Chasing Vermeer - Hardcover

Balliett, Blue

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439372941 ISBN 13: 9780439372947

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2003

Synopsis

When a book of unexplainable occurences brings Petra and Calder together, strange things start to happen: Seemingly unrelated events connect; an eccentric old woman seeks their company; an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has stumped even the FBI?

About this title

About the Author

BLUE BALLIETT grew up in New York City, where she often visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum. Blue studied Art History at Brown University. She taught at the University of Chicago Laboratory School before becoming a full time writer. Her first novel, Chasing Vermeer, won over a dozen awards and sold in twenty-eight countries. Balliett still writes in her laundry room, assisted by her twenty-pound cat. She lives with her family in Chicago, Illinois. For more information about Blue Balliett, visit http://www.scholastic.com/blueballiett/

Reviews

*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. The Westing Game, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler--how exciting to find a book that conjures up these innovative, well-loved titles. That's exactly what Balliett does in her debut novel, which mixes mystery, puzzles, possibilities, and art. The story is set in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood at the University of Chicago's Lab School, where Balliett was a teacher. There, outsiders Petra and Calder become friends as they try to find out what happened to a missing Vermeer painting. That's really all the plot one needs to know. More important are Balliett's purpose in writing and the way she has structured her story. The former seems to be to get to children to think--about relationships, connections, coincidences, and the subtle language of artwork. To accomplish this, she peppers her story with seemingly random events that eventually come together in a startling, delightful pattern. The novel isn't perfect. It glides over a few nitty-gritty details (how did the thief nab the picture), and occasionally the coincidences seem more silly than serendipitous. However, these are quibbles for a book that offers children something new upon each reading. Adults who understand the links between children's reading and their developing minds and imaginations will see this as special, too. Helquist, who has illustrated the Lemony Snickett books, outdoes himself here, providing an interactive mystery in his pictures. Ilene Cooper
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Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0439372941
• ISBN 13: 9780439372947
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320