Lawn Boy

June 11, 2007
At the start of this witty, quick-moving tale from the Newbery author, a 12-year-old receives an unexpected birthday present from his grandmother: his late grandfather's riding lawn mower. Since his family's lawn is postage-stamp size with grass that “never seemed to grow enough to need mowing,” he's initially unsure what to do with the machine. But he soon realizes that he can earn money mowing neighbors' lawns—perhaps even enough to buy a new inner tube for his bike. As the young entrepreneur's lawn-mowing business booms, he sees green in more ways than one, making enough money to buy countless inner tubes and learning a lesson about capitalism and investing. His teacher, a colorful ex-hippie named Arnold, is a down-on-his-luck stockbroker who brokers a barter deal with the lad, offering to invest his earnings for him in exchange for grass-cutting services. Repeatedly remarking how “groovy” Lawn Boy's success is, Arnold instructs his young pal in the rules of the business road, humorously reflected in Paulsen's chapter titles (such as “Capital Growth Coupled with the Principles of Production Expansion” and “Conflict Resolution and Its Effects on Economic Policy”). Adding further wry dimension to the plot are a tough-talking thug who threatens to take over the kid's business, the prize fighter whom Arnold (through another investment) arranges for Lawn Boy to sponsor, and the boy's delightfully—and deceptively—dotty grandmother, who gets the novel's sage last line: “You know, dear, Grandpa always said, take care of your tools and they'll take care of you.” Readers will find this madcap story a wise investment of their time. Ages 10-up.

June 1, 2007
Gr 4-7-Learning the workings of the free-market economy has never been more fun than in this tall tale of entrepreneurship set in Eden Prairie, MN. When the narrator's grandmother gives him an old rider mower for his 12th birthday, his life changes; he senses "some kind of force behind it." Almost as soon as he figures out how to run it, the boy is in businessby the second day he has eight jobs. When he mows the lawn of Arnold Howell, an aging hippie e-trader, the cash-poor man offers a stock-market account in lieu of payment. Arnold not only invests the money; he also offers business advice. Soon lawn boy has a partner, 15 employees, a lot of money invested in the market, and a prizefighter. Chapter headings suggest business principles behind what is happening. Throughout the tale, the narrator is innocent of his success as he rises early each morning to begin each job, eats lunch on the mower, and longs for a less-hectic summer vacation. This rags-to-riches success story has colorful characters, a villain, and enough tongue-in-cheek humor to make it an enjoyable selection for the whole family."Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2007
There are few twelve-year-old boys who get a lawnmower for their birthday, and probably fewer still who keep up with the stock market, but Paulsen presents just such a character, appealingly gift-wrapped in an original, humorous tale. When the narrator's ditzy grandmother gives him his grandfather's old riding mower for his twelfth birthday, the youngster feels a kinship with the machine and decides that, since he has little to do over the summer, he might as well earn a few bucks mowing lawns. Then he meets Arnold, an investor with a cash-flow problem, who promises to buy stocks for him as payment for a freshly trimmed yard. The business grows; Arnold advises the fledgling capitalist to outsource many of his services, all the while hedging against inflation with more and more investments. These then double, triple, and quadruple and expand to more bizarre ventures, including shares in a prizefighter, Joey Pow. With all the energy of a bull market and a farce that grows as steadily as crabgrass, this brief novel mows down weightier tomes on required reading lists and has summer escapism written all over it.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)