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Chasing Vermeer | 
 enlarge | Author: Blue Balliett
Creator: Brett Helquist
Publisher: Scholastic Press
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $16.94 (100%)
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Rating:  144 reviews
Sales Rank: 32889
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.7 x 1
ISBN: 0439372941
EAN: 9780439372947
ASIN: 0439372941
Publication Date: June 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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Amazon.com Review
In the classic tradition of E.L. Konigsburgs From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, debut author Blue Balliett introduces readers to another pair of precocious kids on an artful quest full of patterns, puzzles, and the power of blue M&Ms. Eleven year old Petra and Calder may be in the same sixth grade class, but they barely know each other. Its only after a near collision during a museum field trip that they discover their shared worship of art, their teacher Ms. Hussey, and the blue candy that doesnt melt in your hands. Their burgeoning friendship is strengthened when a creative thief steals a valuable Vermeer painting en route to Chicago, their home town. When the thief leaves a trail of public clues via the newspaper, Petra and Calder decide to try and recover the painting themselves. But tracking down the Vermeer isnt easy, as Calder and Petra try to figure out what a set of pentominos (mathematical puzzle pieces), a mysterious book about unexplainable phenomena and a suddenly very nervous Ms. Hussey have to do with a centuries old artwork. When the thief ups the ante by declaring that he or she may very well destroy the painting, the two friends know they have to make the pieces of the puzzle fit before its too late! Already being heralded as The DaVinci Code for kids, Chasing Vermeer will have middle grade readers scrutinizing art books as they try to solve the mystery along with Calder and Petra. In an added bonus, artist Brett Helquist has also hidden a secret pentomino message in several of the books illustrations for readers to decode. An auspicious and wonderfully satisfying debut that will leave no young detective clueless. --Jennifer Hubert
Product Description
When a book of unexplainable occurances brings Petra Andalee & Calder Pillay 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. As Petra & Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth they must draw on their powers of intuition, their skills at problem solving, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 139 more reviews...
Too Clever by Far - Needlessly Disappointing November 15, 2008
Maryanne Bell (tacoma, wa USA)
I chose this book for my 8 year old's School Fall Book Report because it had all the hooks that would typically grab the little guy who's a voracious reader AND (let's not forget the grownups that partake of reading to our children) it was going to be fun for me too! Part of our assignment was to create a representative MOBILE of the story elements and this book had it all - 16 century stolen masterpiece, math puzzle pentominoes, decoding messages, clues hidden in the illustrations, a girl-boy team of gifted kid super-sleuths, a long list of suspects, the ideal inspired young teacher, eye-popping imagery in Ms. BAlliett's writing....
It has such great elements of mystery and art and mathematical tools and emotional hooks to draw one into this most amazing of settings for a great read. The book started out so breathlessly great with a culturally mixed hero/heroine pairing and most exciting of all - the Obamas' neighborhood and probably the VERY SAME school that Sasha and Malia go to at U of Chicago!!!
WEll I either ran short of breath due to lack of exercise or this book got so muddled up going in so many different directions with so many red herring clues (like enough already with Frog and frogs) that I literally watched my son lose interest about 2/3 way into the story elements that time and time again failed to deliver for him and for me.
And worst literary crime of all - the solving of the mystery is a bunch of hocus pocus, unscientific anti-climactic to the point of being intellectually offensive that makes me wonder if the story was too much even for Ms. Balliett to find a resolution worthy of her stage craft.
I gave it a 4 star because despite the disappointing ending - it has some amazing settings, subjects that allow for further research and I bet my 8 year old never forgets the Lady WRiting and will probably be excited if we ever get to the National Gallery in D.C. and happen to stumble on the Lady Writing. It's certainly worth the price! and will nevertheless go down in history as a notable classic of its day.
 Wonderfully Intriguing July 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first checked out this book from the library thinking, "Eh. Just something for reading points." Well, let me tell you something. I WAS WRONG!!! This book is about to 6th graders who try to find the missing Vermeer painting, A Lady Writing. The story takes you through twists and turns and has a deep plot. I finished it in two days. Some people may say that this is not the best story, but I am living proof that THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO RESPECT FOR GREAT STORIES WHATSOEVER!!!! Take my advice and READ THIS BOOK. I am near positive that you will be sucked into it by the first page.
Chasing Excellence...And not Quite Reaching it June 27, 2008
Matthew A. Wigdahl (Eau Claire WI, USA)
On paper (which I guess is a phrase that doesn't work quite as well in regard to books), the concept of this book thrills me! Geometric puzzles, art history clues, and natural phenomenons? I love it all! And even when I first read this book, I was totally gripped by the story and all the layers of mystery and curiosity. It was in my second reading that this house of cards flattened out on me.
This book frustrated me much in the same way that Harry Potter has. The author just takes too many liberties to allow the reader to feel part of the story. It feels unfair when an author gets to have a surprise hidden panel in the wall at the end of the story. I don't know if this is so much true for all genres. A mystery, however, should be tight. It needs to feel like a completed puzzle at the end - either leaving you feeling satisfied that you called it right, or amazed at how well it all came together. When it feels like a jumble that nobody could have pieced together except the author (and even appears that the author took pains to make it more complicated than necessary) it just doesn't work. In some cases of literature (and art!), when you think "I could have made that," it is a compliment on how easy the creator made it look. In the case of Chasing Vermeer, and knowing full well my limitations as a writer, thinking "I could have written that" is not a good thing.
For a book club book, I think this will still be a delight to young readers. If the club is given all the extra ingredients to completely lose themselves in a world of mathematical and artistic mystery, fall in love with Chasing Vermeer. I have only read this book aloud with students. To independently read it as a book club, students would probably need to be older and have strategies for figuring out the references the book makes.
 Clever premise, disappointing execution May 23, 2008
Tess Derbyfield
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
My main problem with this book is the lack of realism in regards to the young protagonists. Children don't think, act, or speak the way Calder and Petra do in this novel. Their thoughts and actions reflect how an adult might like a child to think and behave. There is little or no authenticity in these characters.
Another issue is with the plot and the way in which the story progresses and ultimately resolves itself. Events are random and there is little causality. This might not have bothered me so much, though, if the characters had been engaging and realistic.
Cure for the DaVince Code May 11, 2008
Emily J. Taylor (Utah)
I have never tried so hard to not like a book. I'm not sure exactly what I had against the book, but I fully intended to read it and then pick it apart. I originally bought a copy for my little sister with the full intention of stealing it from her and finding out why it was so darn popular.But only after a few chapters I was sucked into the enchanting mystery. Balliett has made a fine puzzle with all the intricacies of "The Westing Game" and "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.Frankweiler" and just as much human passion. It is a clever, pop-corn entertaining mystery that explains why this book is so darn popular. Even after the fluffiness, the book has plenty of its own emotional meant--the author cared for his characters and he cared for his story, even the itty-bitty minor things that in the end ironically proved to be of vast importance. I imagine Balliet originally writing this story simply to entertaing himself, which just so happens to be the origin of so many great stories.This is not just a story--this is about art and what makes various things art. It is about looking for beauty in unusual places and the emotional and mental journey it takes to discover that beauty. And it is all done without the hullaballo of snobby adult writers. The writing is simple, quick, with just a tinge of the right emotions, and I found myself getting very attached to the very real characters. Great plot, great characters, and simply a great idea. Excellent book.
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