I liked this story a lot. Eric Greene, a typical kid, has a special after-school job. That job is to take care of a little crippled boy - teach him all of the special knowledge that is gained through friendships with one's age group (like how to make paper airplanes out of newspaper advertisements) and keep him cheerful. When Jimmy sets his heart on a pair of bright red cowboy boots, Eric tries to steer the conversation onto other matters, but Jimmy is determined. He decides to dream that he will get them, even though he has no money for them. Eric, who is very skeptical of the whole boot idea, nevertheless determines to earn enough money to buy the boots for Jimmy. And thus begins a very unique system of swapping - a triangular stamp for a Corgi car.... a Corgi car for a thunderegg rock.... a thunderegg rock for a Petoshky stone.... a Petoshky stone for a flat iron..... et cetera, et cetera, until the value of his swaps grow larger and larger, and he is almost out of time. Will he win the boots for Jimmy? You'll just have to find that out for yourself!
