Lawn Boy Returns

June 1, 2010
Gr 4-7-In this witty sequel to the much-beloved "Lawn Boy" (Random, 2007), six weeks have passed. In that time, the 12-year-old's business has expanded, his employees have quadrupled, his prizefighter has been asked by a gangster to throw a match, and his parents have gone on vacation. Lawn Boy is again confronted with very adult problems. He is hounded by the world, girls want his autograph, journalists want his picture. And still, all he wants is to play with the other kids, have a regular summer, and maybe mow a few lawns. LB uses his familiar charm and sarcasm, coupled with kidlike solutions, to solve his scary, grown-up problems. Not a lot is new in this slim book, but fans will be excited by the fresh twists and turns amid the same quirky characters: Grandma, Joey Pow, Arnold, et al. This is an extremely fast and funny story, good for struggling and reluctant readers."Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix Public Library, AZ"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2010
The twelve-year-old narrator from Lawn Boy has developed an entourage; additionally, the prizefighter he manages has attracted a long-lost cousin who's clearly up to no good. Our hero needs to simplify, a task easier said than done. Paulsen's humorous, satirical, and fast-moving narrative is just the thing for readers looking for a quick fix before heading back to school.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2010
With the Summer of Lawn (see Lawn Boy, rev. 7/07) almost over, our still unnamed twelve-year-old narrator has complication upon complication. His best friends are coming home, and he'll have to explain that now he's a "hundred-thousandaire"; the prizefighter he manages has attracted a long-lost cousin who's clearly up to no good; and he's developed an entourage, or "people who manage the people who manage the business." With all these metaphorical weeds in his garden, our hero needs to simplify, a task easier said than done. But, to no one's surprise, simplify he does in the same breezy manner displayed in Lawn Boy. Characters are lightly drawn, with good guys and bad guys clearly delineated. Chapter titles (such as "The Abrupt Termination of Proven Liabilities, with Some Pain" or "The Axiom of Shifting Paradigms") read like stuffy academicism, smartly playing off the humorous, satirical tone of this fast-moving narrative. Paulsen's given his fans a lighthearted end to a lighthearted summer, just the thing for readers looking for a quick fix before heading back to school.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)