las Vegas where one of the speakers talked about getting published through Kickstarter, and decided to use the site to raise funds to publish “Shopping Spree.”

“I thought that sounded like a good idea as long as I could have a quality product that I was proud of,” she said.

The book features illustrations by Jane Sparks, which Davis is always delighted to see.

“The coolest part (of the process) to me is when my illustrator sends back her sketches for the storyboard of what I’m thinking of because she just gets me,” she said. “She can bring that to life in a way that I’m actually not very skilled at. I’m more of a word person than a visual artist. I can think visually, but if I try to draw on a piece of paper, it’s not gonna look right. She is just super talented.”

The book has raised $1,052 of its $1,000 pledge goal with a funding deadline of Sunday. It will be sold on Davis’ website starting in April.

Davis hopes readers will take away a sense of mindfulness when it comes to spending. The book will also include reading comprehension questions and activity lists where kids can make their own shopping lists.

“If they can start to learn that now when they’re elementary school-aged or preschool-aged even, then I think they’ll be a lot better off later in life,” she said. “My hope is that the story and the discussion prompts and the activity will all work together to relay that lesson of avoiding impulse buys and focusing on mindful spending.”

For more information, visit the Kickstarter campaign at Kck.st/41z3rUf.