• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 7

Ten stories that explore some of the most outrageous swindlers and tricksters of all time.

Scams! reveals 10 true tales of trickery that will mesmerize young readers. They will discover how the Germans planned to destroy the British economy during World War II by flooding the world with millions of fake British bank-notes.

Scams! also includes:
• The Tasady: Stone Age cavemen of the Philippines
• The Shakespearean forgery of William Ireland
• P.T. Barnum and his greatest show on earth
• The creation of the Bibliotheca Phillipica
• Le Grand Theresa
• John Keely’s engine
• Karl May’s extraordinary fiction

Readers of any age will be enthralled by these stories of trickery exposed, where the strange twists and turns truly test the limits of credulity.

Andreas Schroeder is the author of twenty books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, journalism and literary criticism. His books have won or been shortlisted for many awards including the Governor-General’s Award, the Sealbooks First Novel Award, the Stephen Leacock Award, the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Non-Fiction and the Red Maple Award. For his literary journalism he was shortlisted for a National Magazine Award, and won the Canadian Association of Journalists’ Best Investigative Journalism Award. He received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters from the University College of the Fraser Valley in 2002. Schroeder currently holds the Rogers Communications Chair in Creative Nonfiction in the University of British Columbia’s Creative Writing Program. He lives in Roberts Creek on BC’s Sunshine Coast with his wife Sharon Oddie Brown.

Andreas Schroeder's profile page

“There are lessons here, but the compelling presentation makes them far easier to swallow than the moral and ethical chunks in conventional Chicken Soup-style ‘values’ reading.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This book skillfully highlights ten of the cleverest scams in history ... each scam is well researched and retold like a story rather than a textbook lesson. Schroeder ... is an excellent storyteller and captures the deceptions of scammers down to every detail of each scam. The stories move along quickly, keeping readers’ attention. The stories will capture the interest of any reader.”—KLIATT

“This book offers a great escape. Especially for youngsters who like their stories true. They’re told in a lively fashion ... makes for great reading.”—The Montreal Gazette

“Scams! is an interesting special-focus short story collection and would make a good addition to a school or public juvenile library collection. As a short story classroom reading text it would be a welcome part of an individualized reading set.”—Resource Links

“With a sense of amusement and fascination, Schroeder sets out of alert young readers about scams and to share some of the best ones in history. Schroeder is fascinated by the inventiveness of his swindlers, and he writes about them in an exciting and engaging style that will draw even the most reluctant reader into the story.” —VOYA

“A fascinating collection ... Great read-aloud stories ...”—School Library Journal