Mulch the Lawnmower A beautiful story about how you can be a star player and accomplish great things no matter what your size. A lesson about confidence and trying big things for children in grades 1-4. Looking for a great story to teach that special child in your life about the power of determination and perseverance, no matter how little or big they may be? Then look no further than Scott Nelson’s book, Mulch the Lawnmower. This cleverly written story is about a small push mower named Mulch and his garage buddy, Rider, the tractor. Every day, Mulch diligently does as his owners ask, keeping himself in tip-top shape and meticulously cutting Mr. and Mrs. Corey’s yard. At the same time, Mulch watches as his friend Rider is loaded up each day into the big trailer to travel to a much larger job, cutting the local community’s baseball field. Mulch is always anxious to hear about Rider’s day when he returns home from his exciting job. One day however, Rider wasn’t feeling very well and Mr. Corey decided he would not be able to use him to cut the baseball stadium’s grass. Apparently, he was missing an important part from his engine and it would have to be ordered. What was he to do? He felt Mulch was much too small for such a big job. Fortunately for Mulch, Mrs. Corey didn’t feel the same way. Thus, after further consideration, Mr. Corey asked Mulch to take Rider’s place for the day. Mulch was terrified. Would he be up to such a task? Would he let his owner down? Mulch couldn’t sleep at all the night before his big job. Finally, the next morning came and Mulch was loaded onto the trailer, just like Rider. Off to the baseball field they went. When Mulch arrived, he couldn’t believe his eyes, in front of him was the largest field of grass he had ever seen and certainly ever had to cut. But with an internal desire to do his best, Mulch started mowing. The result? Success! He proved that he could be a team player and do a great job even though he was just a small mower. This book is great for beginning readers as the text allows for reading in small chapters or segments to children of various ages. The colorful, vibrant, comical illustrations would amuse any child even if the story were shortened or paraphrased a bit for a younger child. A value all parents wish to instill in their children, Mulch the Lawnmower shows how much you can accomplish with a positive and determined attitude, no matter what your size.