Petra and Calder, two inquisitive, imaginative sixth-graders, join forces to track down the thief who has stolen a valuable Vermeer painting no small task, especially when mysterious letters appear in mailboxes up and down the street of their neighborhood, the neighbors are acting cagey, and their beloved teacher, Ms. everything is quite formulaic these days." Balliett has created an intriguing fictional world where patterns and coincidences deserve a second look, and happenstance can hold great meaning. In Chasing Vermeer-a multilayered story about art and learning, coincidence and mystery-protagonists Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay serve as "a vote of confidence for kids' brain power, at a time when not much credence is given to kids' thinking and imagination. "I learned so much by being able to watch so many different kinds of brains every year," she says. Just ask author Blue Balliett, who says children of that age "have tremendous brain power and are not bound by convention." In fact, Balliett says she couldn't have written her new novel, Chasing Vermeer, without having taught for a decade at the University of Chicago's Laboratory School. Eight-year-olds should not be underestimated.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |