CHASING VERMEER
Blue Balliett
Author & Illustrator Biographies

Blue Balliett

Brett Helquist
Chapter 1: Three Deliveries pp1-5
Vocabulary
discriminating
conventions
amply
pretentious
agitated
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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

alter

Who are the 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 pp6-17
Vocabulary
brutal
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mediocre
labyrinth
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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 pp18-34
Vocabulary
stupendous
hybrid
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groped
artificial
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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 pp35-42
Vocabulary
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project
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frenzied
exasperations
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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 pp43-49
Vocabulary

disoriented

profound

conviction
senility
credulity
premises
dappled
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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
pp50-60
Vocabulary
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
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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
pp61-75
Vocabulary
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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
pp76-80
Vocabulary

lurch
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
Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
What could Vermeer’s connection be to
the original mysterious letter?
Chapter 9: The Blue Ones pp81-89
Vocabulary
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lute
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guild
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Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
Hmmm. . . frogs keep being mentioned
in this story. Why?
Research the city of Delft.
Chapter 10: Inside the Puzzle pp9098
Vocabulary

bounded
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Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
Research an art museum. Discover how
art installations are created and how
paintings travel.
Chapter 11: Nightmare pp99-111
Vocabulary
curator
incalculable
conservators
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
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intriguing
sinister
ingenious
audible
intently
executed
ailing
obscurity
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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 pp112-126
Vocabulary

attribution

cobalt

judiciously
restrain
subdued
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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 pp127-133
Vocabulary
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

Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
Create your own question for this
chapter. Swap questions with a partner
and answer.
Chapter 14: Flashing Lights pp134143
Vocabulary
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

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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 pp144-153
Vocabulary
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glowered

plodded

turret
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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
pp154-166
Vocabulary

quadrangle

bust

reminiscing
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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?
pp167-173
Vocabulary
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

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Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
Make a list of lacy words.
Do you think the theft of the Vermeer
painting was a gift? Was the thief’s
mission a success? Explain.
Chapter 18: A Bad Fall pp174-187
Vocabulary
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imperious

jostled

correspondence
brusque
frigid
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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
pp188-197
Vocabulary

casement
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merciful

menacing
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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 pp198-204
Vocabulary
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overwrought
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
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
pp205-213
Vocabulary
ruthless
sulky
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precariously
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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 pp214-225
Vocabulary

arbor

cavernous
dormitories
chasm
rapping
clarity
stifled
Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
Chapter 23: Help! pp226-235
Vocabulary

assault

indulgently

Figurative Language
Track your thinking.
You’ll never guess what?
Chapter 24: The Pieces pp236-254
Vocabulary

reclusive

steely
confide
wistful
sober
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Figurative Language
Research one of the following:
Sorbonne, Princeton, Harvard, Oxford,
McGill, or the University of Salamanca.
Research the Rijksmuseum.
Novel Projects
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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.