Tales to Tickle the Funnybone Series by Gary Paulsen, Tom Parks

Jacob Freisten's goal in life is to go about unnoticed. He's perfect at gliding past the jocks' lockers and sneaking into his English class. That was, until now. If Jacob wants to pass English, he must work for extra credit on the stage crew of the school production of The Wizard of Oz. Jacob, who is usually in a fog anyway, has the the job of running the fog machine. The problem is that Maria Tresser, the girl of his dreams, is cast as the Wicked Witch... moreJacob Freisten's goal in life is to go about unnoticed. He's perfect at gliding past the jocks' lockers and sneaking into his English class. That was, until now. If Jacob wants to pass English, he must work for extra credit on the stage crew of the school production of The Wizard of Oz. Jacob, who is usually in a fog anyway, has the the job of running the fog machine. The problem is that Maria Tresser, the girl of his dreams, is cast as the Wicked Witch. Jacob's already made a fool of himself in front of Maria. How can he face her again? less

A young boy spends his tenth summer on his aunt and uncle s farm, where he is constantly involved in crazy escapades with his cousin Harris. On the Larson farm, readers will experience hearts as large as farmers appetites, humor as broad as the country landscape and adventures as wild as boyhood imaginations. All this adds up to a hearty helping of old-fashioned, rip-roaring entertainment. --"Publishers Weekly""

One day I was twelve years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpa’s old riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: the beauty of capitalism. Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. “It’s groovy, man,” Arnold said.The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money in many things. One of them was a prizefighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very own fighter, Joey Pow... moreOne day I was twelve years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpa’s old riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: the beauty of capitalism. Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. “It’s groovy, man,” Arnold said.The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money in many things. One of them was a prizefighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very own fighter, Joey Pow. That’s when my twelfth summer got really interesting.Gary Paulsen’s comic story about a summer job becomes a slapstick lesson in business as one boy turns a mountain of grass into a mountain of cash. less