Swindle by Gordon Korman

Title:     Swindle

Author:   Gordon Korman

Age Range:  grades 3-6

Format / Genre:  adventure / school story

Details:  Scholastic Press, 2008; 252 pages

Review: Griffin Bing is always “the man with a plan” – one that usually involves his friend Ben. This time Griffin’s plan includes breaking and entering, coming face-to-face with a fierce guard dog, and recruiting an assorted of helpers from his 6^th-grade class, an effort to retrieve an extremely rare and valuable baseball card from an unscrupulous dealer. The first in a series of three, so far – the tale is fast-paced and completely focuses on the kids’ point of view.  While the action is somewhat improbable (okay, very improbable), Korman doesn’t tie up the ending in a completely phony bow. Griffin doesn’t win all his battles, but he does end up in a good position. Some adults might be challenged by some of the details of Griffin’s plan (breaking and entering) as well as his “omitting” to the tell the truth to the police when he becomes a suspect. This book would lead to a good discussion on the question of “do two wrongs make a right?” and what to do when adults don’t listen to kids. A good book for boys and girls, Swindle it would also work well for a read-aloud.  The story of Griffin Bing continues with Zoobreak (2009) and Framed (2010).

Reviewed by Melissa Henderson, Glencoe Public Library

We the Children by Andrew Clements

Title:     We the Children

Author:   Andrew Clements

Age Range:  grades 3-6

Series:  #1 in the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series

Ben and his friend Jill, sixth-graders at the Oakes School, learn that something fishy is going on in their seaside school. Mysterious coins, sneaky adults, changes and challenges in Ben’s family, and a thrilling sailing race add up to an adventure in which Ben and Jill try to save their school – given to the community in 1783! – from being destroyed to make way for an amusement park. Will they succeed or are Ben and Jill in over their heads?  Andrew Clements is a master at the school story – the kids are empowered and brave and realistically drawn, often fighting unevenly matched battles against semi-nefarious adults. The only downside to We the Children is the very abrupt ending, with little resolution to the main challenge; this book is definitely the first in a series.

Reviewed by Melissa Henderson, Children’s Department, Glencoe Public Library