CHASING VERMEER Blue Balliett Author Illustrator Biographies Blue

CHASING VERMEER Blue Balliett

Author & Illustrator Biographies Blue Balliett Brett Helquist

Chapter 1: Three Deliveries pp 1 -5 agitated Figurative Language Explain how the authors sets the mood for the story. Use evidence to support your thinking. Put on your detective hat and prepare to track your thinking! While reading, create a list of questions and clues. As the story progresses, answer the questions and try to link the clues in order to solve the mystery. gullible � Vocabula ry discriminatin g conventions amply pretentious alter Who are three people who received letters, and why were they selected? � What is the centuries old crime that has been committed?

Chapter 2: The Letter Is Dead pp 617 Vocabula ry brutal mediocre labyrinth Figurative Language Research John Dewey. Ask an adult to tell you about a letter they will never forget, a piece of mail that changed their life. Draw an illustration of Ms. Hussey. Write me a letter I won’t be able to forget. Who are you more like, Petra or Calder? Explain why using details from the story. Who wrote the novel Kidnapped? Why did the author choose to include this book? Why was Ms. Hussey at Powell’s book store?

Chapter 3: Lost in the Art pp 1834 Vocabula ry stupendous hybrid groped artificial Figurative Language Track your thinking. How does Ms. Hussey’s field trip to the art museum connect to the original mystery? Research pieces of art that contain letters. Make a list of the artist and the name of the artwork. � How many can you find? � Which is your favorite? Why?

Chapter 4: Picasso’s Life pp 3542 Vocabula ry project frenzied exasperation s Figurative Language Track your thinking. How does the book, Lo! by Charles Fort, fit into the mystery? What do you think Picasso meant when he said, “Art is a lie, but a lie that tells the truth”? You have the same assignment that Ms. Hussey assigned her class. Choose one item at home that feels like a work of art. Describe the object without revealing what it is.

Chapter 5: Worms, Snakes, and Periwinkles pp 43 -49 Vocabula ry disoriented profound conviction senility credulity premises dappled Figurative Language Track your thinking. What do you think Petra’s vision has to do with the original mystery? On what evidence or details do you base your thinking? Is the object Petra chose a work of art? Explain your rationale.

Chapter 6: The Geographer’s Box pp 50 -60 Vocabula ry Figurative Language Track your thinking. Do you think the object Calder selected is a work of art? Explain your rationale. Who wrote a better description of their work of art, Petra or Calder? On what evidence and details do you base your opinion? Translate Tommy’s letter using the pentomino code. What connection could Tommy’s letter have to the original mystery? Explain your thinking. This is not the first time frogs have been mentioned in the story. Why do you think they are important?

Chapter 7: The Man on the Wall pp 61 -75 Vocabula ry scoured rubbish confided Figurative Language Track your thinking. Research the artist Vermeer and his painting The Geographer. Create a journal entry based on your research.

Chapter 8: A Halloween Surprise pp 76 -80 Vocabula ry lurch Figurative Language Track your thinking. What could Vermeer’s connection be to the original mysterious letter?

Chapter 9: The Blue Ones pp 81 -89 Vocabula ry lute guild Figurative Language Track your thinking. Hmmm. . . frogs keep being mentioned in this story. Why? Research the city of Delft.

Chapter 10: Inside the Puzzle pp 90 -98 Vocabula ry bounded Figurative Language Track your thinking. Research an art museum. Discover how art installations are created and how paintings travel.

Chapter 11: Nightmare pp 99111 Vocabulary curator incalculable conservators intriguing sinister ingenious audible intently executed ailing obscurity Figurative Language Track your thinking. What is the letter writer asking the common people of the world to do? Who do you think the three people are who originally received the mysterious letter? On what evidence are you basing your thinking?

*Chapter 12: Tea at Four pp 112126 Vocabula ry attribution cobalt judiciously restrain subdued Figurative Language Track your thinking. Create an illustration of Mrs. Sharpe’s kitchen based on the description on page 116. How, if at all, does Calder’s friend, Tommy, fit into the story? Thoroughly explain your thinking.

Chapter 13: X the Experts pp 127133 Vocabula ry Figurative Language Track your thinking. Create your own question for this chapter. Swap questions with a partner and answer.

Chapter 14: Flashing Lights pp 134 -143 Vocabula ry Figurative Language Track your thinking. Do you think Mrs. Sharpe framed herself? How does her husband, the Vermeer scholar, fit into the mystery? Is Ms. Hussey involved in the crime? Explain your position using evidence from the text.

Chapter 15: Murder and Hot Chocolate pp 144 -153 Vocabula ry glowered plodded turret Figurative Language Track your thinking. Do you think it is wise for Calder and Petra to actively hunt for the missing Vermeer painting? Who is the third person to receive the mysterious letter? Explain your thinking.

Chapter 16: A Morning in the Dark pp 154 -166 Vocabula ry quadrangle bust reminiscing Figurative Language Track your thinking. Research Francis Parker. Research the Great Chicago Fire. Describe how you might feel if you were locked in a dark and dusty basement believing you might be holding a priceless, stolen piece of art.

Chapter 17: What Happens Now? pp 167 -173 Vocabula ry Figurative Language Track your thinking. Make a list of lacy words. Do you think theft of the Vermeer painting was a gift? Was the thief’s mission a success? Explain.

Chapter 18: A Bad Fall pp 174 -187 Vocabular y imperious jostled corresponden ce brusque frigid Figurative Language Track your thinking. Do you believe in coincidences? If so, explain why and use personal examples. If not, explain what you believe. Now that you have more clues, do you think Tommy is involved in the mystery, or is his story just a side plot?

Chapter 19: The Shock on the Stairs pp 188 -197 Vocabula ry casement merciful menacing Figurative Language Track your thinking. Research Bette Davis. Why does Petra think she has found A Lady Writing? Why did she leave Delia Dell Hall instead of stopping and looking for the painting immediately?

Chapter 20: A Maniac pp 198204 Vocabula ry overwrought Figurative Language Track your thinking. Why would the thief now threaten to destroy the painting? Do you think A Lady Writing is still safe, or do you believe that it has already been destroyed? Explain your thinking.

Chapter 21: Looking and Seeing pp 205 -213 Vocabula ry ruthless sulky precariously Figurative Language Track your thinking. Why would Mrs. Sharpe say that looking and seeing are to very different things? Are hearing and listening to very different things as well? Is Petra’s dad involved? Why is he talking to the man from the post office? How would you feel right now if you were Petra?

Chapter 22: Twelves pp 214225 Vocabula ry arbor cavernous dormitories chasm rapping clarity stifled Figurative Language Track your thinking.

Chapter 23: Help! pp 226 -235 Vocabula ry assault indulgently Figurative Language Track your thinking. You’ll never guess what?

Chapter 24: The Pieces pp 236 -254 Vocabula ry reclusive steely confide wistful sober Figurative Language Research one of the following: Sorbonne, Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, Mc. Gill, or the University of Salamanca. Research the Rijksmuseum.

Novel Projects Select a portrait. Interview the person in the portrait. Explain what you have learned about the person in the portrait based on clues from the painting. Select a painting. Research the artist. Write your own mystery based on the painting. Try to weave in facts about the artist into your mystery. Visit an art museum. Write a story, poem, or description about your visit or about a specific piece of art you liked.