My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

From Goodreads,

"Gary Paulsen has owned dozens of unforgettable and amazing dogs. In each chapter, he tells of one special dog, among them Cookie, the sled dog who saved his life; Snowball, the puppy he owned as a boy in the Philippines; Ike, his mysterious hunting companion; Dirk, the grim protector; and his true friend Josh, a brilliant border collie."

Goodreads - My Life in Dog Years

Most people can think back to a pet they had in their life that was a huge part of their life.  Most pets, especially dogs, are forgiving creatures that love unconditionally.  My Life in Dog Years is Gary Paulsen's stories from his life with his favorite and most memorable dogs.  Some of the dogs were only in his life for a short time and some were there for an extended period.  This nonfiction book was a perfect collection of feel-good stories about dogs. 

While I was reading this book it really made me think about dogs that have been in my life and the impact that they have had.  Shiloh and George both stood out while I was thinking about my life in dog years.  Shiloh came into my life when I was 4 or 5.  A guy my dad worked with said he was trying to find a home for a beagle that had been abused and was kind of aggressive.  My dad being the big-hearted person he is said he would take the dog.  He picked up the dog and brought him to our house.  I immediately told my mom that he looked like the dog off the VHS cover of Shiloh.  I referred to him as Shiloh from that day on and it stuck.  Shiloh was very scared for a short period after arriving at our house.  He was never aggressive and he was showered with love.  He lived a happy life with us and enjoyed the freedom when we moved to a new house with plenty of land to roam on.  He lived to be eleven or twelve years old.  Shiloh really taught me that even though you can have a bad start in life, your situation can change for the better.  The other dog that came to mind was George.  George was an AKC registered English Bulldog.  We got him as a puppy and he was really mine and my dad's dog.  I have so many memories with George.  I remember the day I moved into the dorms at college.  I cried while I was leaving because I was going to miss him so much.  George was always there when I needed someone to talk to or when I didn't feel good.  I remember being checked out of school early one day because I had a severe sinus infection.  After going to a clinic and getting a prescription I went home and crawled in the recliner.  George promptly crawled in the recliner and laid with me for hours while I rested.  He always knew when you needed him, and he was there for me and my dad more times than we can count.  George taught me that dogs have souls and emotions and can understand what we need.  George taught me, unconditional love.  This book was Gary Paulsen's story of his life and dogs that have been a part of it.  It was a book of reflection and it made me reflect on my life and how fortunate I have been to have such wonderful pets in it.

I really enjoyed this book, and my only complaint is that I wish there had been pictures of the dogs included.  I give this book 3 stars.  It was really good, but of course, there was no plot since it is nonfiction.  This is a great book if you like dogs or books by Gary Paulsen.  I think Gary Paulsen fans would really enjoy getting to know the background of some of the dogs he writes into his fictional books. 

Lawn Boy and Lawn Boy Returns by Gary Paulsen

From Goodreads,

"One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me Grandpa's old riding lawnmower. I set out to mow some lawns. More people wanted me to mow their lawns. And more and more. . . . One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about "the beauty of capitalism. Supply and Demand. Diversify labor. Distribute the wealth." "Wealth?" I said. "It's groovy, man," said Arnold.

If I'd known what was coming, I might have climbed on my mower and putted all the way home to hide in my room. But the lawn business grew and grew. So did my profits, which Arnold invested in many things. And one of them was Joey Pow the prizefighter. That's when my 12th summer got really interesting."

Goodreads - Lawn Boy

Awards:

• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for Children (2010)

I bought this book at a resale shop and figured that it would go perfectly in my author tub labeled "Gary Paulsen" that is located in my classroom library.  I had heard about the book from a fellow teacher.  When school was out I packed some books up that I wanted to read over the summer.  I took it home, left it in the crate, and totally forgot about it.  I'm not sure what made me dig this book out, but I did.  I figured I should get it read and get it back into my classroom library so my students could get their hands on the book.

This book is about Lawn Boy who receives a riding lawnmower from his grandmother for his birthday.  He then goes and mows a yard or two, and then some more neighbors ask for their yard to be mowed, and the next thing he knows he owns a business.  Arnold helps him invest his money and they watch it pile up as he climbs the ladder to success.  Of course there are a few hiccups along the way to success, and Lawn Boy has to figure out how to deal with them.

This book was loaded with economic information.  This book would be perfect to do an economic unit with.  Students could learn how to manage and handle money in real life, and they could also learn that a little dream can turn into something big.  I like how it broke some of the tough economic language down into kid friendly terms so that they  understood what the words meant.

The book was fairly short and speedy.  It definitely didn't waste time getting down to business.  I wish that it had elaborated just a tad more on the economic business of things, but I do understand that everything happened very fast in the book and therefore there wasn't tons of time to elaborate.


From Goodreads,

"Gary Paulsen’s funny follow-up to Lawn Boy is full of big surprises and big laughs.

Lawn Boy says: The summer I was twelve, mowing lawns with Grandpa’s old riding mower turned into big business. With advice from Arnold the stockbroker, I learned all about making money.

Six weeks and hundred of thousands of dollars later, life got more complicated. You see, the prizefighter I sponsor, Joey Pow, won a big fight. And a TV interview made me famous. As Arnold says, “Capitalism plus publicity equals monster commerce.” Even my best friends wanted a piece of the action. Meanwhile, some scary guys showed up at Joey’s gym. . . ."

Goodreads - Lawn Boy Returns

This is the sequel to Lawn Boy.  I again found this at a resale shop for a dollar and purchased it so that my kids could read the two books back to back if they desired.

This book picks up shortly after where the first book left off.  While the first book talks about the rise of Lawn Boy and how he earned and multiplied his fortunes, this one really talks about the downfalls.  Lawn Boy is really trying to get out of the business so that he can be a regular kid for the rest of the summer instead of trying to run a business and sponsor a prizefighter.

I liked how this book focused on the downside of economics instead of just making and multiplying money.  I think it is good for kids to be exposed to both ends of the economic spectrum and for it to be explained in kid terms.  I also really liked how they tried to shut down the entire operation so that Lawn Boy could be a kid again, but instead they reinvested the money elsewhere so that they didn't lose everything they had put into the business.

Overall, these two books were pretty good.  They had lots of economic information in both of them that could be highly beneficial when teaching students about economics.  However, I'm not a big fan of economics and all that surrounds it, so these books were a little off from what I would typically read.  I do think that students would like these books and that it could inspire them to think about economics in their own life and how to start a business.  I give both of the books 3.5 out of 5 stars.  These would be perfect for younger students or boys who are needing a "funny" book to read.