3 Inspiring Entrepreneurship Books Your Kids Won’t Want to Put Down

Sometimes the best way to teach kids about entrepreneurship is to hand them a really good story.

Our family has discovered three books that do exactly that: Lawn Boy, Lawn Boy Returns, and The Toothpaste Millionaire.

They're fiction. They're light reads. They're funny and entertaining. And somehow, without feeling like a business lesson, they get kids thinking about ideas, customers, money, investing, problem-solving, and what might happen when a kid decides to start a business.

Best of all? Every kid I know who has picked up one of these books has had a hard time putting it down.

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Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Lawn Boy follows a twelve-year-old boy who receives his grandfather's old riding lawn mower and starts mowing lawns. Before long, more customers want his services than he can handle—and what starts as a simple summer job turns into a surprisingly big business.

Along the way, he meets a stockbroker who teaches him about investing, profits, supply and demand, and growing his wealth. The story takes some wonderfully ridiculous turns, which is part of what makes it so much fun.

My 9-year-old summed up what he loved about it this way:

“The main character doesn't even have a lawn that needed to be mowed. Someone gave him an old mower, and everyone wanted him to mow their lawns.”

That observation actually captures one of my favorite entrepreneurship lessons in the book: he noticed an opportunity. There was a need in his community, and he figured out how to meet it.

And then things got very interesting.

Check the current price of Lawn Boy on Amazon →

It's a short, inexpensive read, making it an easy addition to a homeschool reading list, summer reading stack, or entrepreneurial-minded kid's bookshelf. Prices vary by format and seller, but it's often available for just a few dollars.

Lawn Boy Returns by Gary Paulsen

If your kid loves Lawn Boy, don't stop there.

Lawn Boy Returns takes the story even further. The main character has already made a fortune from his lawn business, and suddenly he's dealing with fame, investments, business complications, and the consequences of becoming very successful at a very young age. The publisher describes it as a funny follow-up filled with “big surprises and big laughs.”

And there's a little detail at the end that I especially love: after selling his successful company, he receives an ice cream maker from his grandmother.

It's almost a wink from the story that says, Well… what do you think he's going to do with that?

Entrepreneurship isn't necessarily about starting one business and stopping. Sometimes it's about learning to recognize opportunities wherever they appear.

This book was written for 9-12 year olds, but my 14-year-old's review, after reading the entire thing in one sitting?

“This is one of the only books that's good enough to be on my shelf.”

Coming from a teenager who has strong opinions about what deserves bookshelf real estate, I'll take that as a five-star review.

Check the current price of Lawn Boy Returns on Amazon →

Like the first book, it's a quick, approachable read. The paperback is currently listed at $7.99 by the publisher, although Amazon pricing can change.

The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill

Then there's The Toothpaste Millionaire, which may be my favorite of the three from an actual entrepreneurship perspective.

The premise is fantastic: a kid decides he can make toothpaste more cheaply than the toothpaste companies do.

He starts small, experimenting and figuring out how to make and sell his product. Before long, his little toothpaste operation grows into a real business.

The story touches on costs, pricing, production, marketing, sales, math, and profits without ever feeling like a textbook. The publisher description notes that the story includes real-life mathematical problems the characters have to solve as their business grows.

One of the biggest ideas running through the story is one every young entrepreneur should think about:

What does everyone need?

Toothpaste is a particularly clever answer.

My son absolutely loved it:

“Toothpaste Millionaire was super inspiring. I absolutely loved it!”

And I can see why.

It's a story about taking a simple idea, solving a problem, figuring out how to make the numbers work, and then building something people actually want to buy.

Check the current price of The Toothpaste Millionaire on Amazon →

This is another very affordable, relatively quick read—perfect for a kid who might not yet be ready to tackle a 300-page business book.

📚 Three Fiction Books. A Lot of Entrepreneurship Lessons.

None of these books are entrepreneurship textbooks.

And that's exactly why we love them.

Kids don't necessarily need another adult explaining supply and demand, customer needs, profit margins, investing, marketing, or business growth.

Sometimes they just need a story about a kid who sees an opportunity and thinks:

“I wonder if I could do that?”

That's where something special happens.

These three books are simple, entertaining, engaging, and incredibly motivating. They're particularly fun for kids around 9–14 who are curious about making money, starting a business, or simply figuring out how the world of business works.

And if your child finishes one and immediately starts talking about a business idea of their own?

Even better.

That's the kind of reading we love around here!

And for kids who’d rather start a business than just read about one:
Noodle Bright Business Lab™ | Hands-on entrepreneurship for ages 9–14.