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A review by gbliss
The Calder Game by Blue Balliett
2.0
The franchise continues its sad, steady decline. At this point this is a concept that has over stayed its welcome. The weakest "mystery" of the three books in the series and the one with the thinnest connection to the artist of the title.
The mystery at this point boils down to boy falls in well. Man steals back sculpture for no good reason. Bumps head. Wakes up and explains everything.
Characters that were charming and appealing in Chasing Vermeer are, at this point, annoyingly precocious. The pretext for getting the second two kids to England -- they know how "Calder thinks" and will thus be able to find him -- is unbelievable and cloying in ways that typify the weaknesses of this book.
The mystery at this point boils down to boy falls in well. Man steals back sculpture for no good reason. Bumps head. Wakes up and explains everything.
Characters that were charming and appealing in Chasing Vermeer are, at this point, annoyingly precocious. The pretext for getting the second two kids to England -- they know how "Calder thinks" and will thus be able to find him -- is unbelievable and cloying in ways that typify the weaknesses of this book.