58 pages • 1 hour read
Gordon KormanSwindle
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Chapters 1-5
Reading Check
1. Who is on the baseball card Griffin discovers in the Rockford house?
2. How much money is offered to Griffin for the baseball card?
3. What word does Ben associate with Palomino’s name?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why are Griffin and Ben motivated to stay in the abandoned building? What are their feelings toward the adults in town?
2. What is suspicious about Palomino while Griffin and Ben are in the shop with him? Why is Palomino acting suspiciously?
3. What is the distinction Griffin makes between stealing and “stealing back”?
Paired Resource
- This 7-minute video describes Babe Ruth’s rise to popularity in baseball.
- The information in this resource connects to The Value of Trust and Teamwork and The Morality of Rights and Ownership.
- What is significant about the time in which Babe Ruth rose to prominence in baseball? What records were broken by Babe Ruth in Major League Baseball? How does Babe Ruth’s success as a baseball player equate to the value of his baseball card?
Chapters 6-10
Reading Check
1. Which of Griffin’s classmates is disgruntled after being passed over for a heartburn commercial?
2. Who attempts to attack Ben and Griffin while they stake out the Emporium?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How is the relationship between Ben and Griffin altered because of the baseball card? What ultimately causes them to reconcile?
2. What is Savannah’s expertise in Ben and Griffin’s plan? How does she assist them?
Paired Resource
“9 of the Most Valuable Baseball Cards in History”
- This article explains the history of baseball cards and describes those that are the most valuable.
- The information in this article can be referenced in discussions of the themes The Morality of Rights and Ownership and The Danger of Underestimating Children.
- How did baseball cards initially become a household item? What is the approximate value of a Babe Ruth baseball card today?
Chapters 11-15
Reading Check
1. What is missing from the Emporium when Ben and Griffin successfully sneak inside?
2. What does Mr. Martinez suggest Griffin and Ben acquire from town hall?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What event inspires a new plan for Griffin’s heist?
2. How does Swindle’s house compare to his store? How does Griffin plan around the problems he encounters with the home?
3. Why is it important for Griffin to assemble a team for his heist? Which team member presents a challenge for Griffin, and in what way?
Paired Resource
- This 3-minute video describes the way perspective impacts an individual’s interpretation of the world around them.
- Students might discuss the theme of The Morality of Rights and Ownership in connection with this resource.
- How are opinions and ideas shaped by individual perspectives? Why do Griffin and some of his friends differ in their interpretation of what stealing is? Why does Swindle feel justified in his theft of the baseball card?
Chapters 16-20
Reading Check
1. Who overhears Griffin’s plan, forcing Griffin to include him in the heist?
2. What does Logan use to distract Mulroney from the heist?
3. What chronic condition does Ben have that prevents him from climbing the ladder?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Griffin’s team use Swindle’s own personality against him in their plans to break into his home? What evidence supports their prediction of Swindle’s behaviors?
2. In what ways does Griffin exhibit leadership skills in working with his team members?
Paired Resource
“Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: The Importance of Working Together”
- This article describes the importance of teamwork in achieving goals.
- Students can discuss the theme of The Value of Trust and Teamwork in connection with this article.
- What are the benefits of an effective team? What qualities characterize teams as effective? In what ways do Griffin and his team members emulate these strategies?
Chapters 21-25
Reading Check
1. Which of Griffin’s team members sprains their ankle while descending through the skylight?
2. Where is the baseball card when Griffin discovers it?
3. Who steals the baseball card from Griffin before it becomes lodged in a tree?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What unexpected obstacles are experienced by Griffin and his team?
2. What memory helps Griffin to find the location of the baseball card?
Chapters 26-32
Reading Check
1. What evidence is left in Swindle’s house, leading the police to Darren?
2. What ultimately leads to the financial security of Griffin’s family?
3. What does the baseball card fund the construction of?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What causes Griffin to regret his immoral actions? Does his guilt change his behavior?
2. What are the consequences of Swindle’s inaccurate assessment of the baseball card’s value?
Recommended Next Reads
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
- This novel is about a middle school student who vows never to lie, creating tension in his relationships at school.
- Shared themes include The Value of Trust and Teamwork and The Danger of Underestimating Children.
- Shared topics include morality, justice, and financial difficulties.
- No More Dead Dogs on SuperSummary
The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander
- This novel is about a sixth grader who works as a “fixer” in the criminal underground within his school.
- Shared themes include The Value of Trust and Teamwork and The Danger of Underestimating Children.
- Shared topics include betrayal, elaborate plans, and morality.
- The Fourth Stall on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
Chapters 1-5
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. The Rockford house is to be torn down. Griffin suggests the land be used to build a skate park, but the adults decide to build a Cedarville Museum instead. Griffin feels as though his wishes are ignored by the adults in town and decides to stage a sleep-in in the building to protest the adults’ decision and draw attention to his idea. (Chapter 2)
2. The boys are immediately struck by the high prices of the action figures within Palomino’s shop. Griffin becomes suspicious of Palomino when he locks the reproduction Babe Ruth card in his safe, though he claims this is his typical business practice. Griffin and Ben discover that Palomino swindled them when they see him on television boasting about his plans to auction off a baseball card for over $200,000. (Chapters 3-4)
3. Griffin feels justified in stealing the baseball card because Palomino lied to him about the value of the card—essentially stealing it from him. Ben believes stealing is wrong while Griffin believes he is justified in taking back the card since it belonged to him in the first place. (Chapter 5)
Chapters 6-10
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. Ben and Griffin argue over their plans to take the baseball card from Swindle. Their relationship suffers because of the argument and the two keep their distance from one another until Ben sees a “For Sale” sign in Griffin’s yard. Ben discovers that Griffin’s family is struggling financially and will need to sell their home. Ben, realizing how important his friendship is with Griffin and that Griffin has complex reasons for reacquiring the card, agrees to help Griffin take the baseball card. (Chapter 6)
2. Savannah has expertise in working with animals. She believes Luthor is only aggressive because he has been trained to behave in that way. She makes frequent visits to Luthor to make friends with the dog. Eventually, she tames Luthor by yelling insults at him. (Chapter 8)
Chapters 11-15
Reading Check
1. The safe (Chapter 11)
2. House blueprints to utilize in what he believes is a creative writing activity (Chapter 13)
Short Answer
1. It occurs to Griffin that Luthor may be protecting the baseball card when a black guard dog lunges toward him behind a fence. This event inspires Griffin to develop a new plan to locate the baseball card. (Chapter 12)
2. Swindle’s home is more secure than his store and Swindle’s nosy neighbor, Eli Mulroney, poses a problem as he is often on his porch looking at Swindle’s home. The additional security of the home and the curious neighbor cause Ben and Griffin to be cautious in approaching the home. They acquire a blueprint of a similar home and con their way into the house to determine the layout of Swindle’s home. (Chapters 13-14)
3. Each of the team members is needed to breach the elaborate security measures in Swindle’s home. The members have their own areas of expertise to assist in the heist; for example, Logan will use his acting skills to distract the nosy neighbor Mr. Mulroney. Savannah, however, objects to the morality of Griffin’s plan. (Chapter 15)
Chapters 16-20
Reading Check
1. Darren (Chapter 16)
2. Logan plays backgammon with Mr. Mulroney. (Chapter 19)
3. Narcolepsy (Chapter 20)
Short Answer
1. Darren suggests the team leave a New York Rangers ticket addressed to the wrong house in Swindle’s mailbox to remove him from his house while they break in. Darren and the team are operating under the assumption that Swindle will use the ticket for himself rather than return it to the rightful owner. The team draws this conclusion based on Swindle’s selfish actions toward Griffin; Swindle cheated Griffin out of the correct amount of money to make a profit. (Chapters 17-19)
2. Griffin develops and executes the plan to break into Darren’s house, providing each team member with a role in the heist. Additionally, Griffin is willing to take responsibility for the theft if he or any of his team members are caught. (Chapters 15-20)
Chapters 21-25
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. When entering Swindle’s residence through the skylight, Pitch sprains her ankle, preventing the team from leaving the way they came. Melissa uses her computer skills to deactivate the alarm on the property, but this allows the auction house courier to enter the residence. The team unexpectedly encounters a bigger dog aside from Luthor they were unaware of. The baseball card is not in the location Griffin expected to find it. Finally, Darren betrays his team and steals the card for himself. (Chapters 21-25)
2. Griffin recalls an instance in Swindle’s television interview when the interviewer asked Swindle why the card was so cold. Griffin, remembering this, reaches into the frozen turkey in the refrigerator to locate the card. (Chapter 24)
Chapters 26-32
Reading Check
1. A ladder (Chapter 28)
2. The SmartPick (Chapter 31)
3. The Cedarville Museum and skatepark (Chapter 32)
Short Answer
1. Griffin tells his parents of his plans to steal the card to help with their financial difficulties. He regrets his actions when he sees the effect his confession has on his parents, but not enough to change his behavior—Griffin still makes plans to locate the baseball card and sell it for profit. Griffin begins to take his theft seriously when he is arrested for stealing the card. (Chapters 29-31)
2. Swindle’s inaccurate assessment of the baseball card’s value gains media attention after the theft of the baseball card is exposed. Swindle returns to his store, but his reputation is irreparably damaged, and he later sells the Emporium and moves to California. (Chapters 30 and 32)
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