The Calder Game by Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)

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There is no mystery about why visitor Calder Pillay would be so fascinated by the sculpture tucked in the town square of the small English village. After all, Alexander Calder, his namesake, created this impressive piece. Coincidences grow darker, however, when both Calder and the Calder sculpture vanish, sending family and friends Petra and Tommy into an understandable tizzy. This edition to Blue Balliett's aesthetically inclined mysteries will please fans of her Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3.

Publishers Weekly

Acclaimed for her sophisticated juggling of art concepts, mystery, philosophy and storytelling, Balliett (Chasing Vermeer) outdoes herself with this ambitious novel. Like its predecessors, it asks readers to consider big ideas, this time using the mobiles of Alexander Calder as a springboard. Now in seventh grade, series heroes Petra, Tommy and Calder first see Calder's mobiles at an exhibit at a Chicago museum. There they are introduced to the "Calder game," which invites participants to join five ideas or things that move in relation to one another, while looking for "balance, beauty, and surprise." Three weeks later, Calder accompanies his father to a tiny town near Blenheim Palace in England, where an anonymous donor has installed a Calder sculpture in the ancient town square, much to the villagers' dismay. Curiously, Calder's own presence seems to inspire dismay as well-until he, and the sculpture, simply vanish overnight. The mystery is crafted more solidly than in either of Balliett's previous titles, and the setting-enriched by the hedge maze of Blenheim and the possible proximity of the pseudonymous British artist Banksy-proves completely enticing. And once again Helquist encodes his b&w illustrations with puzzle pieces. Motivated readers will treasure this provocative title. Ages 9-12. (May)

VOYA

When twelve-year-old Calder Pillay leaves his hometown Chicago for a week in England with his father, they are shocked to discover a large sculpture by the American artist Alexander Calder. The modern sculpture seems out of place in the quaint, old-fashioned village. The visit takes a sinister turn when both Calders-statue and boy-disappear. Calder's friends Petra, Tommy, and the elderly Mrs. Sharpe arrive in England to assist Calder's father and the police in the hunt. Without Calder to hold them together, the tenuous relationship between Tommy and Petra is put to the test. Balliett again skillfully weaves art, math, puzzles, and suspense into a page-turning mystery. This installment is perhaps less mystical than the first two and more mysterious, with a possible kidnapping and some shady characters imparting a dangerous element. Her end notes will likely send readers on a search for more information about Alexander Calder, Blenheim Palace, pentominoes, and Banksy-actual places, people, and things. Helquist's pen-and-ink drawings add a visual element to the puzzle, with a secret code hidden within the pictures. At times, Balliett stretches the suspension of disbelief nearly to the breaking point: A couple of twelve-year-olds are not likely to be asked to participate in a search for a missing child, let alone cross the Atlantic to do so. Nevertheless fans will root for this gifted threesome and relish the suspense the author so masterfully creates. Reviewer: Heather Christiansen

Alan Review

Calder Pillay and his father are off to England on a business trip. Calder is fascinated because they will be staying near Blenheim Park, home to a famous maze. Calder loves making and figuring out mazes. Calder likes using these to solve puzzles. His friends, Petra and Tommy, each have their own fascinations. Petra is a word whiz, while Tommy was a collector. They kids also love mobiles inspired by Alexander Calder. In England, Calder disappears the exact same moment that the new town sculpture disappears. Petra and Tommy rush off to help find their friend. Who would want to take an American boy visiting England? Why do the townspeople detest a piece of sculpture that was given out of admiration? Playing with words, shapes, and numbers, the kids just might find their way out of a maze. Reviewer: Mary Schmutz

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8- Those precocious art sleuths Calder, Petra, and Tommy are back, and this mystery is every bit as intricate, engaging, and delightful as Chasing Vermeer (2004) and The Wright 3 (2006, both Scholastic). The three seventh graders go with their class to an exhibit of Alexander Calder's mobiles at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Soon after, Calder and his father travel to a remote village in England that has an anonymously donated Calder sculpture, the Minotaur , and a maze at Blenheim Park. Both the boy and the sculpture disappear on the same night. Balliett's love of words and her ability to tuck hidden, subtle clues into her story are evident throughout. Petra and Tommy fly to England to help Calder's dad and the police find their friend. The kids see mobiles everywhere: in the leaves, flying crows, paper trash. Indeed, the whole story is structured as a mobile, with plot and characters twisting and turning, moving and dancing around each other. The young sleuths are able to take what seems to be chance and coincidence and apply their own conclusions to the puzzle wrapped inside this mystery. Balliett's wonderful writing is full of foreshadowing, literary allusions, wordplay, and figurative language. Calder's signature yellow pentominoes play an important role, and the kids create a new code. Helquist's detailed illustrations enhance this multilayered story. Fans of the author's previous novels are in for a treat in this latest adventure.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME

Kirkus Reviews

Balliett's third mystery falls short of Chasing Vermeer's brilliance, and the triangular friendship among Calder, Petra and Tommy, skillfully developed in The Wright 3, receives bumpier treatment here (2004; 2006). The three seventh graders experience a transformative field trip to view Alexander Calder's massive, colorful mobiles. The scene shifts radically when Calder's father takes his son along on a business trip to England. Calder goes missing and stays thus for nearly half the novel. Improbably, Petra, Tommy and their elderly friend Mrs. Sharp fly to England to assist. Intricate plotting involves Blenheim Palace's maze, an anonymously (and roundly disliked) donated Calder sculpture stolen from Woodstock's village square, a mysterious American named Art Wish, the influence of the elusive British guerilla artist Banksy, a gad-about cat and much more. Tommy and Petra's pairing kindles mutual admiration but oddly hapless explorations-Calder, trapped in a Palace waterfall's hidden crevasse, ends up rescued by cops. While a fourth adventure's intimated, problematic construction and too many tidy dei ex machinis (including their nasty teacher's turning terrific) mar this one. (author's notes) (Fiction. 9-12)First printing of 150,000. $100,000 ad/promo

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