New Releases by Blue Balliett

From the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing Vemeer an unforgettable story about an island haunted by the past . . . and the ghosts who must help with the present. Ghosts are alive on the island of Nantucket. You can hear them in the wind, and in the creaks of the old homes. They want to be remembered. And, even more, they want to protect what was once theirs. The ghosts seem to have chosen a few local kids to be their messengers -- and to help save the island. But in this mystery, the line between those who haunt and those who are haunted is a thin one -- and the past and the present must come to terms with one another in order to secure the future.

From the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of CHASING VERMEER and HOLD FAST THE PIECESThirteen extremely valuable pieces of art have been stolen from one of the most secretive museums in the world. A Vermeer has vanished. A Manet is missing. And nobody has any idea where they and the other eleven artworks might be . . . or who might have stolen them. THE PLAYERSCalder, Petra, and Tommy are no strangers to heists and puzzles. Now they''ve been matched with two new sleuths -- Zoomy, a very small boy with very thick glasses, and Early, a girl who treasures words . . . and has a word or two to say about the missing treasure.The kids have been drawn in by the very mysterious Mrs. Sharpe, who may be playing her own kind of game with the clues. And it''s not just Mrs. Sharpe who''s acting suspiciously -- there''s a ghost who mingles with the guards in the museum, a cat who acts like a spy, and bystanders in black jackets who keep popping up.With pieces and players, you have all the ingredients for a fantastic mystery from the amazing Blue Balliett.

On a cold winter day in Chicago, Early''s father disappeared, and now she, her mother and her brother have been forced to flee their apartment and join the ranks of the homeless--and it is up to Early to hold her family together and solve the mystery

Chasing Vermeer joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!When a book of unexplainable occurences brings Petra and Calder together, strange things start to happen: Seemingly unrelated events connect; an eccentric old woman seeks their company; an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has stumped even the FBI?

In small-town Michigan, twelve-year-old Zoomy and his new friend Lorrol investigate the journal found inside a mysterious box and find family secrets and a more valuable treasure, while a dangerous stranger watches and waits.

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.

Petra and Calder are drawn into another mystery when unexplained accidents and ghostly happenings occur in Frank Lloyd Wright''s Robie House.

Petra, Calder and Tommy have a new project - saving a famous building from demolition. But there''s much more to the Robie House than bricks, glass and history - eerie voices, shadows and accidents. The youngsters are caught up in a search for ghosts, lost treasure, and a coded message from Frank Lloyd Wright.

Nantucket Island has just more than 10,000 year-round residents — and a sizeable population of very real ghosts. The 44 tales in this book were collected as oral history. Some of these spirits are benign, even protective; others terrorize the humans who encounter them. All are memorable.

Blue Balliett va néixer a Nova York i va estudiar història de l’art a la prestigiosa Universitat de Brown. Vermeer i el codi secret, la seva primera novel·la, ha estat una autèntica revelació als Estats Units i ja s’està traduint a més de deu llengües. Durant deu anys va ser mestra a la Laboratory School de la Universitat de Chicago, que li van permetre d’observar com pensen i parlen els protagonistes d’aquesta novel·la. Actualment viu a Chicago amb la seva família, plenament dedicada a la literatura. Vermeer i el codi secretLa Petra i el Calder són companys d’escola i es fan amics llegint un llibre misteriós sobre fets inexplicables. Tot d’un plegat, se succeeixen un munt de coses estranyes, i la Petra i el Calder comencen a lligar caps: una vella excèntrica i malhumorada els convoca a casa seva i una pintura de Vermeer desapareix sobtadament d’un museu de Chicago, on la Petra i el Calder han estat no fa gaire en una visita escolar.De mica en mica, la Petra el Calder van resseguint les pistes pel laberint d’un crim indesxifrable que ha deixat bocabadada la policia i que només es pot resoldre amb intuïció i capacitat de deducció i, sobretot, amb un bon coneixement del misteriós pintor Johannes Vermeer.Blue Balliett ha escrit un llibre ple d’intriga que ens ajuda a entendre la complexitat del món de l’art. Vermeer i el codi secret ha estat saludat per la crítica com el Codi da Vinci per a adolescents.

A remarkable variety of encounters, including both benign and frightening spirits.