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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Mysterious letters delivered after dark, showers of frogs, and unexplained repetitions of the number 12 are just a few of the diverse elements present in this intricate mystery. Sixth graders Calder and Petra, classmates both hovering on the fringes of their school’s social scene, are drawn together by a missing Vermeer painting. Petra is sensitive to words, while Calder operates comfortably within a world of symbols and patterns. Both children bring their unique skills and perspectives to the search for the lost painting, and together they make a formidable detective duo. As events escalate to a frenzy (often playfully stretching credibility), readers are invited to share in the sleuthing process. In addition to hints and clues within the story, images of pentominoes are camouflaged within the illustrations, offering a hidden message if correctly decoded. Ultimately, Petra and Calder’s resolve pays off as they solve the mystery and raise some important questions about art, friendship, perception, and truth along the way. (Ages 9–12)

CCBC Choices 2005 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2005. Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

June 20, 2005
"Puzzles nest within puzzles in this ingeniously plotted and lightly delivered first novel that, revolving around the heist of a Vermeer painting," PW
said in a starred review. Ages 8-12.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from June 14, 2004
Puzzles nest within puzzles in this ingeniously plotted and lightly delivered first novel that, revolving around the heist of a Vermeer painting, also touches on the nature of coincidence, truth, art and similarly meaty topics. Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay become friends in sixth grade at a school operated by the University of Chicago (Balliett taught at the University's Lab Schools), both of them independent thinkers excited by their maverick teacher, Ms. Hussey. For reasons unknown to her students, the teacher asks her class to ponder the importance of letters (the epistolary sort) and to mull over Picasso's ideas about art as "a lie that tells the truth." Readers have the edge on the characters, being privy to an enigmatic letter sent to three unidentified persons outlining a centuries-old "crime" against a painter's artistic legacy. These mysteries deepen exponentially when someone steals a Vermeer masterpiece and holds it hostage, demanding scholarly redress for misattributions within Vermeer's small oeuvre. The art mystery and the crisp intelligence of the prose immediately recall E.L. 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 8-12.

From AudioFile Magazine

A Vermeer painting is stolen. Petra and Calder, two bright, quirky sixth-graders, come together to solve the crime that has the whole world baffled. Going beyond a simple mystery, this story explores the meaning of art and the nature of coincidence. Ellen Reilly shines as narrator, providing perfect voices for the protagonists and the host of supporting characters. Her pleasant pitch and well-tempered pace make it easy to follow the twists of a complex plot. Once the mystery is solved, however, the ending seems tacked on, falling flat. The book's illustrations contain an additional puzzle, so pairing the audio with the print edition should double the fun. E.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine