Chasing Vermeer

For this week I read the book Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. This book is a good read for a middle school level kid. The story goes that a famous painting by Vermeer called A Lady Writing gets stolen and the thief is trying to convince the community through letters sent that he stole it for the good of society. The thief warns about ruining the masterpiece of the "wronged" isn't fixed and that some of Vermeer's paintings weren't really painted by him. He continues on the idea that if those that aren't true Vermeer's don't have their labels changed, then he will destroy the painting.
Two children in the early middle school years become fascinated with the mystery and head out to solve the puzzle. They slowly start putting pieces together to solve the mystery and learn how everyone in the puzzle is involved. They become friends through the process and continue to solve things step by step. Overall, Calder and Petra find different aspects that seem very much so like coincidences and begin to realize those "coincidences" all lead into the clues to solve the puzzle.
A fantastic read for middle school kids who can relate to the ages of the two main characters, and really gets the students brains to begin critical thinking.