He out thinks the bad guys, supports his father (the good guy), and commits a crime with which even the police sympathize. He needs his friends, learns from them, and makes some poor choices for good causes. Griffin, "The Man With a Plan," is resourceful but believable and likeable. Korman's fast moving, feel-good suspense novel will have middle schoolers, especially boys, turning the pages. Eventually the card funds the building of a town museum that includes a skate park, which is dedicated to Griffin and his team, and the caper brings attention and investors to the SmartPick so that Griffin's family is financially secure. With the help of the SmartPick, they overcome hostile guard dogs, security systems, neighbor surveillance, and betrayal to secure the card, but Griffin must return it to its rightful owner. The crew sends the shop owner tickets to a hockey game and break into his house while he is gone. Griffin hopes that selling the card will solve his parents' financial problems brought on by his father quitting his engineering job to focus on his invention, the SmartPick, which picks fruit without bruising it. Eleven-year-old Griffin Bing enlists sixth grade friends who have computer, climbing, acting, animal handling, and swindling skills to retrieve a possible million-dollar Babe Ruth baseball card from a shop owner who scammed it from Griffin for only $125.
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