Swindle

Do you like action and suspense? Well, then you should read Swindle.

Swindle is about this kid named Griffin who invites his friend Ben over to a house that is to be destroyed in the morning. While Griffin was there he found a Babe Ruth baseball card. Griffin Goes to a pawn shop and gets a couple hundred dollars. On T.V the next day it turns out that card could be worth one million dollars. Read to find out what happens.

This book was so good I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. The reasons why it was so good is because its breathtaking, it surprises you, and it’s action packed. It was breathtaking because Griffin finds the card in the house. It surprises you because it turns out the card is worth a lot. It’s action packed because Griffin and Ben barely escape the house. This book even surprised me when I read the book.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars because of its entertainment. Gordon Korman also writes some of the 39 clues books.

Children of today's society are always feeling the need to improve. That's what Swindle is all about. Swindle, a novel written by Gordon Koman, is about a group of kids who get "Swindled" out of a valuable card, and plan a heist to get it back. How will a group of kids break into someone's house and steal something back that is rightfully theirs?
Griffin is a 6th grade boy living in a world dominated by adults. Griffin plans a big party for him and his friends to protest an old building being demolished. When in the house, Griffin finds a baseball card with the name "George Herman `Babe' Ruth." The next day, him and his friends wake up to the wrecking balls tearing down the old house. Griffin goes straight to a collectables shop to sell the card. At the shop, owned by S. Wendell Polamaulu (Swindle), Swindle tricks him out of the card for $120, when really the card is worth a million. Griffin finds this out and takes charge. He plans a heist with friends to steal the million dollar card back. The rest of the story describes the fulfillment of his plans.
Swindle is targeted for children ages 10-14. This is because of the topic, a stolen baseball card, and the characters, which are all in 6th grade. The audience is kept throughout the story because Griffin is the main character. The genre of the book is suspense because the book has several parts where Griffin could've been caught before, during, or after the heist. This is a very different book from this genre that I have read because it mainly involves children, not adults.
Swindle is a lot like the Shadow Children series. This is because in each of the books, children are breaking into places because they want to overrule adult authority. But in the Shadow Children series, the children are illegal. The country banned third children due to overpopulation. But in Swindle, a possession was stolen and the kids wanted to get it back.
Swindle was a great book, with a lot of suspenseful parts. One of the high points of the story is when someone plans to blackmail them, so they are forced to do something in return. There are also a lot others when the heist is taking place. Although it was good, there was not a lot of build up to the heist. The book also had a great unique plot because it involves kids doing something usually corrupt adults do. But, half the time, I didn't even know what was going on in the story, specifically towards the end.
Ultimately, this book was great. Lots of suspense, action, and even keeps you asking questions until the end.

Eleven-year old Griffin Bing had heard enough of his parents' arguments about too many bills and not enough money. If only his father had kept his engineering job and not risked everything with that silly new invention, the SmartPick fruit picking device of the future. Now the family might even need to sell their house and move to a more affordable location. All these worries seemed to melt away when Griffin found a rare Babe Ruth baseball card in a deserted old house slated for demolition. He had a hunch that card could be worth a lot of money.

Initial disappointment that the local collectibles dealer, S. Wendell Palomino, purchased the card for only $120 led to outrage when Griffin discovered that Palomino had lied about its true value. The Babe Ruth card could fetch close to a million dollars at the auction where Palomino planned to sell it. Griffin, always "the Man With a Plan," needed his best plan ever to get the card back. He would also need a team of friends to help him deal with a ferocious guard dog, high-tech security, watchful eyes, a locked safe, and those inevitable surprises.

Hold onto your hats and get ready for a fast ride. Swindle is a hilarious novel that provides a clever story and could even leave a racing heart and sweaty palms. Reading about how economic incentives can lead to some truly extraordinary behaviors has never been so much fun.

Eleven-year old Griffin Bing had heard enough of his parents' arguments about too many bills and not enough money. If only his father had kept his engineering job and not risked everything with that silly new invention, the SmartPick fruit picking device of the future. Now the family might even need to sell their house and move to a more affordable location. All these worries seemed to melt away when Griffin found a rare Babe Ruth baseball card in a deserted old house slated for demolition. He had a hunch that card could be worth a lot of money.

Initial disappointment that the local collectibles dealer, S. Wendell Palomino, purchased the card for only $120 led to outrage when Griffin discovered that Palomino had lied about its true value. The Babe Ruth card could fetch close to a million dollars at the auction where Palomino planned to sell it. Griffin, always "the Man With a Plan," needed his best plan ever to get the card back. He would also need a team of friends to help him deal with a ferocious guard dog, high-tech security, watchful eyes, a locked safe, and those inevitable surprises.

Hold onto your hats and get ready for a fast ride. Swindle is a hilarious novel that provides a clever story and could even leave a racing heart and sweaty palms. Reading about how economic incentives can lead to some truly extraordinary behaviors has never been so much fun.

Could seven sixth graders in a small New York town pull off an unimaginable heist? The answer is found in a wonderful book, Swindle, by Gordon Korman. It all starts in Cedarville when Griffin Bing finds a million dollar baseball card in a condemned building. His family is low on money and Griffin (a.k.a. the Man with a Plan) hopes the card will solve their problems. He goes to a card shop where the owner rips him off, buying the card for $120. When Griffin finds out how much it's worth and realizes the shop owner won't give it back, he tries to steal it from the store. But the card is gone! Griffin is devastated. When his best friend, Ben, suggests that the card could be at the swindler's house, Griffin gets the dream team together for round two. Can they do it?
This is a great book for young and old alike. First of all, it has lots of action, so you can't put it down. Secondly, the characters seem very real; Korman does a great job with dialogue. He also uses descriptive words to create a vivid image in your head. I have only one problem with this book. It's the amount of lying the kids do. Otherwise, it's an "A" read. A great book for anyone. Swindle, by Gordon Korman, is a book that everyone should read!

e book Swindle by Gordon Korman was an exciting book that kept me reading. One of my favorite parts in this book was when Griffin and his team broke into S. Wenell’s house using Griffin’s brilliant plan. Another part that I liked was when Luthor a Doberman saved Savannah knocking out of the way a dog that was about to attack Savannah. I loved these parts because they had a lot of suspense. I found a couple weaknesses in this story. One of them was how Griffin found a rare baseball card that is worth a ton of money. Another one was what happened when the two men came in S. Wendell’s house. I would like to recommend this book to others because this book was very intense, interesting, and kept me reading.
Agustin,7th grader

Swindle
Gordan Korman is the fascinating author of Swindle. The book includes intelligence, mystery, cruelty, and thievery. Swindle is about a knowledgeable boy, Griffin and his best friend, Ben. They try to get a rare Boston Red Sox Babe Ruth baseball card back from S. Wendell Palomino. (A.K.A. Swindle.) Griffin and Ben form a team filled with skillful people to help him with his Big Plan. One of the items he uses to get it back is one of his dad’s inventions, the ‘’ iGot it’’. It’s probably the best book I’ve ever read! It’s a great, entertaining, adventurous book to recite!! If you take in this book, several secrets are reaveled. Swindle is also comfortably predictable and lots of stalling is involved for insane events to occur. If I would’ve rated this paperback with stars I would give it 5/5 stars.

This book fits into the suspense genre. The plot revolves around a stolen baseball card. In the story Darren plans to go to Griffins sleep over, that is supposedly spooky. The house is about to get demolished within three days. As he is at the sleep over he discovers a rare baseball card. He feels very guilty though, however he has another problem on his shoulder, he is trying to sell the card for a reasonable price. But Swindle covets the card and tricks him into selling the card for half the price.

Most of the action takes place after the demolition of the house, at the Palomino Emporium. The emporium is like a pawnshop with a devious owner who lies about prices. Darren tries to sell the baseball card at the emporium. All the main characters in the story want the baseball card for their own reasons. More action takes place in the emporium when the police get involved.

The author could have done a better job at making me feel I was there by adding details. For example, giving more details on the setting would bring it to life. The author could have made the novel more interesting by incorporating the five senses. Sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste words would make the story more real. These are just some suggestions on how I think the story could be brought to life.

Some of the main characters are believable. I can relate to Darren from the story. I’m similar to him because we both crave adventure. Swindle also seems real because I know some people like him. Those are the two main characters I can relate to.

If you are tired of reading boring classics and are looking for a fast pace suspenseful story Swindle is for you. The author has a unique style of writing a story in a fashion that’s easy to read. It has suspense and humor. This author is able to write in a way that appeals to ages 8-14. I enjoyed the authors writing style.

Here are a couple points that appealed to me. “As Darren walked through the mahogany floors he stumbled upon Swindle.” “After the captive sleep over the air felt crisp.” “I felt relived after the pressure of guilt that I held in my stomach when I told my parents the truth.” These are some highlights that stood out to me.

I enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend this book to people who love suspense and action. I hope you enjoyed my critique I would rate it 4.8-5 stars. I wouldn’t give it five stars because some parts I was lost. But I would definitely recommend this book.

Although he is an excellent author, Korman failed to hold my interest with this one. As a trooper, I finished the book. I just couldn't get hooked and I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters EXCEPT toward the end. I think it was Griffin who was being asked where the card was and his response was "I honestly don't know". In his mind he justified this because he didn't know EXACTLY where the card was between the mailbox and the destination. Would a kid this young really think this way? I thought it was interesting, but not too believable. To be fair, I think I like books with more character development and this was plot-driven. But I still think Korman is a great author.

This book is full of adventure. It about this boy that stays the night in a house that is going to be nocked down the next day. When one of the boys can't sleep he decides to investigate the house. He finds a babe Ruth card hidden in a secret door in a dresser. He goes the next morning to see if it's worth any money. A man known as Swindle tricks the boy that found the card and saying that it is only worth $100 but it is really worth $1,000,000. When the boy sees Swindle on T.V. he finds out that it is worth a lot more than $100 and gets some friends together and make a plan to steel the card back and get all the money from the card.

Dear Readers,

If you like action and mystery books, then you will love Swindle. Swindle is a book about two boys named Griffin and Ben. Griffin invites a lot of people to spend the night in an old abandoned house, but only Ben shows up. While Ben falls asleep very quickly, Griffin goes exploring. Somehow bats frighten Griffin and he falls through a hole. Griffin is having difficulty seeing in the darkness, but then he spies a cabinet. He opens the cabinet and out pops a baseball card that reads George Herman (Babe) Ruth. He finally found a way out and the next day Griffin wanted to go check if the card was valuable. He goes to a Sports Memarabilia shop to see what is was worth. The owner, S. Wendell Palomino, rips Griffin off for only $160. If you would like to hear what happens next,then you're going to have to read it.

Two kids, Ben and Griffin, invite all of their friends to an abandoned shack in Cedarville, New York for a sleepover. They all said they would come, but none of them showed up. Ben and Griffin knew that the house was going to get knocked down so they got up very early. Before the house got demolished, Griffin got up to explore the abandoned house. He found a Babe Ruth baseball card printed in 1920. After the abandoned shack got hit with a wrecking ball, Griffin and Ben went to the trading post in town.

S. Windle (a.k.a Swindle) told Ben and Griffin that the card was not very rare, and that it was a fake because it had blue lines on the edges of the card. Swindle said, "I'll give you $120.00 for the card". Griffin went home that day and on the news, he saw reporters at Swindle's store. They were talking about how much the card was worth, and Swindle said, ``I've seen cards like this go for $2,000,000.00 before in an auction''. Then, Griffin planned to get the card back from Swindle by performing a heist to get the card in Swindle's safe. Griffin got all of his friends to join in the heist. Griffin got his dad's blowtorch to cut open the side of the safe where the valuable card was located. Griffin and his friends planned to enter Swindle's house through the skylight.

Before Griffin and his friends go into Swindle's house, they get information about Swindle's house from the Cedarville Library. They found out that he has an e-alarm which sends a message to his phone if someone sets it off. They had to be really careful. After the kids sneaked into Swindle's house, they typed the code,shut down the e-alarm, and used the blowtorch to open the safe and get the card.

The kids found out that the card and the old house belonged to a relative of one of their friends, Darren Vader. When 97-year-old Winnifred Rockford mistook the card for a candy bar she gave it to her youngest relative, Darren. Darren's parents said, "We can't let Darren have the money from a robbery." So they donated the money to the city to make a Cedarville Museum and Skate Park.

Griffin and his best friend Ben find a million dollar baseball card.
DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE MAIN EVENTS!

This book includes two break ins, one at "Swindle's" store and one at his house, falling threw the skylight at Swindle's house, finding a supper secret hiding place, getting people not to spill the beans when the police know somethings up and much more adventure. Also Griffin finds out Ben has nicroscopesy and Dearen, Griffins enemy falls out of a thirty foot tree. One of the best series. Highly recomended!

I read this book in order to analyze the mechanics of the plot of a middle grade novel. The book is a page turner, geared toward boys, with a likeable boy protagonist who has unusual initiative and skill at implementing elaborate plans. Unlike another reviewer who gave the book one star due to 'inappropriate' content, I believe that most children get a sense of the realism of a story (or lack thereof)--and this one is a bit farfetched. It is to be read for fun, and a fun read it is.

Griffin Bing secretly sleeps at the Old Rockford house with his best friend Ben. They decide to explore the old house when Griffin spots a Babe Ruth baseball card. The next morning the two boys take the card to Palomino's Emporium of Collectibles and Memorabilia. Mr. Palomino says that the card is fake. He gives the boys $120 for the card. Griffin and Ben take the deal. When Griffin gets home he hears that the Babe Ruth card could be worth up to $1,000,000. Griffin realizes he had been cheated on. Griffin rounds up all of his friends and they start to make a plan to steal back their baseball card. Will Griffin get his baseball card back or will Mr. Palomino sell the card and gets his cash? My favorite part is when Griffin and his crew start their heist to get the baseball card back and I recommend this book to everyone of all ages.

Griffin Bing had a plan. He invited everyone he could think of to a sleepover at the Old Rockford House. It was scheduled to be demolished the next day, but Griffin hoped to use the sleepover as a protest of sorts. He was very disappointed that only his best friend, Ben, showed up.

A group of the kids had the idea that the city could build a skate park on the property when the creepy old house was torn down, but the city officials had other ideas. They thought a museum was a better idea. Griffin had organized the sleepover hoping to get the attention their plan deserved. Instead, all he got was a night in his sleeping bag listening to his friend Ben snore.

Before leaving the old house, the boys did a little exploring. Griffin accidentally discovered a secret drawer, and tucked in that drawer was a card - an old baseball card with a picture of Babe Ruth. He was sure it was valuable and would help solve his parents' financial problems.

After a narrow escape from the wrecking ball, Griffin and Ben hurry to Palomino's Emporium of Collectibles and Memorabilia to get the opinion of an expert. Much to their disappointment, S. Wendell Palomino gives them bad news. The card is a reproduction and worth very little. He offers them $120, and they take the money and run.

Imagine their surprise and fury when the nightly news is carrying the story of one S. Wendell Palomino and his incredible discovery of a valuable baseball trading card valued at $1,000,000. What follows is Griffin's new plan to get back the card he believes is rightfully his.

Gordon Korman has once again created a story sure to captivate middle grade audiences. His adventurous characters, great use of humor, and non-stop action make SWINDLE great fun to read. The easy, fast-moving pace will hold the attention of readers of all levels and will also work well as a read-aloud in many classrooms.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

The man with the plan Griffin Bing heard about the Rockford House being torn down. He decided to plan a sleepover at the house as a protest. He invited all of his friends and anyone he knew and came up with a plan. However, only one kid showed up. He stumbled across a Babe Ruth baseball card in a desk drawer. They took it to a collectables shop to find out its worth. S. Wendell Palomino bought it from the kids for $160 stating it wasn't a "real" card. The kids found out it was worth way more than that so Bing created a plan to get it back. It was eventually recovered and worth $974,000.

The book started slow, but it got better and was hard to put down. The action never stops. This is a good book if you like suspense. I would recommend to anyone who likes suspense and baseball.

Fun mystery from middle grade favorite Gordon Korman. An unlikely group of classmates with special talents unite together to get revenge (and what’s “rightly” theirs) from Swindle, a crooked neighborhood business man.

This book is for all ages. Many people would LOVE this book and as they start to read it they would not stop. Griffin Bing is on a mission. He is on a mission to get a million dollars. This was a fantastic book. I wonder if they will succeed. I recommend this book to people 10 and up. If you are wondering what genre this story is it is and Adventure- Mystery. As you start to read this wonderful book you will either not sleep or even putting DOWN the book.

When Griffin Bing, "The Man With the Plan," invites some of his buddies to spend the night at the Old Rockford House --- which is reported to be haunted and is slated for demolition the following day --- only his best friend Ben Slovak shows up.

After Ben falls asleep, Griffin is left alone with his thoughts --- and worries. Lately his parents have been talking about selling the house and moving to a less expensive neighborhood. Griffin will do anything to stay in his home and not leave his friends.

To pass time until morning, Griffin decides to investigate the old house. When he does, he stumbles across an old-fashioned desk with a tiny drawer that won't budge. But when he finds a small button and presses it, the locked drawer pops open. Wedged in the back of the drawer is a faded old card with a baseball player named GEORGE HERMAN (BABE) RUTH. Griffin immediately realizes that the card is valuable, and he hopes that by selling it, he can solve his family's financial problems.

The next morning, after avoiding disaster with a wrecking ball, he shows the card to Ben, who questions if it belongs to Griffin or the owner of the old house. After some discussion, the boys decide to take it to "Palomino's Emporium of Collectibles and Memorabilia" for appraisal.

The Emporium owner, S. Wendell (Swindle) Palomino, examines the card and convinces the boys that it's a replica --- a 40-year-old reproduction of an original Babe Ruth baseball card --- and not worth much. He gives them $120 for the card. After the transaction, Griffin watches Swindle lock the card in a portable safe behind the counter. Griffin suspects that it's worth much more, but Swindle has an explanation for everything.

Griffin gives half the money from Swindle to Ben and pockets the remainder. Later, Griffin sees Swindle on television holding up the Babe Ruth card. On camera, Swindle lies about how he it got it and announces that it will be sold to the highest bidder, estimating that the rare collectible could bring $1 million at auction.

Griffin realizes that he has been lied to, tricked and cheated, and he vows to get the card back from Swindle. He can't tell his parents, because he lied to them about where he was on the night he spent in the old house. So he has to come up with a plan to break into the store and retrieve the card. Standing in his way are a vicious Doberman guard dog, a sophisticated security system, a hidden safe, and his best friend, Ben, who has serious reservations about Griffin's scheme.

Without being overly preachy, author Gordon Korman presents some thoughtful moral dilemmas for preteens to consider. Who is the rightful owner of the card? To what lengths will Griffin go to get it back? Will he lie and steal?

SWINDLE is a novel about standing up to bullies and cheats, regardless of who they are, and accepting responsibility for one's behavior, no matter how well intentioned. More importantly, it's about loyalty, trust and consequences. While a couple of passages of dialogue sound more like adults talking than preteens, the overall message of the book is presented convincingly.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Robberies, baseball cards, and action, all in the book Swindle! What a spectacular book Swindle is!

Swindle is about two kids, Griffin and Ben, who find a rare Babe Ruth 1920 baseball card, which is the first year for the Yankees. They take it to Palomino's Emporium where S. Wendell Palomino (a.k.a. Swindle) tricks them out of the card! It was supposed to sell for one million dollars, but instead, Griffin sold it for one hundred dollars! How will they get it back? Read Swindle and find out!

I admire this book because I am a huge collector of baseball cards, I like action, and I am the biggest Yankees fan of all time!

I recommend Swindle for people who like books with action, baseball cards, and robberies. Read Swindle, the best book ever!

Have you ever collected anything like dolls or football cards? Griffin Bing discovers a rare baseball card in an old, abandoned house. When he and his best friend, Ben, bring the card to a local collectibles shop, the owner, S. Wendell Palomino, tells Griffin the card is a fake and worth only $120. They sell the card but wonder why a fake baseball card needs to be immediately locked away in the safe. That night, Palomino turns up on the local news boasting of a valuable Babe Ruth baseball card worth at least $20,000 at auction. Griffin-The Man with the Plan-knows he's been swindled and must do something-anything- to get the card back. Griffin, Ben, and their team of friends have many obstacles to overcome including a menacing guard dog, high tech security, and a secret hiding place, but they'll do anything to outsmart the Swindler and get the card back.

I think Swindle is a really good book. Swindle is about Griffin Bing plans a sleepover at a old house that was about to get demolished. Only one person came though his friend Ben. When Ben was sleeping Griffin Accidently found a old desk and when he opened it he found a old Bab Ruth baseball card. Which could his family's financial problems.
After he barely made it out fore it got destroyed he went to a pawn shop to see how much it was worth. But then S.Windell Palomino says the card is fake and gives them only 100$.Soon after Griffin finds out its really worth 1,000,000$ and he wants the card back.

Two kids, Ben and Griffin, invite all of their friends to an abandoned shack in Cedarville, New York for a sleepover. Even though they all said they would come, none of them showed up. Ben and Griffin knew that the house was going to get knocked down so they got up very early. Before the house got demolished, Griffin got up to explore the abandoned house. He found a Babe Ruth baseball card printed in 1920. After the abandoned shack got hit with a wrecking ball, Griffin and Ben went to the trading post in town.

S. Windle (a.k.a Swindle) told Ben and Griffin that the card was not very rare, and that it was a fake because it had blue lines on the edges of the card. Swindle said, "I'll give you $120.00 for the card". Griffin went home that day and on the news, he saw reporters at Swindle's store. They were talking about how much the card was worth, and Swindle said, ``I've seen cards like this go for $2,000,000.00 before in an auction''. Then, Griffin planned to get the card back from Swindle by performing a heist to get the card in Swindle's safe. Griffin got all of his friends to join in the heist. Griffin got his dad's blowtorch to cut open the side of the safe where the valuable card was located. Griffin and his friends planned to enter Swindle's house through the skylight in Swindle's house.

Before Griffin and his friends go into Swindle's house, they get information about Swindle's house from the Cedarville Library. They found out that he has an e-alarm which sends a message to his phone if someone sets it off. They had to be really careful. After the kids sneaked into Swindle's house, they typed in the code to shut down the e-alarm, and used the blowtorch to open the safe and get the card.

The kids found out that the card and the old house belonged to a relative of one of their friends, Darren Vader. When 97-year-old Winnifred Rockford mistook the card for a candy bar she gave it to her youngest relative, Darren. Darren's parents said, "We can't let Darren have the money from a robbery." So they donated the money to the city to make a Cedarville Museum and Skate Park.

My son borrowed this book from his school library. He was sick with Pneumonia so I read it with him and we both loved this book. My daughter heard the reading too and she loved it! Now my son owns the next few in the series and can't put the books down! Fun story, and lessons to be learned.

I loved this book. It was exciting, and well written. I like how Gordon Korman made you think that the guy that Griffin utterly hated, Darren, would help get the card. Eventually though, Darren goes back to the bad kid that he normally was. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I loved this book. It was exciting, and well written. I like how Gordon Korman made you think that the guy that Griffin utterly hated, Darren, would help get the card. Eventually though, Darren goes back to the bad kid that he normally was. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The book Swindle is about a mean shopkeeper who tricked Griffin Bing out of a baseball card, but Griffin, the man with the plan, will not let off without a fight. The wonderful story was climatic, adventurous, suspenseful, and always unique among a great book that will surely keep you digging in the story for hours with the suspenseful 256 adventure. Be sure your kids ages 9-12 will be digging into to this book for a long time. I highly recommend this book and is the best way to start a great book series.

It's difficult to find a book that entertains the parent reading the bedtime story as well as the child listening. We've found just a few: Charlotte's Web, The Hobbit, and Swindle. We start a lot of books, but one or the other of us lose interest. Swindle was exciting, engaging and had surprising twists.

I'll bet this one gets turned into a movie. (If it does, let's hope it's as good as the book.)

I loved this book! Its full of adventure, diciving,acting and the best part is It was really easy to read and understand,so if you have and kids students ect. this book will be easy for them to understand! So go ahead and by this book! (-: (-;

This book is great for sports buffs and action searchers. The story moves along quickly and is interesting. I never had baseball cards growing up, but loved my Beatle cards. I could have done 'what needed to be done' to get my cards back and that would include breaking and entering.

It would have been nice to have a few more of the characters be further developed.

Fun read for boys... and girls. I suggest they take in a game after the read and buy some Topps, too.