Review of “Lawn Boy,” by Gary Paulson

“Lawn Boy,” by Gary Paulson is the story of how a young boy’s lawn business gets a little bit out of hand.

The story is told from the point of view of a young twelve-year-old boy. When his grandma gives him a riding lawn mower its the beginning of a business venture that will have surprising results. As the boy cuts lawns around the neighborhood he soon has more business than he can handle. That’s when he meets Arnold, a stockbroker with grand intentions. Soon the boy has fifteen employees and the company assets include, among other things, stock in a coffin company, and an investment in a prize fighter.

One thing that I found interesting about “Lawn Boy” is the fact that author Gary Paulsen made a deliberate decision to avoid all use of the main character’s name. Throughout the whole book the story is always told from the boy’s point of view. He always refers to himself as “I” and no one else in the book ever uses his name. As a result, “Lawn Boy” has a broad scale appeal brought about by the fact that it could be story of any young, enterprising child.

“Lawn Boy” is both funny and educational, as it introduces basic ideas about capitalism, supply and demand and investing in the stock marketing. Young readers are sure to enjoy this summer job success story.

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