Korman, Gordon.
SWINDLE
New York : Scholastic Press, 2008
IL 3-6, RL 4.9
ISBN 0439903440

(4 booktalks)

At the very back of the drawer, a flash of color caught his eye.  He reached in and drew out an old faded card.  There was a picture of a loaf of bread in the center, surrounded by the message: TOP DOG BAKERY PRODUCTS—FOR THE SANDWICH OF CHAMPIONS.
 He turned it over and examined the other side.
There was a color drawing of a baseball player shouldering a bat.  The image wasn’t detailed, but the face seemed familiar.  Griffin read the name at the bottom:
GEORGE HERMAN (BABE) RUTH

 During an unauthorized sleepover at the local “haunted house”, Griffin discovers an antique baseball card.  With his family desperately in need of money, he decides to sell the card—only to find out later that the unscrupulous dealer only paid him a tiny fraction of what the card was worth.
 Now Griffin has a plan for righteous revenge---he’ll assemble a team of local talent from his school:
 Ben---best friend
 Savannah---dog whisperer
 Logan---actor
 Antonia---athlete
 Melissa---computer nerd
 Darren---muscle
And together they’ll get that card back in time for the Annual Sports Memorabilia Auction.---they’re out to Swindle a swindler.  What could go wrong??
 Read Swindle for the heartstopping answer!    (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2009-2010)

Booktalk #2

Griffin Bing is not a perfect kid, in fact he gets into trouble, but he also finds a very valuable baseball card. It is taken from him and he leads a band of misfit kids to recapture it. They face a guard dog, a high tech security system and a very secret hiding place.

By the way, did you know that Gordon Korman wrote his first published novel at 12 years old?   (Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2011)

Booktalk #3

In Swindle, Daren tells Grifen and Ben that 28 people are going to have a sleepover at the Old Rockford, but they are the only ones that show up. While they are there, they find an old Babe Ruth baseball card that is worth $1,000,000. The problem is, they don't find out how much the card is worth until after they sell it! Read this book to find out how they get the card back, or do they get it back......
--- Billy Bob Joe, Brookview Elementary, Waukee, IA

Booktalk #4

Griffen Bing finds a Babe Ruth card and sells it. Later on, he finds out that it is really worth $1 million dollars! So, he forms a team to get it back. Does Griffen get his card back? Read this exciting book to find out!
---Red Sox Fan, Brookview Elementary, Waukee, IA