Lawn Boy

Tales to Tickle the Funnybone #7

by Gary Paulsen

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.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Juvenile

88 pages, Hardcover

First published June 12, 2007

About the author

Gary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Reviews

[Noelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book irritated me so much that I felt an overwhelming desire to tell someone, anyone, my opinion. Simply put, this book deserves to come with a parental advisory warning. The overall topic is fine but the storyline is marred with controversy. First off, the boy hires 15 illegal Hispanic workers who all live in a single shack-like house and pack 4/5 deep into pick up trucks to go to their landscape jobs. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How racist is this?! These workers are paid nominally (the white lawn boy gets to keep half of their earnings). But not fret because the lawn boy is encouraged to set aside some of the workers' money so they have a few bucks when fall/winter rolls around in case they can't find other work right away. Secondly, this 12yr old boy is afraid to call the cops when he starts getting bullied from an ADULT thug to give up his money. His reasoning is that he doesn't want to get his illegal workers in trouble with the cops. The lawn boy's mom understands and agrees with his reasoning not to call the cops because as she puts it 'his workers are just poor people who don't have the proper documentation to be in the country' (I'm paraphrasing here but you get the gist). Come on, really?? Is this book meant for 4th graders? Should we really be teaching our children that it is ok to break the law by hiring undocumented workers or MORE IMPORTANTLY, that they should be afraid to ask the cops for help? I can not believe this book came from the school bookshelves!

[babyhippoface · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawn Boy is a super-fast read (about an hour, total) with more action, character development, and snickers packed into its spare little 88 pages than about a hundred fatter novels I could rattle off.

I liked it right off the bat, mostly because of the narrator's description of his grandma in the first chapter: My grandmother is the kind of person who always thinks that no matter how bad things might seem, everything will always come out all right. Her hair could be on fire and she'd probably say, "Well, at least we have light to read by."

Paulsen didn't waste time or ink on detailed descriptions or set-up--he just got straight to the point, which I found very refreshing. I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of who this narrator kid was, and I appreciated the fact that Arnold was an honest and likeable guy, too. Together they had one unbelievably fortuitous summer, and I was glad. (And I have to say that I would happily sweat myself to death mowing lawns all summer if it would pay off for me like it did for Lawn Boy.) I also admired the fact that, unlike the authors of some stories I've read where kids sort of stumble upon bucket-loads of money, Paulsen didn't feel the need to take away all the kid's riches at the end of the book. I was worried he would, but he didn't, and I like that.

I was a bit bothered by so many chapters ending with an "if I'd known then what I know now" kind of statement, but that's the only complaint of any sort I can think of, and a pretty harmless one, at that.

This is one terrific lesson in capitalism and economics, and I think a clever teacher might choose to incorporate this little gem into his lesson plans. Students would get an idea of how the system works, and would enjoy a lot of laughs along the way.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lawn Boy by author Gary Paulsen is a short young readers book about a boy...who mows lawns.

I normally like Gary Paulsen, but I think he whiffed on this one. This book is about a rather dull kid who apparently has no name (at least I could never find one) who likes to ride a lawnmower and mow people's lawns for a few bucks. Hold back your excitement, there's more. Then he meets a rather creepy old hippie who takes his lawn mowing money on a venture capital spending spree. Nameless kid soon finds himself in the middle of an extortion scheme and must rely on some washed up prize fighter to do his dirty work. He basically becomes the beneficent lawn overlord of his neighborhood. It's kind of like a kid's lawn mowing business version of a Quentin Tarantino movie.

Truthfully, after reading my own review I just made it sound way more exciting than it is. So let me put it this way. It's capitalism 101 told through lawns. Now does it sound all that great? That's what I thought.

[Rawson Gordon II · Rating 2 out of 5]

A colleague recommended this book as part of an interdisciplinary unit on economics that math, social studies, and language arts could do all together. I hope the order for the class set of novels goes through, so we may do just that, for I think it would be effective teaching, and the students would enjoy the book. Personally, though, I do not understand why Gary Paulsen is so popular. No book of his, with the possible exception of Hatchet has ever elicited much of an emotional or intellectual response. Lawn Boy is a gushing love letter, in the form of a fictional narrative, to capitalism. A kid starts mowing lawns, and, by the end of the summer, with the help of a hippie financial planner, ends up with a cadre of employees, a celebrity boxer to sponsor, and tens of thousands of dollars in cash. Absurd! This is a book for young adults that seeks to espouse the virtues of entrepreneurship and hard work, and that's a good thing, but most middle schoolers think on a level of concreteness that leads them to believe that they, too, can get rich in just months with an idea and a little effort, just as many are convinced they will become professional athletes and singing stars, and that just ain't gonna happen. So, when I teach Lawn Boy, I'm going to underscore the fact that, though the book provides an entertaining tale and teaches the virtues of a free market economy, the real world of business is cutthroat, ruthless, and unforgiving. It's a jungle out there, kids, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a first person narrative that is about a 12 year old boy who gets a lawnmower from his grandpa and starts making money. The book smiles it's way to funny and is very fast read. It definitely pushes reality and you don't want to ignore the chapter title as they expand the humor. What's funny about "Overutilization of Labor Compounded by Unpredicted Capital Growth" you may say. In conjunction with the chapter, it's funny! The humor is often in the enormous understatements:
Un-named narrator's parents say: " 'It's nice that you've found a way to make some spare change, . .But aren't you working too hard?'
I'd jammed my hands in my pockets, pockets that were crammed with, at that moment, something like three hundred and thirty dollars, and said, 'I like the work. It's good to be out in the fresh air' My parents are big on me spending time in the fresh air, for some reason."
This books is good for what it is: A big smile and a few giggles.

[L.N. Cronk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had so much potential, but fell short in my opinion. It started out very funny and had a lot of interesting things going for it (especially the grandma with her wacky sayings that actually weren't wacky once you learned the whole story behind them). I kept waiting the truth behind more of her saying to be revealed, but it never happened and I felt that a great opportunity was missed. The ending, was also very anticlimatic. Things just kept getting better and better financially (and more and more unrealistic) and then it was over. Boom. I was like "What? This is the end?" Combine all this with the poor morals taught within (hire illegal workers, trust a stranger with your money instead of your parents, don't call the cops when you're in trouble, violence solves everything), and I won't be using it as a read-aloud with my students afterall. Shame too, since we're studying economics and it could have been a great addition.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Story flowed well. Was sort of fun to read. But if you inspect the underlying themes it has nothing to offer and is probably an actual detriment. Follow the action (instead of the preaching) then this book says gambling makes you rich and violence solves problems.

It had a set to demonstrate why the existence of illegal residents in a country creates odd legal loop holes that unprincipled people can take advantage of. And it was used as an excuse to not call police, but rather on a big muscular guy to fix things. And wasn't it nice that they guy in question was happily willing to totally loose his career and get time behind bars for some kid? Especially, as if the violence wasn't comic book style (big bangs, every one walks away with little swirls over their heads) several of the things he did would have ended with dead bodies and premeditated murder.

So ya.

Very few redeeming features.

The logical conflict to have in this story would not be out of town violence moving in, but city officials noticing and requiring a small business license, insurance, and other odds and ends. Or maybe a stray rock from one of the mowers hitting someone and then noticing that they needed insurance when the medical bills came in.

[Nyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note : This book was assigned as summer reading to the students of, and given to me by, a teacher for whom I will be subbing at the beginning of the 2016/2017 school year.

This has to be one of the most bizarre stories I have ever read; so much so that I've now asked one of my children to read it. Said child got to a point of not wanting to finish the book, but did so, for me, anyway.
We both agree, that besides the main character being both one of the luckiest,and most trusting people in existence, there are undertones of classism, racism, and overall creepiness, wrapped in what would have otherwise been an amusing, educational story.

[jennyreadit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to get your kid to save money, become an entrepreneur without you nagging them about it? Give them this book! Kids were lining up for it and begging the lucky checker-outer to "Pleeeeeeeese give it to me before you turn it in!"
Music to my ears...

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawn Boy
By: Gary Paulsen
Review by: Kaitlyn

Gary Paulsen has written MANY wonderful stories, that I highly recommend this one. Lawn Boy is so real, but yet different from the rest of his stories. This story takes place in Minnesota, in a neighborhood called, Eden Prairie, where they’re tons of lawns to be mowed!

Some IMPORTANT characters are:
Arnold
Grandma
Mom
Dad
&
The Lawn Mowing Crew

A funny quote from, Grandma is:
My Grandmother is the kind of person who always thinks that no matter how bad things might seem, everything will always come out all right. Her hair could be on fire and she’d probably say, “Well, at least we have light to read by.”

-This is how she acts throughout the story, she’s very funny!

For the ‘Lawn Boy’s,’ birthday she gives him a lawn mower, a riding lawn mower. He really doesn’t know what to do with it, let along work it!

As soon has he figures out how to ride it, his neighbor asks him to mow his lawn. And BAM the lawn mowing business is born, but he doesn’t know right then! After he mowed the lawn, the neighbor paid him. Before long he’s mowing ALL of the lawn’s in the neighborhood! Until, he mows Arnold’s lawn. Arnold’s a stockbroker and couldn’t pay ‘Lawn Boy,’ so he invests some of his money in a stock.

Little did Arnold and ‘Lawn Boy,’ know that the sock the invested in will really, TAKE OFF! Soon they start making THOUSANDS! And they start expanding the amount of lawns they mow. This story, also teaches you about economics, and The Stock Market.

So, this story is about a boy that makes, THOUSNADS of dollars, but lives just like you and me! He also expands his business and lawn-mowing employees, and he starts to do more than just mow! To see how he does all of that, you will have to read the story!

[Mikey · Rating 1 out of 5]

1. The book that i am reading is lawn boy by gary paulsen. It is about a boy who get a lawnmower from his grandparents and he stars mowing other people's lawn.the lexile of this book is 710L.




2. At the beginning of the book it was good he got a lawnmower from his grandparents form a garage sale in the summer.He stared the next day mowing his own lawn then the nabought next door ask the kid to mow his yard for 35 dollars.Then he was mowing that guys lawn his nabought asked the kid to mow his lawn for 45 dollars so he mowed his lawn and it went over and over to mow peoples lawns




3. The book is boring bc it did the same thing. all he did was mow lawn. It's boring bc it's too easy to read.i don’t like the book bc all it does is mow lawns and get money. He doesn't tell his parents how much money he has or now

[Karen S · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book with the intention of giving it to my 8 year old to read, but after reading it, I decided I won't. I liked the premise of the book - a little boy starts his own business almost accidentally when his grandmother gives him a lawn mower. You think it would go on to teach some good business skills at a child's level, but then it goes on to show how to avoid calling the police by taking matters into your own hand, all with your parent's consent! I didn't like the lesson it was teaching, and even though I thought the business side of the story was written well, I did not like the ending. This book made me understand why it's important that parents know what their kids are reading.

[Eyehavenofilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting out with a very old, very small, half pint lawn mower gifted from his grandfather a youngster finds himself hip deep in high finance, stocks, more employees than he can count, a minor case of kidnapping, not to mention a ring side seat at a Saturday night prize fight.
How he gets there is so much fun, its worth the quick read, and the laughs keep coming!

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Academic financial principles make relevant chapter titles for Lawn Boy, a story that's typical of Gary Paulsen in the later years of his career. His novels very generally fit into two categories: contemplative studies of life, often set in nature (Dogsong, Hatchet, The Island) and zany comedies that test the limits of believability (Masters of Disaster, Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day, Mudshark), and Lawn Boy belongs to the latter category. Madcap moneymaking antics are the name of the game when a twelve-year-old kid's summer job mowing lawns blooms into a small-town conglomerate with the potential to lift the boy and his family out of financial mediocrity and into affluence. It's not the sort of summer most kids seriously plan on, but who wouldn't jump at that opportunity?

The main character (as in many Gary Paulsen books, he's not assigned a name) is looking forward to a summer of freedom and fun, until his scatterbrained grandmother gives him an old riding lawn mower she had around her house. While cutting his family's small lawn to pass the time, the boy is approached by a neighbor who inquires if he'll do the same for him, for twenty dollars. He continues getting work this way, curious neighbors hiring him to mow their lawns, until he's maxed out and has no free time left to expand his startup business. He's making excellent money, though; if he keeps going at this rate, he'll earn better than seven thousand dollars by the time school starts. Then he meets an eccentric stockbroker named Arnold, who sees a bigger future for the kid's business. With Arnold onboard, the infrastructure grows like a California redwood, money and assets pouring in like the waters of Noah's flood. Is there any stopping this preteen entrepreneur from striking it rich? Perhaps. Big money attracts unsavory characters like flies to honey, and the boy will have to deal with some dangerous enemies or risk his spectacular operation going up in flames. Can he ward off the bad guys with the help of his parents, Arnold, and a beefy prizefighter? The future is his to command, but things could get tricky as organized crime enters the equation. When you're young and on the come-up, you have to prove you won't be bullied out of the legacy you've built.

Lawn Boy can't compare to Gary Paulsen's premier works, but it's humorous and unpredictable, especially in the early going. It's hard to guess how high the boy's fortunes could rise as Arnold molds his little lawn care service into a massively profitable company designed to adapt to whichever direction the fickle economic winds blow. I rate Lawn Boy one and a half stars, and it's good fun for readers who want a comedic story. As long as you're not expecting The Rifle, you'll enjoy this book.

[Sakura J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character in this realistic fiction book is a little boy who has a nice grandmother. On his birthday, his grandmother gave him an old mower. At first, he thought because he didn't even know how to drive it, it was so old and before his time. But when he tried, the mower suddenly moved faster and faster, so he rode it. A neighbor was watching and asked, "How much does it cost to mow my yard?"Then the main character – whose name is difficult to find in the book – started making money. One day, he goes to a rich person's house and rides around so that he can get a job. He tried to work for the whole summer vacation. Soon he went to see the person named Arnold, an older friend. Arnold helped him a LOT. Arnold hired lots of people and got money. He also helped him make money by buying company stocks. Later in the book, Arnold started supporting one professional wrestler named Joseph Powdermilk. He looked really scary but he was very nice to his sponsor, and was one of the gormless people who was coming to Arnold's house. Others were jealous that Arnold was making tons of money, and this caused more conflict in the book.

I think this book was written for teenagers. The main characters are teenagers too, and the theme of the book is summer vacation. I think the author expects the reader to read during summer vacation so they can have fun :)

I don't think the main character was that interesting because he was just a normal boy. But it's actually good, because I didn’t have to remember too many crazy things. If the character is not too magical, I can easily imagine what happened to them.

I would recommend this book, because this book has a lesson about if you try to make too much money, you will get in trouble too. I like this book, because first of all, it’s really short, so even though you are busy and have no time to read, you can finish this book. Secondly, this book doesn't use difficult words, so young kids can read it too.

[Christine Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute short story! I felt nostalgic as I'd read it when I was younger, and I appreciate the book for what it is.

[Sean Bean as Zeus in Percy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely outstanding, how anyone could give it less than 5 stars is beyond me. Everything I know about economics is contained in this book. This book allowed me to dream as a young man who’s only income came from toiling in raspberry fields. All you need is a few bucks and the American dream will take care of the rest and turn your 2 figure net worth into 6 figure net worth before you turn 14.

Nothing but fond memories of this advert for capitalism.

Oh and it’s more digestible when you disregard everything shady in the book like hiring undocumented workers or extortion rackets against a 12 year old.

[JenBsBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn't one I'd put on my TBR, but as I've added a Little Free Library, I've been trying to give many/most of the books I pass along a read before I donate them to the LFL. Thus was the case here. I've liked several of Paulsen's other books (The Hatchet series was a favorite with my boys) so I'd picked this up at a thrift store. There wasn't audio available at the library (it was on Audible, but I wasn't going to spend a credit on 80minutes).

This was just super silly ... bordering on, shall I stay, stupid? I know there's a line where adults might roll their eyes and kids might be entertained. Is that the case here?

Whereas the other books I enjoyed (Hatchet series, The Woodsrunner, Harris and Me) all were realistic and believable, this was cartoonish and crazy.

I'll put this out in my LFL but it's not really one I'd recommend.
The original premise is fine, kid gets gifted a small riding lawn mower, gets paid to mow a lawn and is happy he has enough money to repair his bike tube. But then to have dozens of people wanting to hire him immediately (some story of everyone being in the lurch as the last lawn guy ran off with someone's wife). And it was taking the kid two hours to do one lawn? I mow my own, it's not large, but not tiny. I edge and trim. It takes an hour. And I don't have a riding mower.

And then it got so silly ... a stock broker pays him in stocks (which just happen to have the best return ever) and hooks the kid up with an out of work landscaper, who happens to have many "cousins" ready to work for him, the kid being the boss of this huge lawn care crew. Throw in a mobster type who wants a cut, and a huge boxer ... whatever.

It was short, I finished it. I'm not even sure if the "lessons" learned (economic expansion, portfolio diversification, law of increasing product demand vs flat production capacity, conflict resolution and its effects on economic policy) are actually something I'd even want children to think about. I think the main thing kids will come away with is "maybe I can earn thousands of dollars in a few weeks too!" and how likely is that?

[L13_F Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a boy who gets an old riding lawn mower from his grandmother and spends his summer building a lawn mowing business with the help of a stockbroker neighbor. I don't know much about the stock market but I laughed at the honest, fast talking stockbroker who made some outlandish buys with the money the boy earned from mowing lawns and soon the boy ends up sponsoring a prize fighter and becoming $450,000 richer at the end of summer. The narrator of this book is the boy, who tells us how he only wanted to make enough money to buy an inner tube for his old bike but ends up with a business partner, 15 employees, a thug trying to steal his money, a prize fighter who protects him, and a stockbroker who makes him rich. This was a pretty funny book. It would be a good story to teach point of view since it is written in first person. Boys would especially be attracted to the humorous events that take place throughout the book because they are pretty farfetched. I would recommend this for fifth grade and up. Some of the terms used by the stockbroker might be confusing for younger students.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

RIP Gary Paulsen
Not his finest hour, but a fun little read that has been marred in controversy by the massive sweep of conservative folks banning books. There is another book, same title but different author, that is the YA novel they have issues with. But some crazies went on and wrote reviews for this title, not even paying attention to which book they were trying to censor. Spoiler alert: maybe read the book, or at the very least the title description, before your public outcry.
That being said, there were a few things here that could have gone differently, namely the reference of landscapers/undocumented/packed into one house stereotype. He wrote this almost 15 years ago, and while I agree he could have omitted that part and had the same effect, it is not a focal point of the story and he is clearly writing from a place of what would have been his family’s reaction to events.
Other than that, an okay, fun, albeit far-fetched, read that this different from his other work and worth a chuckle or two.

[David H 4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Lawn Boy is a great book it teaches you about money ways to think and the huge thing the book teaches your about hard work and how a lot of good small things can turn into something really big. I would recommend this book for any one it is a funny but smart book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will I like it better than Molly McGinty?
...............
Well, hm. Awfully short, engaging but totally unbelievable. I prefer The Toothpaste Millionaire (and others).

[Chaz Contag · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fundamental “pick yourself up from your bootstraps” economics book. The accessible nature truly makes it a transnational work that I believe everyone should read, no matter what geosocioeconomicpolitical context.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic story of a boy who starts his own lawn mowing business and ends up getting rich. Hilarious.

[Laiba · Rating 2 out of 5]

NEVER trick me into learning about capitalism again 😡😡😡

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A twelve-year-old boy falls into the lawn mowing business after his grandmother gives him an old riding mower for his birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day, another one of Gary Paulsen's short humorous middle grade novels, but this one misses the mark on several levels. The protagonist is too clueless and passive to serve as an example for the economic principles used as chapter titles and described within the chapters. Though apparently at some point in the story (when this happens is unclear to me) he does figure out that his employees are illegal aliens, as evidenced by his refusal to call the police when an extortionist, who is totally not foreshadowed at all, threatens the physical safety of his business partner. I also don't understand why he keeps his business and his earnings a secret from his parents who are supportive of him.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a funny read, since a boy who receives a lawn mower for a birthday present suddenly finds himself over his head. Before he knows it, he has a business with employees and investments with the help of his neighbor, a stock broker, who uses some of it to sponsor a boxer. There's a whole lot of economics, but it's understandable for the most part. I think what surprised me was that his business became successful from hiring illegal immigrants, which seemed pretty realistic to me.

[Tyler Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book turns the classic summer job on it's head and turns the hero into a corporate officer in just a few, hilarious, pages. It's got the stock market, it's got pinching heads, it's even got a weird grandmother!
And the best thing about it? It's super short, in case, like me, you got busy with your friends and forgot to do summer reading for a while! I finished this before my mom could finish her lecture about how important it is to avoid screen-time by reading books.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty ok. It wasn't awful but it also wasn't super interesting. The book was about a 12 year old boy who just got out of school and is currently in sumer. For his birthday his grandma gives him a lawnmower that used to belong to his grandpa. He doesn't understand why his grandma would give him a lawnmower. He did not think that it would be useful for him. One day he decidesto useit for the first time. While he is mowing the lawn, one of his neighbor's asks him if he could mow his lawn and that he would pay him. His neighbor liked how he mowed his lawn so he told the kid that he would recommend him to some of his friends and he gave him the adresses of the houses he could mow some lawns at. Soon he was mowing lawns per day and earning a certain amount of money. If he mowned lawns everyday from morning to dawn for the rest of summer, he would end up with thousands of dollars. Including the wha he had to pay for the cost of fuel for the lawn mower. But this meant that he wouldn't be able to hangout with his friends or go anywhere fun throughout the whole summer all he would be able to do is mow lawns.

[Urbandale Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawn Boy is certainly a quirky and humorous tale about a boy, a lawn mower, and a lucky summer. Having read Paulsen's more dramatic novels (think the Hatchet series), this was certainly a change of pace. Light-hearted and fun, I would recommend as a great read aloud for 2nd-3rd graders (4th grade might be a stretch). -UPL Staff