Children's Mystery Challenge: The Art of the Mystery (or Vice-Versa), Part 2

The second mystery for our Children's Mystery Challenge this month seems to me, in many ways, to be a direct descendant of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It's called "Chasing Vermeer," written by Blue Balliett and illustrated by Brett Helquist.

The story follows two classmates, both eleven years old, who meet as the result of a book, one which tries to find a pattern in unexplained/unexplainable occurrences. (The book is real - it is the work of controversial author Charles Fort, who wrote extensively on what we would call "paranormal" phenomena, such as UFOs.) The two children, Petra and Calder find themselves caught up in the midst of some very unexplained events, which seem to connect up in strange and unpredictable ways. Then, a priceless painting by the 17th century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer is stolen. And Petra and Calder find themselves in the middle of an international art scandal and investigation, as they race to learn more about the mysterious life and death of Vermeer and find out what happened to the painting. Can they succeed where police and the FBI have been unsuccessful?

All this is wrapped up in a variety of wonderful puzzles and clues. Calder is a master of a set of pentominoes, pieces of a mathematical puzzle series, which prove invaluable to him in figuring out clues. One of the repeating puzzles in this book is the use of a code, based on the pentominoes, which Calder and his friend Tommy use to send notes to each other - notes which the reader will have to translate from the code. To add to the fun for the young reader, illustrator Brett Helquist has worked the pentomino code into his illustrations and challenged the reader to discover a hidden message.

I realize it sounds confusing. But the presentation is straightforward, even if the riddles and puzzles are challenging, and the coincidences are explained in a rather Fortean way. The blurb on the cover of the hardback edition says "Blue Balliett's bewitching first novel is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art." That pretty well sums it up. The book would probably be most enjoyed by nine-to-twelve year old readers.

UPDATE: Check out 5 Minutes for Books to see what others are reading in the challenge this month!

Comments

[Amy @ Hope Is the Word]

I tried this one and was in a funk so I couldn't get it. Plus, I got bogged down in the puzzles. I'll have to give it another go. Thanks for a great review!

[Les Blatt]

I think the puzzles are part of the lure for a lot of children. As an adult (at least age-wise), I found it distracting to have to stop and decode the messages, but the kids who have read it tell me it was part of the fun for them.

[Amber]

I think my son would love this! Thanks for the review!

[Carrie, Reading to Know]

I hadn't heard of this (have I mentioned how glad I am you are participating in this challenge?) and I think it sounds really interesting. I'm going to have to keep this one in mind!