Chasing Vermeer

I’m considering the book Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet. This book is mysterious and is all about coincidences. In the book play two characters Calder Pillay, and Petra Andalee who unlock the secrets of the famous art painter Johannes Vermeer. Petra is a character who is more into writing and likes to keep to her self. She is very shy and she likes to study the surroundings that happen around her. Calder is a character who prefers pictures rather than writing. He studies what’s happening in his life and how to solve every problem he can figure out. He likes to solve things with his petiminoes. He says each piece solves a solution that comes between him in the book.

Calder and Petra have no friends. Only there parents and there brother or sisters. Calder however has Tommy. They were best friends until his mom got married to a French guy name X Avaier. He acted all nice and fun and full of energy until his mom got married to him and made them move. Although Tommy and Calder don’t go to the same school they still keep in touch by sending letters to tell them what is going on in both of there lives. So know body else can read their letters they use code writing were only they having the key to figure out what the letter means.

In the book one of Johannes art paintings is being sent from The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C to Chicago. When the painting called The Lady Writing is being sent an art thief steals the painting. Calder and Petra are on a mission to find out who took the painting and why they took it. As every thing is going terrible a mysterious letter shows up in the news paper. It was from the art thief saying that only some of the famous painter Johannes Vermeer is real the rest are fake and copied. The thief says that only some of Johannes paintings are real the rest were playderise to get money. As Calder and Petra are on a mission to find out who the art thief is Calder is concerned about the letter he got from Tommy. It says he has gone missing and his step dad X Avier has gone on a business trip. Calder is nervous, scared, and frightened he does not know what to do or how to do it.

The Illustrations.

Throughout the book there is a code hidden in the illustrations. The code involves images of pentominoes and a particular animal. To decode the code you must count the number of frogs in every other illustration, as well as find the hidden pentomino. Once you have collected these facts you may use the same code presented in the story that Calder and Petra use in the book. The code at is surprising at the end of the book I would of never guessed it. The book also uses this same code as a narrative device which, in turn, becomes a clue to the illustration puzzle.