Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1)

Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1)
Chasing Vermeer - Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1
Author: Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
ISBN-13: 9780439372978
ISBN-10: 0439372976
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 272
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 58

3.9 stars, based on 58 ratings
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

17 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book is like a Da Vinchi Code for kids! Kids I know really enjoyed solving the mathmatical and artistic mysteries. There is also a sequel to this.
jaxt avatar reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"The DA VINCI CODE for the younger set"

Great mystery!
ilovedale3 avatar reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 524 more book reviews
Good book for older elementary/middle school readers, but adults will like this one too.

When a Vermeer painting goes missing, two students set out to find who took it. Does it have something to do with three mysterious letters that were delivered to their neighborhood? And how is their teacher involved?

Very reminiscent of "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". Solid mystery with lots of background on Vermeer and his art.
KNadine avatar reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 18 more book reviews
Great kids book, entertaining for adults also. Multiple themes mixed together well, great book for teachers to use. Highly recommed it
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
This was on Florida's Sunshine State reader's list a few years ago. Great mystery for kids in grades 4-6. Pentominos, anyone?
fancier avatar reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 17 more book reviews
This puzzle filled action packed book will keep you or your teen/child busy for hours, it's just the kind of book you don't want to put down! I randomly found this book at walmart and was instantly drawn to it because of the illustrator, Brett Helquist (also the illustrator for Series of Unfortunate Events).
The story is great, the puzzles are captivating and time consuming (great for busy mother with children!), and the illustrations are fun, and creative.
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on
BEST BOOK EVER!
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Petra and Calder have to unravel a mystery, connecting seemingly unrelated events and an old Vermeer painting. The two kids are able to solve a puzzle even the FBI can't handle.
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 10 more book reviews
This is young adult fiction, but anyone who enjoys art and thinking about the way people think will enjoy this one.
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 48 more book reviews
Very strange book--good, but strange! It kept me constantly trying to figure out what was going on. I don't even know if I "got it"!
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
this book is AMAZING a great read for kids and tweens.nice mystery.kudos to blue!
GeniusJen avatar reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 5322 more book reviews
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I think the fact that I had never heard of CHASING VERMEER before I picked up a copy at the bookstore helped in my enjoyment of it. After I finished reading the book, I read with interest other reviews, which is usually my habit after I've written my own review. I like to see what other readers thought of a story, or how similar--or, in some cases, dissimilar--my own thoughts and feelings are from other readers. I was surprised to see that many had touted CHASING VERMEER as a THE DA VINCI CODE for the younger set. I was surprised by the supposed hype that the book had generated. I was surprised, in fact, by the way I was caught up in the story myself. Although I can't comment on it's similarity to THE DA VINCI CODE (I'm one of probably only a handful of humans on the planet who hasn't read it!), I can say that CHASING VERMEER is a mixture of mystery, art, precociousness, and ingenuity that made it a joy to read.

Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay live down the street from each other in Hyde Park, share the same birthday, and have as the same sixth-grade teacher, the wonderful Ms. Hussey, at University School. It's rare to find a teacher who allows her students to have a say in what material they will cover, and both Petra and Calder are aware of this. When Ms. Hussey asks the students to discuss with an adult a letter that changed their life, most students are baffled. When the assignment fails, Ms. Hussey instead takes them on a field trip to the Art Institute--where the worlds of Petra, Calder, Ms. Hussey, and Vermeer collide.

Who was Vermeer? An artist, it turns out, who has several paintings attributed to him that some members of the general public don't agree were done by the painter himself. Suddenly, Petra and Calder's world is filled with a strange book entitled "Lo!", a painting known as "A Lady Writing," an old lady named Mrs. Sharpe, a man who owns a bookstore, a set of twelve pentominoes, a bunch of frogs, and a few bags of blue M&M's.

CHASING VERMEER is, quite simply, an art mystery in the style of Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys, but more interesting and complex. This is a delightful read, and I can't wait to read THE WRIGHT 3, the next story in the adventures of Petra and Calder.
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 9 more book reviews
I really liked this book, especially since it is a book about a real artist and his paintings even though it is fiction. :)
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on
Great book - wonderful series! Read them all!!
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 5 more book reviews
A New York Times Bestseller, Book Sense Book of the Year, Edgar Award Winner.
reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 33 more book reviews
When a book of unexplainable occurrences brings Petra qnd Calder together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, sn eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer paintind vanishes.
Now in the center of an international art scandal can they decipher a crime that has even the FBI baffeled?
vtcn avatar reviewed Chasing Vermeer (Chasing Vermeer, Bk 1) on + 18 more book reviews
My sister read this book, and she said it was okay.