Hello, I'm Brenna and I work for the Lake County Public Library in the youth services department.
Today I want to talk about my favorite book, "Chasing Vermeer," by Blue Balliett.
It was published by Scholastic Books and illustrated by Brett Helquist.
The ebook and audiobook can be found on Overdrive for the Libby app.
Chasing Vermeer takes place in Chicago and it's the story of two unlikely friends,
Petra and Caulder. This mystery story will keep you guessing as
Petra and Caulder take on a case that even has the FBI stumped.
To give a little background,
Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter who lived in the 1600s.
He didn't do very many paintings, but the ones we still have today are super valuable.
Let's read chapter one.
Chapter One: Three Deliveries
On a warm October night in Chicago
three deliveries were made in the same neighborhood. A plum tangerine moon had just risen over Lake Michigan.
The doorbell had been rung in each place and an envelope left propped outside.
Each front door was opened onto an empty street
Each of the three people who lived in those homes lived alone and each had a hard time falling asleep that night.
The same letter went out to all three.
"Dear friends. I would like your help in identifying a crime than is now centuries old."
"This crime has wronged one of the world's greatest painters as
those in positions of authority are not brave enough to correct this error."
"I have taken it upon myself to reveal the truth."
"I have chosen you because of your discriminating eye, your intelligence, and your ability to think outside of
convention."
"If you wish to help me you will be amply rewarded
for any risks you take."
"You may not show this letter to anyone. Two other people in the world have received this document tonight."
"Although you may never meet, the three of you will work together in ways none of us can predict."
"If you show this to the authorities, you will most certainly be placing your life in danger."
"You will know how to respond."
"I congratulate you on your pursuit of justice."
The letter was not signed and it had no return address.
The man had sat down to a late dinner
He liked to read when he ate and he was on page four of a new novel.
Book in hand, he answered the door.
His spaghetti and meatballs were cold by the time he remembered them.
He sat at the table for a long time, looking first at the letter, then out at the moon
Was this a joke?
Who would go to the trouble of writing and sending such a letter?
It was printed on expensive stationery, the kind you buy if you want to be impressive  - or pretentious.
Should he feel flattered?
Suspicious?
What did this person want from him? What kind of reward were they talking about?
And who was it who knew him well enough to know he'd say yes?
A woman tossed and turned in bed, her long hair trapping moonlight against the pillow.
She was going over lists of names in her mind.
The more she thought, the more agitated she became. she
She was not amused.
Could this be a coincidence or was it a clever warning? What exactly did this person know about her past?
She finally got up. A cup of hot milk would calm her nerves.
She moved carefully in the dark, using the watery rectangles of light that fell across the floor.
She wasn't about to turn on the kitchen light.
The name scrolled in tight, tidy columns through her mind each group belonging to a different chapter in her life
There was Milan, there was New York. There was Istanbul.
But this was an invitation, not a threat. If things got strange or frightening,
she could always change her mind, or could she?
Another woman lay awake under the moon, listening to the wind and the occasional whine of a police car.
This was one of the weirdest coincidences ever.
Was this letter insane or inspired?
And was she just being gullible thinking this person was really writing to her?
Maybe hundreds of these letters had gone out. Had her name been picked out of the phonebook?
Faked or not, the letter was intriguing. A centuries-old crime. What could this person be planning?
And what about the spooky part - "if you show this to authorities, you will most certainly be placing your life in danger."?
Maybe this was a maniac, one of those serial killers.
She pictured the police going through her apartment and finding the letter,
standing over her body and saying, "Gee she should have called us first thing. She could have been alive today."
A lone cat yelled in the alley below her bedroom, and she jumped, her heart pounding.
Sitting up in bed, she shut the window and locked it. How could she not say yes?
This was a letter that could alter history.
And that concludes chapter one. If you read or listen to this book, tell us what you think.
Write to us at kids@lcplin.org.
I hope to see you all back at the library soon. Take care and hang in there!
