Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

This is the story of 12 year-old who receives a lawn mower from his grandmother one summer. Perplex as of WHY his grandmother would give him such a random gift, he heads outside to tinker with it.

One of his neighbors asks him to mow his lawn. Then another, and another, and soon he is overwhelmed. Enter Arnold, a day trader in the stock market who asks the boy to mow his lawn in exchange of stock shares. Arnold helps him expand his business with extra manpower, and soon there is a small army helping mowing yards.

The boy is earning quite a salary, but when Arnold breaks the news that his stocks has dramatically done well. VERY well.

And it all started with a lawn mower.


What I Thought:
This is a very entertaining book. The guy started the book with nothing, but ended up with thousands and thousands of dollars! Of course, he put in a lot of hard work.

I loved the chapter titles: "The Principles of Economic Expansion," "Dramatic Economic Expansion and its Causes and Effects," and "Expertise, Its Utilization and Effects on the Economy."

I think I may have learned more about economics in this book than I did in Econ 201. I know for sure that I had way more fun!

This would be a great book to read aloud in a high school economics class, what a great way to spice up all those principles!

Recommended.

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen .

Reviewed from a library copy.