Swindled!: The 1906 Journal of Fitz Morgan

Wow!! What a great series. As a homeschooling mom, I could not be more happy with this series of books. My 10 year old is enthralled - I even loved the book when I pre-read it! The mystery is detailed just enough to capture and hold the young reader's attention. The historical facts are delivered in a manner that entertains without lecturing. Keep it up Bill Doyle!

I bought both Swindled and Nabbed for my nieces and nephews, but before turning them over to the kids, read them myself! The books each provide an engaging mystery set in a different time period, and give kids the opportunity to learn about events going on at that time. One particularly nice thing about the books is that they will appeal to a wide variety of children -- some will be taken with the story alone, others will really enjoy learning about the history of the US, forensic science, and detective skills.

My students are waiting in line to read this book! Its illustrations support and add interest to the historical elements of the story. Light humor, appealing characterizations, and intrique accessible to 5th graders make it a must read.

I loved this book! I finished it (with the help of my dad) over the course of three nights and tried to guess all of the mysteries. I can't wait to see what characters are in the next book. What happens to Asyla???

I bought this book (and the second one in the series -- Nabbed!) as a gift for my neice, but I have to confess that I read it first myself. I didn't mean to, really, but I flipped open to the first page to get a sense of it, and I found it so interesting that I actually decided I had to finish it, and the second book too. I think it's really clever how you get to know the family and get involved in the mysteries, through the clues and the forensic information given. The way the author makes the period come alive is particularly effective as well. This is no dry historical fiction, that's for sure. Oh, and by the way -- my neice loved it too! I highly recommend it for young readers, but I urge the parents to sneak a read of it themselves.