When last we saw Calder Pillay, he and his friends Tommy and Petra had just successfully solved a mystery surrounding a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Chicago. In The Calder Game, Calder and his friends are once more embroiled in a mystery surrounding famous art. This time it's the mobiles and sculptures of Alexander Calder, for whom our protagonist was named, and the mystery takes the three junior high students much farther than their own familiar neighborhood of Hyde Park.

In fact, the trio winds up spending most of their time on the grounds of Blenheim Palace in England. I'm getting ahead of myself a bit, but then it's hard not to when you're writing about one of the juvenile mysteries penned by Blue Balliet. Her books are full of twists, turns, surprises and puzzles, so reflecting on one of her stories never feels completely straightforward.

Although I liked the first two books about Calder and his friends very much (hence the fact that I put the new novel on hold at the library not long after it came out in April) I even surprised myself by how eager I was to jump back into one of their adventures. Truth be told, "adventure" is a better term for these stories than "mystery." Although the events and actions are often laced with elements of mystery, the stories are not traditional kinds of who-dunnits or crime solving. Balliet does usually get her young protagonists involved in solving something, but the solving often has more to do with learning to see things in a new way or figure things out in a new light, and the results usually affect the children as much as they do anyone else (though you often see a criminal or two end up behind bars, usually for stealing or otherwise defaming a piece of famous art).

Why is art worth protecting? Why does it move us? Why is it worth looking at and reflecting on? How does it change the way we view ourselves and the world? Why do certain people respond to a piece of art in one way and others have a completely different response? Those are just a few of the questions Balliet explores via the exciting story in The Calder Game. This time out, the kids are interested in the sculptures and mobiles of Alexander Calder (1898-1976). An exhibit of his work has come to their Chicago museum. In spite of having to see it with Ms. Button, their strict 7th grade teacher (who has nowhere near the imagination or creativity of their 6th grade teacher, Ms. Hussey) Calder, Petra and Tommy are each drawn into the fascinating artwork. Each sees something different and unique in it. Calder is especially drawn to the idea of designing his own mobiles. Not only was he named after Alexander Calder, but his puzzle-loving brain enjoys finding and making odd interconnections between things, just like the artist.

The exhibit takes place just a few days before Calder leaves on a trip to England with his Dad. Little does he know that he's not leaving Alexander Calder's artwork behind. In fact, to his great surprise, a Calder statue has recently been donated to the small English village where they will be staying. There seems to be some mystery about the donation of this statue, and many of the townsfolk find it odd and off-putting. Calder begins to notice an odd collection of people with a special interest in the statue. But before he can do anything about it, he himself disappears, on the day he was supposed to be visiting the maze on the grounds of Blenheim Palace. In a panic, Mr. Pillay calls on Calder's best friends Petra and Tommy, back in Chicago, to come over to England and help him try to find his son.

Although the mystery is perhaps weakest this time out, the suspense level is high, especially since we've grown to care about Calder in the series' preceding volumes. Balliet took an interesting creative risk by having her main protagonist (and our typical point of view character) disappear fairly early in the narrative. It pays off in spades as the need to find Calder not only gives Petra and Tommy more page-time, but drives them to find new ways to work together and appreciate one another. Before this, Petra and Tommy co-existed quite uncomfortably, not really considering themselves friends apart from their connection to Calder. The trio was just barely a trio, held together by their mutual affection for Calder but not much else. As Balliet explores the kinetic energy of moving mobiles, buffeted by wind, that movement is echoed in the interactions and interplay of the three friends and their shifting relationships and roles. It won't be overtly obvious perhaps to all young readers (and Balliet probably works best for children 11 and up) but that double imagery -- the delicately balanced mobiles and the equally delicately balanced friendships -- quite possibly makes this my favorite book in the series so far.

I especially love how strongly drawn the three main characters are. By this time out, we know them well, so it's fun to see them play to their individual strengths but begin to tap into one another's interests and ways of looking at things (as that balance shifts). Calder is the puzzler: he loves number and letter games and patterns, and is especially fond of mazes. Petra is the wordsmith: always on the lookout for words, their sounds and meanings. Tommy is the finder: a kind of everyday archaeologist who can't walk past something on the ground, even what might seem like a bit of trash to someone else, and wondering about its history or seeing it as treasure. Small wonder they're all taken by the interplay of Alexander Calder's mobiles, and small wonder that they all need each other to come through this adventure intact.

If you've never read any of Blue Balliet's intriguing books, I recommend that you begin at the beginning with Chasing Vermeer and go on to The Wright 3 before reading The Calder Game. Although this book wouldn't be an easy place to jump into the series, it's well worth reading, especially if you've already invested in the characters and gotten to know Balliet's unusual tone in the first two books. As usual, Brett Helquist adds to that interesting tone with his striking pencil illustrations that help bring the story to life and also provide some fascinating bits of "code" embedded in the drawings themselves. Fans of the first two books won't want to miss this one. A great book (or series of books) to add to your summer reading pile!

~befus, 2008

The Calder Game
by Blue Balliet
Scholastic Press, 2008
ISBN 0439852072

Recommended: Yes