Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Grade 4-6

Since the coming of Spring, my older boys have dusted off the old lawn mower and have started tackling our back yard. They look forward to Summer around the corner and the prospects of earning some extra cash- from mowing lawns in our neighborhood.

So when I saw this book, I suspected they could relate to the twelve year old in this story- learning a quick lesson in supply and demand and how to start up his own lawn mowing business.

Gary Paulsen takes an ordinary summer "lawn mowing" job and turns it into a fun adventure as this young entrepreneur builds his business. One of his clients is an e-stock trader and makes some solid investments. It's a rags to riches kind of story. My 11 year old enjoyed this book-
not only is the content is of high interest but also .. it was a fun short read! Only 88 pages long!
(Great size for Reluctant Readers!)

Both my boys are now eagerly working on their Boy Scout Entrepreneur Merit Badge!
I really love finding books- that go hand in hand with Scouting! Besides learning about the ins and outs to starting your own business, they get to interview an entrepreneur. The BIG project for this merit badge, is to start your own business and run it for at least a month... my boys were planning on doing this anyway this summer, so why not set up a lawn mowing business up right? and get one merit badge closer to eagle along the way?


We haven't read the Lawn Boy Returns yet. I was thrilled to see a sequel to this great story

Nothing But the Truth- recommendation

This recommendation is by Pokemama.
I have not read this book-- but it sounds interesting!


Nothing But the Truth by Avi (She admits she just read it because her son was reading it in school.)
She recommends it for ages 11-13 years olds.

Summary:
It's about a kid who loves track.
He can't try out for the team because he is getting a low grade in English.
He doesn't like the English teacher.
So when he is in her homeroom - he starts humming the national anthem during morning announcements. He knows the rule is to be quiet and he knows it bugs her. He ends up getting sent out of class for being disrespectful, and gets suspended because he wont apologize.

THEN the word gets out that he was suspended for singing the national anthem. It is in his town paper, and all across the US. Talk shows are talking about it. .People are calling in saying his teacher should be fired.

I wont tell you the ending... but there are many themes to discuss. The story makes a point about sometimes you need to 'go along to get along'.
Finding win-win resolutions as opposed to lose-lose. (The track coach tries to tell him- even in sports there are rules you have to conform to...)

Besides the interesting plot- the story unfolds with different points of views. Part of the story is through his journal, some are conversations with is classmates, letters from the teacher to her sister, and memos from the Principal.

Thanks for the book recommendation Pokemama!
This style of writing reminds me a little of
The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman.
I've found with my own reluctant readers -- these changing points of view are challenging to follow.

Having said that, I want to add, this type of writing style adds dimensions to the story that appeal to many kids. It makes the reader more active in the story. They enjoy piecing the plot together as the story unfolds for characters and reader alike.