Chasing Vermeen by Blue Balliett; Scholastic Press: New York, 2004; $16.95 Have you ever gotten a letter that changed your life? Well, it was an amazing letter that started Petra and Calder, two classmates, on a great adventure searching for a stolen Vermeer painting. In this story, their teacher, Ms. Hussey, led her class to explore different ways of communicating. While Petra enjoyed writing, most of her classmates like Calder didn’t, saying “What about numbers? What about pictures? What about plain old talking?” I can relate to this because I do many of the arts, like dance, music, acting and painting. When I dance, I communicate with motion and movement, with music I communicate with sound and rhythm, with acting I communicate with words and emotions, and with painting I communicate with the feelings I put into images. Ms. Hussey reminds me of many of my arts teachers because she has many unusual and unique ways of thinking and making up solutions. I feel that I relate to her student Petra because we both have wild hair, we are always up for action, and we like to discover a lot. We are creative, love writing, and want to do things our own way whether people like it or not. Also, we like to keep to ourselves, and we are very modest. In this book, Calder uses some little figures called pentominoes, which are shapes that you can put together in different ways to make a rectangle, and that can represent letters. Calder would carry pentominoes with him everywhere he would go. He would pull one out, and the first word that came to mind beginning with the letter that the pentomino stood for would always somehow help him. Calder used pentominoes as one way of communicating, and part of the mystery of this story is that there is a pentomino code hidden in this book. The action in Chasing Vermeer goes on and off like a light switch. It starts calmly, then the story zooms and you are right in the action. The author brings you to the edge of the cliff and then it ends just as it started, calmly and peacefully. The book reminds me of Harry Potter and Eragon because it is so mysterious and exciting, and because you never know what is going to happen next. When I first opened the book, I didn’t understand what a pentomino was. I got frustrated and I didn’t want to read it. But then, I checked the Web site, www.scholastic.com/chasingvermeer, which really helped! And now I love it! The Web site also has a great pentomino game. Before long, I noticed a lot of things in the illustrations that I didn’t see before, like hidden pentomino pieces and a hidden animal figure. I highly recommend this book, but it is a difficult book to follow and probably not good for younger readers. This book is an amazing and challenging adventure.
Book-Reviews
Once Upon a Marigold
Once Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris; Harcourt, Inc.: New York, 2002; $17 What if you were a princess who lived a perfect, happy life except for one minor problem—your mother kept trying to marry you off to a boring royal suitor so she could become queen? What if you had never met or talked to your best friend except by letter? And what if, after too many boring suitors to count, you fell in love with someone you weren’t allowed to marry? Once Upon a Marigold is a riches-to-rags fantasy about a young runaway boy, a plain, unpopular princess, and a four-foot-tall troll. Christian is only a small boy when he runs away from home, tired of living in stiff suits, with too many siblings and too many rules. However, when he is found by Ed, a short, friendly troll, he becomes a young inventor living in a beautiful cave with his troll foster father. Through a small telescope, Christian can watch King Swithbert’s castle, and all the goings-on there. He watches the three beautiful, blond princesses grow up, as well as their smaller, dark-haired sister. He is an uninvited guest at the balls and banquets, and even at the weddings of the three triplets. But Christian is especially attracted to the younger, dark-haired princess. When he finally gets the courage to contact her, through p-mail (pigeon mail), he finds out her name is Marigold, and starts a long correspondence between them. Right from the start, I loved reading Once Upon a Marigold. Although I’ve never run away from home, met princesses or trolls, or lived in crystal caves, I can very much relate to many of the feelings and emotions of the characters. Throughout the story, both Christian and Marigold felt restricted by too many rules, and were trying to break free of them and make their own decisions. Christian succeeded in this when he was only six, by running away from home. However, Marigold’s life was much more complicated. Her mother, Queen Olympia, was always forcing her into lessons on ruling, manners, and many other “stiff, proper skills,” never leaving Marigold any time for herself, or letting her make her own decisions. Even in my daily and ordinary life, I can relate to these feelings often. Whenever I clean my room, I feel restricted from making my own decisions because, being a naturally messy person, I tend to procrastinate and would rather spend the time on other meaningful activities and leave my room as I’m comfortable with it. Another interesting lesson I was reminded of in Once Upon a Marigold was to respect other people’s opinions and feelings. Though Queen Olympia’s daughters’ ideas about ruling were different from her own, that didn’t give her the right to ridicule and disregard their ideas. Many of these fairy-tale crises may seem very different from our world and reality, but they really aren’t that far from some of the problems in our world today. Consider the quilt of different cultures, religions, and beliefs. Does that necessarily make any of them wrong? Just because your best friend goes to a temple and you go to a church, does that affect your friendship? Once Upon a Marigold was jammed with many unpredictable turns and surprises so that I never knew where it was going next! The next time you’re in need of a good book, I suggest you pick up Once Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris. Kaitlyn Gerber, 12Ridgefield, Connecticut
The Vanishing Point
The Vanishing Point, by Louise Hawes; Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 2oo4; $17 How would you like if the only thing you loved to do was something that was reserved for males, and you had a close-to-zero chance of ever being allowed to pursue the life you wanted? If you are anything like me, it would seem unfair and extremely aggravating. It might make me go slightly crazy, especially if it was something that any girl can do as well as any boy. This is the scenario for Lavinia Fontana, Vini for short. In The Vanishing Point, Vini is a teenage girl from Bologna, Italy, during the mid-sixteenth century. She is the daughter of the semi-famous Renaissance artist and teacher, Prospero Fontana. Though Vini’s father is a learned and experienced artist and art is everywhere in their home, she is not allowed to paint. Actually, her father never even considered the idea. He says that painting is always a male’s profession; something that females could never do. Secretly, Vini hates hearing him say this because painting and drawing are her main loves and talents. Behind her parents’ back, Vini has been sneaking paper, pencil, and paint from her father’s studio with the help of Paolo, one of her father’s apprentices. Paolo pretends the paintings are his and shows them to Vini’s father to get feedback. He then shares the criticism with Vini, so she can learn more. While Vini is doing her painting in secret, she also has to deal with her mother’s illness and her parents’ fighting. There are several things going on at once, so while reading, you never get bored. I really felt like I was living there alongside Vini through her battles with her painting (hiding it, then getting discovered and having to tell the truth about her love for it), her father (who constantly complains for a son instead of a “worthless daughter” like Vini), and her secret romance with an apprentice. I can relate to some of the things Vini was going through during this time, and that is one of the reasons I liked the book so much. Since Vini’s father constantly complains about not having a son, Vini feels very useless and unwanted. I’m sure everyone has felt like that at some time or another. I know there are days when I feel like I can’t do anything right, or that nobody wants me, and so on. Imagine having your father saying outright that he considered you worthless and a burden to him. I was moved by Vini’s determination and willingness to do what she wanted. It gave me an inspiration to never give up until I have achieved what I aim for. This is a life lesson everyone hears many, many times, but it is rare to find someone who is as dedicated as Vini. She had every hurdle in her way, but she persisted and figured out a way to paint against all the odds, even when she was ill and faced the chance that she could never paint again. Even though this book is fictional, it is based on real people and events. Lavinia Fontana was a real artist, who went on to experience more fame than any female artist before her. Her paintings still hang in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Historical fiction is my favorite genre because I can learn so much. It seems like I am killing two birds with one stone because I am enjoying myself and learning, too. The Vanishing Point is a wonderful book. Anybody who reads it will be drawn in and unable to stop reading about Vini’s life. I think it deserves five stars. Chloe Miller, 12Anchorage, Alaska
