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Gary Paulsen

Lawn Boy Kindle Edition

by Gary Paulsen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

553 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Lawn Boy

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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.

Reading age

8 - 12 years
Print length

98 pages
Language

English
Grade level

3 - 7
Lexile measure

0780
Publisher

Wendy Lamb Books
Publication date

December 25, 2008
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
ISBN-13

978-0553494655
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Books In This Series (2 Books)

Complete Series

Lawn Boy

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1
Lawn Boy
Gary Paulsen

(553)

Kindle Edition

$7.43
2
Lawn Boy Returns
Gary Paulsen

(165)

Kindle Edition

$9.29

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Starred review, Booklist, April 15, 2007:
"[A] short and hilarious tale . . . When it comes to telling funny stories about boys, no one surpasses Paulsen, and here he is in top form."

From the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—At the beginning of summer vacation, the 12-year-old narrator wonders how he is going to get enough money to buy a new inner tube for his bike. Grandma comes to the rescue when she gives him her late husband's riding lawn mower and he starts mowing a few yards in the neighborhood. Within a month, he has 15 people working for him and more business than he can handle. Arnold, one of his customers and a home-based stock broker, invests some of the boy's earnings not only in the stock market but also in a prizefighter, helping him earn thousands of dollars. Gary Paulsen's enjoyable novel (Wendy Lamb Books, 2007) also offers lessons on how a free-market economy works, buffered by lots of wacky humor and the inclusion of improbable and unexpected events. Tom Parks does an excellent job of conveying the innocence and unbridled enthusiasm of the young man. However, the protagonist sounds younger than 12 and a Latino character sounds somewhat robotic. In spite of these quibbles, this is a fun and educational audiobook.—Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This short and hilarious tale pitches an ordinary preteen with an old riding lawn mower into a dizzying ascent up the financial ladder. His sights set no higher than a new inner tube for his bike, the young narrator is thrilled to make $60 in one day, mowing his neighbors' lawns. Just as demand for his services skyrockets, he meets Arnold, an honest, home-based stockbroker who becomes his business manager . . and less than a month later, the lad has a dozen migrant laborers in his employ. The legality of these workers is left vague, but their young employer treats them fairly, and the thousands of dollars he earns goes into some wildly successful investments--including sponsorship of a rising prizefighter whose help comes in handy when the burgeoning enterprise attracts a shakedown artist. Thanks to quick lessons in, to quote some of the chapter heads, "Capital Growth Coupled with the Principles of Product Expansion" and "Force of Arms and Its Application to Business," the young tycoon ends up smarter than when he started out, and worth half a million dollars. When it comes to telling funny stories about boys, no one surpasses Paulsen, and here he is in top form. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Three-time Newbery-winning author Gary Paulsen, hailed as "one of the best-loved writers alive" by the New York Times, divides his time between his ranch in New Mexico, a sailboat on the Pacific Ocean, and his dog-kennel in Alaska. He's written over 200 books for young people, stories that have been embraced by readers of all ages.

From AudioFile

Tom Parks jumps into Paulsen's novella of a lad who inherits a rider lawn mower and builds a lucrative landscape business. Parks, as the unnamed narrator, describes how, through hard work and with sound advice from a customer, he raked in over $40,000 in one summer. Parks trims back his youthful voice to play believable secondary characters, including his beleaguered parents and, alas, stereotypically immigrant workers. An emotional cadence to every phrase adds to the far-fetched aspect of this tall tale, but the economic lessons about supply and demand, fair wages, and labor laws are well grounded in fact. The combination is an entertaining and educational listen. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001OERNOM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wendy Lamb Books; 1st edition (December 25, 2008)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 25, 2008
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2761 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 98 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #94,199 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #12 in English as a Foreign Language
- #13 in Children's ESL Books (Kindle Store)
- #20 in Children's Career Books

Customer Reviews:
553 ratings

About the author

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Gary Paulsen

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Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newberry Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

Customer reviews

5 star		78%
4 star		12%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

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Ani

A Winner

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2020

Verified Purchase

Purchased as a group read for my class. The students loved the story- even laughed out loud at some points. Taught good lessons in entrepreneurship, responsibility, integrity and honesty. Some kids said they even planned to read part two on their own.

124 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amy Yarboro

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2021

Got for: 9 years oldDifficulty level: ModerateVerified Purchase

I use this book to teach Economics to fourth graders.

79 people found this helpful

Helpful

Cheryl Saunders

Not only I am a public school teacher, I ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

Not only I am a public school teacher, I also do marketing and sales. I work with cultural institutions in my community. I always encourage young people to own businesses such as baby sitting, walking dogs, hairdressing, mowing lawns, etc. In today's economy a person can not depend on one livelihood. I strongly believe from elementary we should encourage our young people to own businesses and work hard; so they can pursue their dreams.

114 people found this helpful

Helpful

Milan

Y’all got the wrong Lawn Boy

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2021

This is a teen book. Just wanted to correct the many reviewers who think this is the book with child sex.. It is not.
Jonathan Evison wrote a book with the same title. That’s the one no kid should ever read.

70 people found this helpful

Helpful

Goofy Country Mommelia

Lawn Boy is A Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2018

Verified Purchase

Lawn Boy had us busting at the seams with laughter! Arnold at twelve years old learns valuable lessons about wealth and capitol after receiving a gift of his grandpas old lawn mower. A must read for anyone who loves adventure and a good laugh. I can't wait to find the sequel book and finish Arnold's story.

107 people found this helpful

Helpful

Christina M.

It Was Good

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2021

Got for: 12 years oldDifficulty level: ModerateVerified Purchase

My 12 year old daughter read this along with her class. She enjoyed it.

34 people found this helpful

Helpful

James C.

Quick reading fun along with some lessons in Economics aimed at the ~9-13 year old age bracket.

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

Lawn Boy was one of a number of Summer reading books chosen for reading by our 10 year old prior to 6th grade; a grade or two above or below would be this book's target audience based on content and reading level.
Lawn Boy deals with the story of an unnamed 12 year-old's birthday gift of a used lawn mower and how a series of interactions while mowing lawns allows the boy to parlay his mowing money into a small fortune. The economic concepts are sound and relatable - if not a bit unbelievable in how they all pan out - but overall, Gary Paulsen writes a fun, quick reading book that both my boy, and I, enjoyed. A minor nitpick, this book does have the main character dealing with some issues in some questionable ways (having a business foe beaten up, hiring undocumented labor, paying off-the-books, etc.) but its themes, lessons and viewpoints speak well to a tween or early teenager. The content does not contain anything any reasonably unsheltered kid would be put off by.

96 people found this helpful

Helpful

Miranda

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book! My students love it!

34 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

HoneyBee

A great short story!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2019

Verified Purchase

My son and I have really enjoyed this book. It is funny and full of good characters and has been great for introducing lots of new words into my son’s vocabulary.

DianeB

one cd has a fault

Reviewed in Canada on September 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

Item was delivered promptly. It was brand new and well packaged. However, while listening to chapter #5 there is a section that is damaged. The CD loses 2 pages of sound. Unfortunate since it is brand new.

Amazon Customer

Fun to read

Reviewed in Canada on March 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is a very interesting short story. Gary Paulsen is a talented writer. I enjoyed reading this book and so did my boys. (My boys are 9, 11, and 12 in age.)

Sumanasara

Excellent for students/学生に最適

Reviewed in Japan on March 26, 2009

Verified Purchase

For the people who like be familliar with some terminology of economy, I think this book is very helpful. Since this fiction is written for children, they can enjoy a funny story with serious big words. Recommendable for Japanese students learning English.
Sumanasara Lawn Boy

One person found this helpful