When I am looking for a book for my 8 year old son, I am typically pulled towards a baseball theme. The cover of this book caught my attention and the description on the jacket sealed the deal. A story involving a Babe Ruth baseball card, a con man and a plan mixed in with friendship and consequences sounded like it could keep my son's attention. I read Swindle by Gordon Korman out loud to my son and we both really enjoyed it. Instead of our typical one chapter a night, we would read two or three and only stopped when he had fallen asleep or I was too tired to read more. We always looked forward to reading each night and we loved to talk about what might happen.
Several themes run through the book that make it a great candidate for a Book Club book. My son and I had some great discussions about doing the right thing, friendship, loyalty and consequences. It was an entertaining book to read aloud filled with enough adventure and suspense to appeal to girls and adults too.
From the Publisher
Swindle: to cheat, steal, trick, deceive, defraud, lie, rob, con, backstab, obtain dishonestly...
When Griffin Bing plans a spooky sleep-over in a haunted house that's about to be demolished, he isn't planning on making a fortune. But then he discovers something more valuable that gold: a rare Babe Ruth baseball card, hidden out of view for many years.
Griffin's on his way to a million dollars... until a mean collector named S. Wendell Palomino (a.k.a. Swindle) tricks him out of the card. Now Griffin must put together a team of friends (and one or two enemies) in order to get the card back. There are many things standing in their way - a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and the fact that none of them can drive. But Griffin is a Man With a Plan, and even if some things go way beyond his control, he's not going to let his fortune go without a fight.
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Swindle by Gordon Korman
Ages 9-12
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MomsMaterial recommends Swindle by Gordon Korman.
Cammie Moise