Lunch Money

I'm a nine year old boy from NY. This book is funny and serious, too. This boy Greg wants to make lots of money while copycats try to steal his ideas. He makes money by selling little chunky comics. I recommend this book to everyone. WB

"Greg Kenton had heaps of talent. He was good at baseball, and even better at soccer. He had a clear singing voice, and he also played the piano. He was a wiz at sketching and drawing, and he did well at school- reading, science, music, gym, social studies- the whole deal. But as good as he was at all these things, Greg's greatest talent had always been money." Greg was good at everything involving money counting money, making money, and hardest of all saving money. Lunch Money, by Andrew Clements is a clever, fun, and humorous story about Greg and his friend Maura trying to convince the teachers at their school that comic books should be permitted to be bought and sold at school by Greg and Maura. Greg and Maura never got along with each other until they figured out that the best way for both of them to make some extra cash was to work together. They decided to write and illustrate comic books and sell them at school. To help them they asked their math teacher Mr. Z. When they all work together they can overcome any challenges that may come in their way. In result the story had an exciting plot line. One of these exciting events was when Maura and Greg were in the classroom and weren't getting along Maura reached for one of their mini comics and Greg moved his hand resulting in getting punched in the nose and having a black eye. The author, Andrew Clements is an excellent writer. He adds lots of his voice and personality into his stories. Clements will keep you guessing and laughing through the whole story. There are two essential themes in this story, friendship and the fact that you can do anything if you put your mind to it and believe in yourself. I would recommend this book to someone who likes a funny, exciting, story that will keep you on your toes. This book makes it seem like you are in the story. This would also be a good book for a teacher looking for a class read. To find out what will happen to Maura and Greg and their mini comics read Lunch Money!

In each of his school stories, Andrew Clmeents manages to touch on many of the same issues, but always has something new to explore. This one is another in this great line. "Lunch Money" focuses on Greg Kenton, a boy who is only in the sixth grade, but is already hard at work on planning a business empire. Although he enjoys many normal-kid activities, he's already working hard --- raking leaves, shoveling snow, doing extra chores for cash and various other activities. His first ever bank deposit was $3,200 and then he decided that school would be a great place to make money. His attempts at selling candy and toys were shut down by the principal, but he has a new idea that he's sure will work --- Chunky Comics --- miniature comic books, hand-drawn, mass-produced and sold for a quarter each. It's a great idea, but problems soon crop up: - His long-time rival --- Maura Shaw --- steps in with a plan of her one - The administration, of course, eventually catches wind of Greg's plan, once again throwing a wrench in the works. So what follows is a tale of two rivals finding out things they never knew about each other and thoughtful questions about school policies, courage, hard work and what's truly important in life. Like all Andrew Clements novels, this story is extremely well written and easy to follow. The characters are identifiable and believeable --- the other most major character in the story being the math teacher named Mr Zenotopoulous, known to most simply as Mr. Z. Mr. Z. fears the sight of blood and has a long history of avoiding conflict because of this, but he ends up finding himself more involved in the situation that develops with Greg, Maura and the comics than he ever would have thought possible. In this, Clements once again shows his knack for helping his readers to see things not just from the students' points-of-view, but from the teachers' as well.

Lunch Money is a cleverly written children's book. The main character, Greg, is an intrinsically motivated young man that is out for the all-mighty dollar. As a small child, Greg was in awe of money. His life-long goal is be "superrich." After spearheading several profitable businesses, Greg finds a moneymaking venture that he loves---making and selling comic books. However, Greg must tackle a few problems along the way. His biggest problem...a long-standing rivalry with a girl! This book is a great chapter book for young readers. The chapters are short, so the reading is not intimidating. Plus, Brian Selznick created illustrations within the chapters that create humor. Not only is the layout inviting for children, but also it explores practical living skills and character education. As a teacher, I found a treasure trove of possible enrichment lessons in Lunch Money. Clements' book addresses real-world math skills, work ethic and motivation, proactive problem solving, and making and maintaining friendships. Lunch Money even delves into the precious awkwardness of boy-girl relationships in elementary school. I enjoyed this book tremendously and will certainly share it with my young readers.

LUNCH MONEY is a character-driven middle grade novel that centers on two richly drawn characters. From the first page the reader gets a sense of Greg Kenton's entire motivation in life: money. He is driven to earn it, save it, and spend it. His nemesis, Maura Shaw, also has a head for business and has been competing with Greg since they were toddlers. At the end of his fifth grade year, Greg discovers that his fellow classmates have a lot of spending power. He notices that each of them has an extra quarter or two every day to spend at lunch on pencils, ice cream sandwiches and cookies. Greg is determined to get a piece of the action. All he needs is the right product to sell to them. Candy and toys won't go over big with the teachers and principal, but who could complain if he sold books to the kids? Soon Greg's Chunky Comics business is born. Greg writes, illustrates and produces the comics at home. His business takes off and he is getting rich quick. But obstacles soon get in the way of Greg's thriving business and threaten to shut him down. Will he be able to overcome these hurdles and grow his business? In this age of commercialism and consumerism, Andrew Clements --- the author of FRINDLE and a number of popular school stories --- will have readers thinking about what it means to be a success in life. Greg Kenton learns a thing or two about success, and readers will too. I wish Andrew Clements success with this delightful middle grade novel. --- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner (...)