The Picasso Curse

Gr 4-7–An entertaining roller-coaster ride that combines Gutman’s trademark humor and love of history. Who hasn’t dreamed of making a fortune from a flea market find? When Edwin, almost 13, discovers an original Picasso drawing hidden behind a Kobe Bryant poster he buys for $10 at a flea market, it threatens to ruin his life. Edwin’s engaging tale is briefly interrupted by an unnamed narrator that explains how the so-called doodle originated almost 100 years before it ended up in the flea market. After an auction house offers to sell the authenticated painting, everything begins to go wrong for Edwin, and he’s convinced he’s cursed. A tornado blows away the lockbox where the painting is stored. He’s interviewed by a local TV reporter about the painting and is relentlessly hounded by the press as a result. The flea-market dealer who sold him the poster offers $10,000 to buy it back. Edwin’s phone may be tapped, his house is broken into, and someone threatens to burn it down. When the auction house reneges on the deal, Edwin is so fed up he decides to burn the painting, until his Picasso-loving art-computer teacher has a brilliant but bonkers idea instead. Gutman’s story will keep readers guessing, as Edwin grapples with tough decisions and the pitfalls of sudden wealth.