BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSOn his twelfth birthday, a boy in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, gets an unusual gift from his grandmother: his grandfather's old riding lawn mower, a noisy, very old little machine with no muffler. His own yard barely needs mowing. But when a neighbor spots him at work and asks how much he charges, one lawn turns into a real business. By the second day he is fast approaching the limit of what he can mow alone, and a strange, round, seventies-dressed stockbroker named Arnold Howell, who lives on the corner, offers to pay him in stock instead of cash. Arnold also connects him with Pasqual, a red-haired man who does quiet yard work after dark, and soon a whole crew is mowing yards across the neighborhood while the boy scrambles to keep track of it all in a notebook. It all starts at a time when the only thing he needs is money for a bike inner tube, and it quickly grows into something far bigger and stranger than he ever imagined.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Lawn Boy
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Lawn Boy. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book would a grandmother with burning hair say, "at least we have light to read by"?
✓ Answer
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
This is how the narrator introduces his grandmother, who always believes everything will come out all right no matter how bad things seem. She is the most positive person in the world, and she is also the one who gives him the old riding mower that changes his whole summer.
- First half
In what book does a hippie neighbor serve sweet iced tea that he says has no sugar?
✓ Answer
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Arnold hands the narrator his hippie iced tea on the front steps while the narrator worries about getting more jobs than he can handle. Arnold makes the same sweet tea again on the rainy day they go over the business notebooks.
- First half
In what book does a red-haired man insist, "You take half because you are the boss"?
✓ Answer
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Pasqual offers to take half of what the narrator gets for the jobs he and Louis do, and the narrator argues that getting half for doing nothing isn't fair. Pasqual smiles and explains that the boss found these jobs and will find more, so that's the way it's done.
- Second half
In what book does a giant repeat his whole thank-you speech after greeting the wrong sponsor first?
✓ Answer
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Joseph Powdermilk steps in, faces Arnold and thanks him for being his sponsor, but Arnold says wrong sponsor and points to the narrator. Joseph turns, like a mountain turning, and repeats the exact same thank-you to the twelve-year-old.
- Second half
In what book does a secretly rich kid ask his parents what they'd want if they could have anything?
✓ Answer
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
After dinner the narrator tries to tell his parents about his fortune, but every start sounds lame, so he asks what they would want if they could have anything at all. His mom says she would hope he has a happy and fulfilled life, and neither parent can name a thing for themselves.
- Near the end
In what book does a kid imagine police joking they must first pick up the tooth fairy and Superman?
✓ Answer
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
The narrator has a cell phone and thinks about calling nine-one-one, but wonders who would believe a twelve-year-old who says he runs a huge business and his stockbroker's house has been taken over. He pictures the police saying they'll be right over once they pick up the tooth fairy and Superman, so he doesn't call.
