The Calder Game

by Blue Balliett Narrated by Deirdre Lovejoy

Overview

When Calder Pillay travels with his father to a remote village in England, he finds a mix of mazes and mystery- including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture in the town square. Calder is strangely drawn to the sculpture, while others in the village have less-than-friendly feelings toward it. Both the boy and the sculpture seem out of place...and then they dissapear!!!!

Calder's friends Petra and Tommy must fly to England to help Calder's father find him. But this mystery has more twists and turns than a calder mobile caught in a fierce wind-with more at stake that meets the eye.

Editorial Reviews

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.

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

From the Publisher

Praise for The Calder Game

"Balliett doesn't shirk from putting her characters in danger, but what's fascinating is how she weaves in the kids' attraction to puzzles, words, and found objects as she moves them through literal and figurative mazes. Balliett again offers readers new ways to think." — Booklist, starred review

"Acclaimed for her sophisticated juggling of art concepts, mystery, philosophy and storytelling, Balliett outdoes herself with this ambitious novel.... Motivated readers will treasure this provocative title." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

OCT/NOV 08 - AudioFile

Deirdre Lovejoy's upbeat narration enhances the story of seventh-grader Calder’s visit to Woodstock, England, with his father. After he admires a Calder sculpture, both he and it go missing. Lovejoy aptly conveys the personalities of his two feuding friends who travel with the elderly Miss Sharp to find him. As Tommy and Petra try to find their friend and the work of art, they work their way through the Blenheim maze as well as a labyrinth of word and visual clues. Though Lovejoy’s crisp reading makes the plot clear and the characters are well drawn, young people who thrive on puzzles may want to reread the print version, so they can enjoy the book’s detailed illustrations. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169292626
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/10/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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