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Sign in. The Calder Game. Publisher: Scholastic Inc. In all, this is a great book that I would read again. Shelves: favorites. I am a big enough dork that I picked this up partly because of Brett Helquist's illustrations, but mainly because of my own obsession with Alexander Calder. What I discovered was an homage to his work, crafted intricately, with humor, poise, and a wee bit of art education thrown in.
I need to find more books by Balliett - it would seem that this is part of a series? References are made to other adventures generic, not specific had by the main characters, so I assume said adventures have been c I am a big enough dork that I picked this up partly because of Brett Helquist's illustrations, but mainly because of my own obsession with Alexander Calder. References are made to other adventures generic, not specific had by the main characters, so I assume said adventures have been chronicled.
Via this book alone, Balliett has the potential to make my list of favorite YA authors! Jun 28, Joy Gerbode rated it really liked it. These books are a lot of fun This one also gave us a glimpse into life in England, and was fun, especially since I was there last year. I enjoyed this story, this puzzle very much View all 4 comments. Oct 10, Lauren rated it it was amazing.
I think this book is a great finale to this series. It is suspenseful and very exciting. The characters and plot are all very easy to follow and understand as well. I definitely recommend this book! A nice enough read. It wouldn't shake the world or anything. Nov 01, Tori King rated it it was amazing. When an exhibit from Alexander Calder, an artist and sculptor famous for his amazing mobiles, comes to the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art the children are enthralled by the mobiles. Calder feels particularly drawn to the mobiles because he is named after Alexander Calder and his parents are big fans of the artist.
Soon, Calder and his friends start seeing Calder mobiles everywhere, both real and imaginary. When Calder takes a trip to a small, rural town in England with his Dad, the unthinkable happens…another Alexander Calder sculpture appears. As the town grapples with this unwelcome and surprise gift, Calder senses that there is something strange going on.
But before we learn more, Calder, and the Calder statue, vanish. Tommy and Petra travel to England to help solve the mystery and find their missing friend with help from both Calders, and some sleuthing. I would highly recommend this exciting mystery book to advanced readers or mystery-lovers in late-elementary or early middle school grade. The text introduces rich vocabulary in an accessible way, has interesting and robust characters, and beautifully describes settings and emotions.
This would be an excellent read-aloud text and addition to a classroom library. It would be a wonderful text for mini-lessons on word usage, characters, and settings before writers workshop. Because the text introduces rich vocabulary, it would be a great text for shared reading activities. I would also incorporate an activity where students make their own Calder mobile and write a short story or explanation for their thought process behind their work as the characters do in the story.
Sep 25, AE rated it liked it. I remember really enjoying the first two books well, Chasing Vermeer at least, I don't remember much about Wright 3 when I was a kid, but I don't know if maybe the series just doesn't age well for adults.
I did enjoy some aspects: - the sense of suspense and mystery - some of the mobile stuff - the overall plot direction - the tie-in with art once again - Mrs. Sharpe but a lot of other things took away from my enjoyment as well: - the "England is just so weird and different and insular" thing was I remember really enjoying the first two books well, Chasing Vermeer at least, I don't remember much about Wright 3 when I was a kid, but I don't know if maybe the series just doesn't age well for adults.
Sharpe but a lot of other things took away from my enjoyment as well: - the "England is just so weird and different and insular" thing was kind of uncomfortable and never really subverted. I especially disliked how long we dwelled on the villagers being exclusionary and hostile, and hating Americans and modernization, and I never really understood why Calder didn't bother to do a little research. I know he's like 12 but I'm pretty sure I knew British people called fries "chips" at that age.
It felt like the kids never really figured much out that was useful, even with the "kids know better than adults" vibe. I've also developed an appreciation for books that don't try to make things too easy just because they're for kids, and I definitely felt like this book tried way too hard to be kid-friendly, taking away from the effectiveness.
Apr 28, Pat Salvatini rated it it was amazing Shelves: mystery When seventh graders Calder, Tommy and Petra visit the Alexander Calder exhibit they each experience the mobiles in their own way. Calder tried to figure out the puzzle he saw in each piece, Tommy saw each mobile as a way to bring a collection alive, and Petra thought of words as things, not just meanings but balanced in three dimensions. When introduced to a museum invented game encouraging the creation of a mobile of five parts: objects, symbols, or ideas that move in relation to one another, When seventh graders Calder, Tommy and Petra visit the Alexander Calder exhibit they each experience the mobiles in their own way.
When introduced to a museum invented game encouraging the creation of a mobile of five parts: objects, symbols, or ideas that move in relation to one another, the friends predictably played the game in their own unique way.
Weeks later Calder visits England with his father and is surprised to find a Calder sculpture in the villages town square. When both Calders disappear on the same night, many puzzles must be solved. Illustrator Brett Helquist adds to the fun by including a hidden message which appear in a pattern of fives.
Apr 23, Rebecca ofliterarynature rated it liked it. Normally if I'm binge-reading a series I wait until I've read them all to write a review, but I have to say something before the end! The first book was incredibly quirky and clever and intelligent. I really enjoyed it!
But my main complaint was that the pattern of coincidences they put together to solve the mystery absolutely would not hold up in the real world - it was unrealistic. Well, by now in the third book, there's some vague muttering about patterns, a lot of chatter about 'art', and mo Normally if I'm binge-reading a series I wait until I've read them all to write a review, but I have to say something before the end!
Well, by now in the third book, there's some vague muttering about patterns, a lot of chatter about 'art', and mostly just the kids wandering around on instinct finding nothing until eventually the mystery was solved for them.
It was realistic! I got my wish! And it was so, so boring. Some of these elements were definitely present in book 2, but gods, so much of the mystery in book 3 was just kind of info- dumped on us, there wasn't really much of a mystery after all. Here's to hoping book 4 pulls itself a bit more together? Jan 06, Trace rated it really liked it. He then becomes fascinated with a sculpture which coincidently had the last name Calder.
On the same night Calder and the Statue are taken and suddenly disappear, leaving only his friends Petra and Tommy to find their best friend. This book is one in a sequel to The Wright 3, which was also mostly focused on mystery and preserving art. However, some of the clues in The Wright 3 seemed to appear out of nowhere. The Calder Game seemed to make sure that all of the evidence the kids found was logical and helped add suspense to the great mystery. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good suspenseful mystery.
I also really liked the theme of the book, which was preserving art, the characters seem to care about art and history. The Calder Game was not an easy read but the logical format of the story helped become easier to follow. Dec 27, Anna rated it liked it Shelves: childrens , reading-challenge , mystery.
The descriptions of art and the powerful effect it can have on people, both positive and negative, in this book are phenomenal and the main reason I am giving it three stars rather than just two. The mystery is scary and messy, and Petra and Tommy while growing together in their quest to help their friend do not actually do very much to ultimately solve the mystery, view spoiler [and we never find out how or why Art Wish ended up hit over the head and stashed in bushes hide spoiler ].
All this The descriptions of art and the powerful effect it can have on people, both positive and negative, in this book are phenomenal and the main reason I am giving it three stars rather than just two. All this is very realistic, but not particularly satisfying. I also felt a little bit sorry for Ms. Button, although she is rather extreme in her wish for order in her classroom, there are different ways of teaching and learning and some students will do better in an ordered classroom like hers than in the more creative and loose type of classroom Ms.
Hussey created. Dec 15, Joshua rated it liked it Shelves: children-s-novels. I maybe liked this more than 3 stars. The characters are always fun. I wish I had such a trio of self-directed weirdos in my life. The plot felt a little odd, too reliant on the happenstance of mobile movements. I had a hard time imagining a whole host of grown-ups thought the best solution to a miss I maybe liked this more than 3 stars. I had a hard time imagining a whole host of grown-ups thought the best solution to a missing kid in another country is to fly his two friends to come find him and then give them carte blanche with the local police to investigate unsupervised though it did make Mrs.
Sharpe a really cool character for respecting the kids. All in all, I really did like it. It left me wanting to see more of Alexander Calder's art and get myself a set of pentominoes. Oct 10, Lucas rated it it was amazing. This book is very good at making you want to read it, I would know. I caught myself reading page after page day after day until I was met with the satisfaction of when I finally finished.
This book is about 3 children ,Calder, Tommy, and Petra, who all love a normal life , but when Calder take a trip to England he suddenly goes missing along with a famous sculpture, forcing Tommy an This book is very good at making you want to read it, I would know. This book is about 3 children ,Calder, Tommy, and Petra, who all love a normal life , but when Calder take a trip to England he suddenly goes missing along with a famous sculpture, forcing Tommy and Petra to go and find him.
Tommy and Petra are not the best of friends and are only around each other when Calder is around but must become friends to help find Calder..
I personally like this book very much. I love mystery books so this book was right up my alley. Jan 16, Jennifer rated it it was amazing. I listened to this as an audiobook with my youngest son. We both loved the narrator. The plot and the narration kept my year-old engaged and wanting to listen to more all the way through the book.
We also referenced the physical book to look at the pictures and other things in the book. I really enjoyed the author's style of writing, the same as with the previous two books by the same author that we've read. Basic plot hints without spoilers: this is a book about art, about a stolen sculpture, I listened to this as an audiobook with my youngest son.
Basic plot hints without spoilers: this is a book about art, about a stolen sculpture, and a missing boy. I love the way the author seeks to encourage readers to interact with art, to appreciate it more. This theme has carried over from the previous two books we've read as well. We will read more by Balliett! Jun 06, Chris Garth rated it really liked it.
This is the 3rd installment in the adventures of a group of very smart, but quirky middle school students. They solve art crimes through adventures and a mindset that can only be seen through the eyes of a young one. The plot here is a little more sinister and ties the story of art together in a thoughtful and engaging style. When I finish one of Blue Balliett's books not only do I want to rush them into hands of students I encounter but I rush to google and see the images of the art on which he This is the 3rd installment in the adventures of a group of very smart, but quirky middle school students.
When I finish one of Blue Balliett's books not only do I want to rush them into hands of students I encounter but I rush to google and see the images of the art on which her latest story is based.
This would be a five star rating if the presentation of the book make its manipulation of the story time line a little clearer to identify, its one of the distracting parts of reading this particular novewl. Sep 03, Chrisinny rated it it was ok. Authors can't hit it out of the ballpark each time, but this is a swing and a miss. Or maybe I should say a mess.
Balliett always had a tendency to do this, but it has become excessive in this book. Maybe she is so popular that editors can't point out the flaws. Only recommended for those that loved the earlier books and want to follow the characters, irrespective of the opacity of the writing. Didn't really li Authors can't hit it out of the ballpark each time, but this is a swing and a miss. Didn't really like any of the characters we spend all our time with in this book- even ones I liked in previous books.
Nov 19, Katelin added it. A young boy named Calder is named after a famous artist. His best friends do not like each other that much. He went to England with his father to see a rare piece of art by Alexander Calder, whilst he was admiring this art Calder met a young man and did not realize what would happen to him later.
After only a few days in England he had gone missing. His problematic best friends had to work together to find him. But this mystery has more twists and turns than a Calder mobile. 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.
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.
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