Oliver Octopus and the Unwinnable Game: Equity vs. Equality by Ben Okon

“Oh. My. God. It’s integral, not extra. It transcends age brackets.”
-Ms. Miller, award-winning elementary & middle school teacher

Check out the crowdfunding sensation that reached #2 on IndieGoGo’s “Most Popular Projects” list (yes, above projects like the world’s smallest & lightest e-bike).

About This Book (Oliver Octopus and the Unwinnable Game)

Building empathy by understanding equity vs equality

“Life’s not fair!” Young or old, many people have felt that way. But who’s to say what’s fair? And is fair in one situation always fair in others? Join Oliver Octopus and Sue Stingray as they use two different types of fairness, Equity and Equality, to understand why Sue’s cavefish friends won’t play darts with her anymore even though they are all playing by the same rules.

Why EQUITY VS. EQUALITY is Critical for Kids and Adults

By age 4, many children intrinsically understand fairness only as “equal distribution” (Blake, 2017). But equal opportunity (equity) is often more fair and usually results in “more equal societies” that “do better in health, education, and nutrition” (Vandemoortele, 2012).

It’s also critical to developing empathy and compassion (Nakkula and Toshalis, 2006) which leads to better emotional regulation and language skills (Ornaghi, Conte, Grazzani, 2022).