Lawn Boy

One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me Grandpa's old riding lawnmower. I set out to mow some lawns. More people wanted me to mow their lawns. And more and more. . . . One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about "the beauty of capitalism. Supply and Demand. Diversify labor. Distribute the wealth." "Wealth?" I said. "It's groovy, man," said Arnold.
If I'd known what was coming, I might have climbed on my mower and putted all the way home to hide in my room. But the lawn business grew and grew. So did my profits, which Arnold invested in many things. And one of them was Joey Pow the prizefighter. That's when my 12th summer got really interesting.

I’ve enjoyed different books by Gary Paulsen over the years, and when my aunt gave this one to me, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up being a favorite by this author.

One of the goals of this book is to explain how economics, and in particular, businesses work—how employing people changes dynamics, how the stock market works, etc, all based on the premise of what might happen if a young boy is given a lawn mower and his mowing jobs become more than he can handle. It’s both fun and clever, and I loved how his community pulled together to help him. If you’re trying to encourage a child toward building their own business, books like this might be a great resource!

Unfortunately, though, I didn’t appreciate the way show more conflict was handled in the story. When someone started causing trouble, the answer seemed to be to use physical force to get them to stop, rather than using diplomacy. If that part of the story weren’t there, I would love this book; since it is there, I won’t be keeping it on the shelf. show less

Don't let the chapter titles scare off the kids! (Sample: Capital Growth Coupled with the Principles of Production Expansion.) It's a great farce about a boy who ends up making serious money hand over fist just mowing lawns. Well, maybe not just mowing lawns. That's where the fun comes in. Kids interested in making a few extra dollars will enjoy the boy's roller coaster ride to riches. Booktalk: Happy Birthday! And look what grandma got you: a riding lawn mower. What the heck are you going to do with a riding lawn mower? Mow the lawn of course! You try it out on your parents’ lawn. It doesn’t look perfect but it doesn’t look bad either. Your neighbor sees you mowing the lawn and he offers you $20 to mow his lawn. Well, sure, why show more not. You need a new inner tube for your bicycle and you could use the money. Then another neighbor wants to hire you to mow his lawn and then another neighbor and another and another and you’re mowing lawns everyday and next thing you know…a couple of weeks later you’ve somehow managed—you don’t know how—but you’ve somehow managed to earn $8,000. And not only that: you now have people working for you. And you now have a stockbroker. And you’re now sponsoring an amateur boxer. And your parents don’t even know about any of this! The whole situation has gone wild-crazy and out of control and if you knew what was about to go down next you probably never would have decided to take a job as a simple LAWN BOY. show less

A short, enjoyable read from Paulsen that narrowly escapes overly-capitalist didacticism through clever wit, an appealing protagonist, and brisk pacing.

Paulsen writes this book in the first person, telling the story of a boy who get's an old riding lawnmower from his Grandma for his 12th birthday. The story of what happens on his summer vacation is nothing ordinary after he meets a motley crew of characters who get involved with his business. What struck me about this so-so tale, if the number of curriculum connections a teacher could use in this one hour read-aloud. From literacy, sports, math, to the ever popular: "What will you do on your summer vacation." A veritable treasure for an economics course. Note: It contains nothing unsuitable for classroom listening.

This Sequoyah Winning book by Gary Paulsen tells the story of Lawn Boy, who is given a lawn mower by his grandmother for his twelfth birthday and it changes his life. His second day in business he already has eight jobs. One client, Arnold, pays Lawn Boy in stock-market account and business advice. Lawn Boy soon has fifteen employees, a partner, and a lot of money invested.

I loved this story and thought it would be a particularly great story for boys. It was a great "rags to riches" story that children will find enjoyable.

In the classroom, I would have students (as groups of three or four) create an idea of another business that they would be interested in. They would make a presentation to the class, explaining why their classmates show more should hire them. show less

Funny, exaggerated but entertaining story by Gary Paulsen is about a 12 year old boy from Minnesota who learns about money and investing through mowing lawns with an old mower given to him by his grandmother as a birthday present. and a day trader named Arnold Howell .With his friends out of town for the summer the 12 year old uses his old lawn mower and makes a lot of money. The story is a good read for students aged 12 to 18 who are looking for summer jobs or simple ways to make money and uses some figurative language like ' the rain hammered down' or 'nap' in reference to the grass to make the story interesting. Conscious about his parents feeling the boy is a little silent about his earnings.