Pieces and Players

January 19, 2015
Calder, Petra, and Tommy from Chasing Vermeer and its sequels join forces with Zoomy from The Danger Box and Early from Hold Fast to investigate the “biggest art robbery ever to happen in the United States”: the heist of 13 paintings and sculptures from a small Chicago museum. Though the story’s museum is fictional, Balliett borrows the outline of a real crime—the 1990 theft of artwork worth $500 million from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—for her plot. As in her previous mysteries, chance and coincidence drive the action, and the narrative is salted with repeated motifs and literary allusions. The eighth-grade sleuths, summoned to help because a museum trustee believes they will do detective work that the adult investigators are incapable of doing, use prime numbers, Mother Goose rhymes, and messages in dreams and from a ghost to crack the case. (The FBI may want to invest in its own Ouija board.) Fans of Balliett’s previous work will find and enjoy the same meld of puzzling mystery and art history in this adventure. Ages 8–12. Agent: Doe Coover, Doe Coover Agency.

December 1, 2014
Thirteen-year-old amateur sleuths and best friends Tommy Segovia, Calder Pillay and Petra Andalee join forces with two new junior detectives to tackle a shocking art robbery at a Chicago museum in this sequel to The Calder Game (2010).When 13 priceless pieces of art disappear from the Farmer Museum in a heist Balliett patterns after the 1990 unsolved theft at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Tommy, Calder and Petra are summoned by their former teacher Ms. Hussey to meet with museum trustee Mrs. Sharpe. Mrs. Sharpe introduces them to legally blind Zoomy Chamberlain (from The Danger Box, 2010) and neatnik Early Pearl (from Hold Fast, 2013). Mrs. Sharpe believes the five precocious kids will make "an extraordinary, unexpected, and understated team" to solve the mystery. Working during spring break, the young sleuths notice seemingly unrelated, reoccurring clues (lion symbols; prime numbers three, five and 13; young men wearing black leather jackets; Mother Goose rhymes), which amazingly come together. Closely studying the stolen art, the five problem-solvers discover that it sends a coded message, which eventually leads them to the surprising conclusion. Juggling multiple pieces of art and multiple suspect players (including an interfering ghost), Balliett again deftly merges mystery, art and friendship into another perplexing puzzler. Brain-teasing adventure for thinking kids. (author's notes) (Mystery. 8-12)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-This time it's a small family museum and 13 missing pieces of art providing the mystery that brings back characters met in previous titles. Tommy, Petra, and Calder are joined by Early Pearl and Zoomy Chamberlain. With all five kids led by their teacher Mrs. Hussey, each of the detective's special skills add to their understanding and help them arrive at the solution. Fans of the previous books will be delighted as these characters continue with their familiar predilections such as Calder's pentominoes clacking in his pockets. The realistic Chicago setting and familiar characters combined with the somewhat ghostly aura in the museum, provide just enough drama and enigmas to solve. The stolen artwork is from various masters comprising the "pieces" mentioned in the title. Uncertainties abound, particularly as the kids question their ability to find the stolen works and the honesty of those asking them to find it. People in black leather jackets appear and disappear without explanation, along with red herring clues. Fortunately, this is a puzzle worthy of the capabilities of our fearsome fivesome. Fun and engaging; a fitting addition for readers addicted to these art mysteries.-Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015
Grades 4-7 After an art heist in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, elderly museum trustee Mrs. Sharpe calls in five 13-year-olds to investigate the case and recover the artworks. Petra, Calder, and Peter, who collaborated in solving art-related mysteries in Chasing Vermeer (2004), The Wright 3 (2006), and The Calder Game (2008), are joined by Zoomy from The Danger Box (2010) and Early from Hold Fast (2013). As they enter their teens, they are sometimes self-conscious about pimples and how they come across to the opposite sex, but they are still the quirky, insightful individuals they always were. Together, they visit the scene of the crime, tour public artworks in Chicago, make a great many random observations, shift their suspicions, befriend a ghost, and talk intelligently on any number of subjects. The plot may revolve around a mystery, but the heart of the book involves the mysterious human connection with great works of art. Balliett's fans will particularly enjoy the conversations as her five young protagonists join forces, working together toward a common goal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
Petra, Calder, Tommy, Zoomy, and Early--all of Balliett's protagonists from her previous books--team up to track down thirteen pieces of art stolen during a museum heist (think Isabella Stewart Gardner robbery). Ghosts, prime numbers (especially thirteen), and Mother Goose rhymes make multiple appearances as the thirteen-year-old sleuths (with the help of some handy coincidences) solve another twisty-turny art mystery.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)