Title: Chasing Vermeer
Author: Blue Balliett
Illustrator: Brett Helquist
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: 2004
Genre: Mystery, Young Adult, Art, Puzzle, Fiction
Audience: Gr. 6+

Overview: “Chasing Vermeer” has it all; art, secret codes, clandestine meetings, adventure, mystery, intrigue, and danger. Petra and Calder are brought together under a set of curious circumstances to solve a theft of a valuable piece of artwork. In this age of computer saturation, “Chasing Vermeer” uses the computer to interact the book in a fun and entertaining way. You become part of the story’s solution by helping to crack the codes and read the secret messages. The FBI cannot solve the crime but can you solve puzzles and find the clues hidden in the illustrations and pages of “Chasing Veneer”?

Activity: Go to the Website for Scholastic, play the games, and print out your very own set of pentominoes. Combine the pentominoes to make as many rectangles as possible. Pentominoes

Reviewer’s Name: Darby Hewes