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The Calder Game Review

This third volume following the bestselling Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 continues the adventures of three sixth-graders--Calder, Petra and Tommy--in solving another art mystery.

When Calder Pillay travels with his father to a remote village in England, he encounters both mazes and mystery -- including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture (Minotaur) in the town square. Both the boy (who was named after the artist) and the sculpture disappear on the same night!

Petra and Tommy fly to England to help Calder's father find him. This mystery twists and turns like a Calder mobile in high wind. Who is the mysterious girl with the camera? Who is the injured man found in the woods? Is there a secret room behind the waterfalls? What is the meaning of the puzzling graffiti left in place of the missing sculpture? Is there an even more twisted game afoot?

Blue Balliett captures the personalities and minds of each character with deft strokes and draws the atmosphere for each scene with masterful nuances. It feels authentic because the author actually visited all the places she describes -- the 1000-year-old village, the graveyards and mazes, the palaces and gardens, the waterfalls and bridges. She has a fine ear for the subtleties of accents and characters' turns of phrase. This is a book to savor.

In this volume, Blue Balliett focuses on the art of Alexander Calder, whose mobiles (hanging) and stabiles (floor-based) revolutionized modern art and gave it a fourth dimension, motion through time. The ever-changing perspective that never looks the same twice leads us to reflect on change in general...now you see it, now you don't...and how each experience changes us as well, moment by moment.

At one point in the story, the three young friends get separated, each trying to find the next clue and keeping up their courage in scary situations. Their ordeals lead them to a stronger bond between them, a greater appreciation of each other's differences. For this reader it was good to have them be rid of their previous animosities.

Back home in Chicago, the kids also see a welcome change in their classroom, where their previously restrictive teacher has also had a happy transformation through the inspiring power of Alexander Calder's art. Blue Balliett's enlightened teaching philosophy shines through the pages here.

Thoughtful readers will especially enjoy the intricate mix and balance between art lore, teaching inspirations, literature and philosophy, art as puzzle, puzzles as ideas, ideas as art. Rather like a mind mobile, wouldn't you say?

There is a secondary puzzle to decode, hidden in Brett Helquist's delightful illustrations, using Alexander Calder icons as an alphabet.

The Calder Game Feature

ISBN13: 9780439852081
Condition: New
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The Calder Game 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 other people have less-than-friendly feelings towards it. Both the boy and the sculpture seem to be out of place . . . and then, on the same night, they disappear! Calder's friends Petra and Tommy must fly out to help his father find him. But this mystery has more twists and turns than a Calder mobile . . . with more at stake than first meets the eye.

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Customer Reviews

The Calder Game - -
In a small, remote town in England there is a huge fuss about an anonymously donated modern art sculpture. And at the same time that someone steals the sculpture, there is a missing boy, a huge life-size maze, and no clues...yet....
Calder Pillay was named after the great Alexander Calder. Alexander Calder was a famous artist who created many mobiles, and sculptures that made everyone who saw them have a brilliant idea or a new perspective on life. Calder Pillay takes on many of the same traits that Alexander Calder supposedly had. Calder looks at everything in a unique way, he finds symbols for everything and creates shapes, mazes and puzzles with his pentominoes (pieces of yellow plastic in the shape of letters, which Calder carries in his pocket everywhere he goes.).
When Calder goes on vacation with his dad to a small town in England, he is surprised to find an Alexander Calder sculpture in the middle of the town square. The people living in this town are annoyed and frustrated that the sculpture is here, they believe that something modern in an old place shouldn't be there. But a few days after Calder and his dad arrive, the sculpture is stolen, and in its place painted on the ground is WISH-WISH. Calder and his dad are a bit shaken by the robbery, but think it's just some prank and that the police will find the giant, bright red sculpture any moment now. Well, they think this until Calder goes missing. Calder had gone to visit the life-size maze that was said to be one of the hardest mazes to get through, but he hadn't returned. "Is there a game that makes a player seem to disappear even if he or she is not really gone?" (Balliet 144)
The Calder game was an OK book, because the characters were not very realistic. All of the characters thought about symbols, words, and numbers, but most of the characters were only 12 years old. It just didn't seem like a 12 year old would think that way. I also thought that the ending was a little flat, because Blue Balliet spends the whole book building up the suspense of the mystery and then left you with the obvious ending. The Calder Game is a good read for anyone who likes words, numbers, symbols and mysteries.

Art, History, and Bigotry - Turtls - Chicago, IL
The previous 2 books in this series were excellent, opening up the world of art in an intriguing and engaging way, to kids and adults alike. This third book began with promise, honest in the strain of relationships between the kids and the changes in moving to the next grade, and quickly introducing the mobiles of Alexander Calder. Throughout the book Ms. Balliett works in English history, teaching as well as entertaining.

However, there are a few changes of heart that aren't explained, and some changes of heart that should happen, but don't. Calder Pilay is made to feel so ashamed to be an American it practically ruins his trip with his father. Seriously, is making a kid feel so terrible to be an American (and named after an amazing artist to boot) that he can't even buy a postcard and stamps, or order a sandwich without being hated a good thing? Even at the end, the Anti-American opinion is merely ignored by the bigots who expressed it, although some of the heroes, the art collector, and certainly the injured are Americans. Ms Balliett does an excellent job in presenting art and art history, but would be well advised to think before insulting many of the people who buy her books and thereby provide her an income.

An exciting book to read - -
Somehow mysteriously, two Calders have disappeared at the same time. One is a boy, the other a sculpture. There must be a connection between them.
In The Calder Game, twelve-year-old Calder Pillay and his father Walter Pillay, take a trip together to England. There is a mobile sculpture called "The Minotaur" made by Alexander Calder that is there. Calder soon finds out about the controversy among the townspeople about whether or not they like the sculpture there. Suddenly, "The Minotaur" vanished. The only clue left are the two "wish" signs drawn at the location of the sculpture before it disappeared. Suddenly, Calder himself is gone too. No one can find him. His neighbor Mrs. Sharpe and his friends Tommy and Petra come to help Mr. Pillay investigate and try to find Calder.
Blue Balliett makes a great sense of suspense and mystery as they try to figure out where the two Calders are. I was impressed by Balliett's writing style. Also, the illustrations were incredible! The illustrator Brett Helquist really drew pictures that matched the story well. But I still think the ending could have been more dramatic though. The Calder Game is the 3rd book in the series. The Wright 3 and Chasing Vermeer are the other books from the series. Overall, The Calder Game was a well written and illustrated book. I recommend this book to advanced readers of all ages who like adventure, mystery, and suspense.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 06, 2010 13:15:05

Children's Books

Friday, August 6, 2010