Chasing vermeer how many pages

Chasing Vermeer is a fun children's book, easy to read, with pictures that involve some thought, if you want to put that thought into it. I am lazy, I did not. I have some overall questions about the tack the book takes on Charles Fort and how it veers a little bit into magic without ever exploring that, but hey, a children's book that might introduce kids to Charles Fort?

I'm pretty much in. Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement Chasing Vermeer is a fun children's book, easy to read, with pictures that involve some thought, if you want to put that thought into it.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here. In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook Jan 08, Christopher Alvarado rated it it was amazing.

I loved the book because shows a new level of mystery for me because I liked how a painting was stolen. And too characters named Petra and Calder want to find it they use pentominos to help them find the painting and they find the painting but while they where doing that strange things are happining. Feb 16, Natalie rated it it was amazing. View all 6 comments. Jun 09, Anna rated it it was amazing. I read this in third grade, and I decided to read it again Sep 03, Haley added it.

I was obsessedddd with this series in middle school. Feb 16, Samantha Sheeran rated it it was amazing Shelves: chasing-vermeer. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett is a story about two sixth graders who go on a magical adventure!

The book starts out by 3 anonymous people receiving a letter asking for help to uncover the truth about an artist named Vermeer. You find out at the end of the book that these three people in fact live in the same area and are related in many ways.

Petra and Calder seem to be your typical sixth grade students, until you realize that they think very differently than other sixth graders. They are mes Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett is a story about two sixth graders who go on a magical adventure!

They are mesmerized by puzzles, asking questions, and trying to think about and explain the inexplainable. When a famous paing done by Vermeer called A Lady Writing is stolen on the way to a Chicago art museum, Petra and Calder beleive they are destined to help discover where the stolen painting is being kept. They each have things happen to them that they can't explain but that help them become closer and closer to solving the mystery of A Lady Writing.

I don't want to give the whole book away, but eventually they do find A Lady Writing and realize that every single person and event that happened to them is connected.

Chasing Vermmer was an excellent book. In fact, I didn't put it down once until I was finished. One thing that I especially loved is that I got a very clear visualization of what the actual lady in A Lady Writing looked like. She is described in great detail as a lady with a yellow jacket with fur on the edges and she looked old-fashioned.

Her hair was pulled back tightly with shiny ribbons and her dangly, pearl earrings were very shiny from catching the light just right. Anyone can visualize this image perfectly. Another aspect that I loved about the book were Petra and Calder's way of thinking. They didn't think like typical sixth graders, or even typical adults for that matter. They were much more concerned about looking, rather than seeing. They are mesmerized by all of the "coincidenses" happening around them.

I love the way they are always thinking things are bigger than what they seem and how they are constantly asking questions. For example in one scene Petra sees a random vision of the lady in A Lady Writing. At the time she doesn't know who she is and dresses up as her for Halloween.

When Calder sees her he knows who she is dressed up as and Petra explains that they lady came to her in a vision and she had no idea she really existed. Petra replies with, "I wonder if paintings that float in your mind on their own are kind of like flying frogs or disappearing people.

They are mature thinkings for their age thinking out of the box and connecting events to a bigger picture. And there are many more examples of this way of thinking throughout the book. I'm not saying that students who read this book will start thinking like this, just that it would be good for students to realize there are different ways of thinking and looking and things. I also enoyed the illustrations. I especially like the illustration after Petra and Calder find A Lady Writing in a secret storage space.

The illustration shows Petra and Calder sitting down in what looks like a tight space. They have their flashlight shining on the half-unwrapped painting. The looks on their face really show how they must be feeling. Calder looks shocked, and very frightened. Petra looked worried, but doesn't look as scared as Calder. They both look like they don't really know what to do next, and they also looked shocked that they were right about the coincidenses that happened to them.

Overall I think Chasing Vermeer is an excellent book for fifth to maybe eighth graders. Personally, I really really enjoyed it myself. It opens up the opportunity for different kinds of thinking and the opportunity to think of the different events, people, and feelings in the world to somehow all be connected.

Feb 20, Emily Peed rated it liked it. Chasing Vermeer is this boy, Calder Pillay, and a girl, Petra Andalee who have an unusual friendship. They become friends because of all the strange coincidences that happen when doing a project for their teacher, Mrs. It starts with Calder's favorite piece of art is a painting by Johannes Vermeer and Petra daydreams about a Vermeer painting.

She also finds a book, Lo! She turns out to Chasing Vermeer is this boy, Calder Pillay, and a girl, Petra Andalee who have an unusual friendship. She turns out to be the original owner of that book. Calder's and Petra's love for mystery and anything unusual create a great friendship. Three people recieve a letter asking for their help to solve a mystery.

This is the painting Petra daydreams about. The theif submits a letter to the newspaper saying that some of Vermeer's earlier and later work were not done by him.

That these paintings must be identified and then he will return the paintings. Petra and Calder start solving the mystery. Sharpe and Mrs.

Hussey were two of the three people who recieved the letters at the beginning of the book. Petra and Calder find where the theif is hiding the painting. They are able to escape but the theif dies of a heart attack.

The third recipient of the letter was Mr. Petra and Calder solved the mystery because of a class assignment. I thought the book was good. The author's words just flowed off the page. It is a great book to get kids thinking about how different things are connected. The book encourages students to look at art and experience it.

The author uses codes, not only to add dimension to a character but to get the readers to interact with the story. They have to decrypt a coded letter in order to read it. This book was well written and a joy to read.

Feb 29, Connie Strong rated it really liked it. Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliet and Illustrated by Brett Hellquist,is a fascinating mystery novel that continually draws readers in. In this respect it is a very interactive novel. For starters the two main characters, Calder Pillay and Petra Andalee, are perceived to be extremely geeky. Their quirks have an appeal that readers cannot help but like. Calder and Petra overhear that a Vermeer painting has been stolen.

A letter came out in the local newspaper from the thief who stole the painting saying it would give it back under certain circumstances. Since they are both interested in his works, the two six graders go out and start trying to solve the mystery. They eventually in the end solve the mystery of a stolen painting "A Lady Writing" by the famous Johannes Vermeer. The two new friends team up together and break codes in newspapers and finally end up saving the painting.

The thief is found out to be Xavier Glitts. He was found dead by the police after he had a heart attack. I found this book to not only be extremely interesting to grade school children, but also very educational.

For one, as the students read along they try and solve the mystery along with Calder and Petra. Readers are continually learning more about Vermeer than they realize.

Also, students learn good team work skills and can model them after the friendship of Calder and Petra. Children also can develop their problem solving skills by reading this novel. As a teacher, I would try and develop a lesson for my students that used some of the same codes used in the novel. This would be a very exciting lesson for children, but also would be helpful to assist them in the reading of the novel.

It would also allow them to apply what they learned in the class to the novel. Sep 11, Nancy Kotkin rated it it was ok Shelves: middle-grade , reads , arts , pub-scholastic , starsor-2 , mystery. I really wanted to like this book, as I love art, museums, and middle grade novels, but I found the execution of this one flawed.

Both the premises of this book are fascinating - the one about Vermeer and the one about coincidences being messages from the universe that hold important meanings - but neither of these premises is fully developed. It was probably too much to attempt to mesh them into one middle grade novel. Furthermore, a mystery needs to be built on actual clues with some educated I really wanted to like this book, as I love art, museums, and middle grade novels, but I found the execution of this one flawed.

Furthermore, a mystery needs to be built on actual clues with some educated guesswork, but this one relies solely on intuition, supposed signs, and hunches that come out of the blue.

Mystery is probably not the best genre to explore the meaning behind coincidences. I had difficulty connecting with the characters. The main characters are two smart sixth-graders of diverse backgrounds who know nothing about art at the start of the book.

There's also a teacher who never actually teaches anything, two sets of parents who rarely interact with their children though one of the fathers is a suspect in the mystery the children are investigating , and an elderly neighbor who is so abrupt with the children that it comes off as rude, yet the children keep visiting her.

There is a great deal of philosophizing and not much plot, which hinders the ability of middle grade readers to enjoy this book. Most of the plot is squished into the last third of the novel, which is problematic as most young readers will not continue a book with so little action.

The elements never really come together, making the ending particularly jarring, and mostly summarized. Aug 09, Bethany rated it liked it Shelves: mystery , childrens. I might have enjoyed this more had I not had its predecessors in the forefront of my brain.

And the back rather made it sound like a mystery that could have been written by Ellen Raskin. So, with those two things in mind, this book could be nothing but a disappointment. Well, perhaps 'disappointment' is the wrong word, I might have enjoyed this more had I not had its predecessors in the forefront of my brain.

Well, perhaps 'disappointment' is the wrong word, though it certainly lacked the brilliance and humour I wanted it to have. That is not to say it was unenjoyable! I did enjoy it. I was especially amused by all the coincidences, because coincidences do happen all the time.

Obviously, they don't happen in such unbelievably copious amounts as they do in this book, but they do happen scarily often. And I could name other such coincidental scenarios whose frequency can be quite startling! Also, it did pique my interest in Vermeer. I want to research him now Feb 25, Katelan Mccullum rated it really liked it Shelves: chasing-vermeer. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett is such an intriguing book for young adult readers! I absolutely love mystery books and this one kept me on my toes!

I found myself unable to put it down wanting to know what would happen next. Konigsburg, but Balliett is an original: her protagonists also receive clues through dreams, pentominoes math tools with alphabetic correspondences , secret codes including some left to readers to decipher and other deliberately non-rational devices. Helquist the Lemony Snicket books compounds the fun with drawings that incorporate the pentomino idea to supply visual clues as well.

Thick with devilish red herrings, this smart, playful story never stops challenging and exhilarating the audience. Ages Quizzes with auto-grading, and real-time student data. Browse Easel Assessments. Log In Join Us. View Wish List View Cart. You Selected: Keyword chasing vermeer.

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