Clued into Maine and Mysteries

Next stop: Down East Maine!  This summer, fifth grade teacher Mr. Cronin and his family will be exploring the rugged Atlantic coastline and enjoying the refreshing scenic beauty of The Pine Tree State. Reading Road Trip did a bit of detective work and discovered that our favorite bow-tied math and science instructor may have a good summer mystery or two tucked into his backpack when he hits the road:

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett.

Scholastic Press, 2004. 254 pages. RL 5.4.

The mysterious disappearance of a valuable painting by seventeenth-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer-- and a sequence of seemingly unrelated but strange occurrences-- prompt eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder to join forces to solve an international art scandal.  Chasing Vermeer is  all about making connections and discovering coincidences: alert Reading Road Trip detectives will notice that the book’s artwork is by Brett Helquist, the illustrator of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. After the Chasing Vermeer mystery is solved, there’s much more sleuthing in store: click the red highlighted words to meet the author, meet the illustrator, and to play games related to Chasing Vermeer.  You’ll find art adventures, pattern puzzles, a flash board, and challenging pentominoes!

No doubt about it, Maine and mysteries go together. In The Ghost of Lizard Light by Elvira Woodruff, ten-year-old Jack moves from Iowa to a lighthouse cottage in Maine, where he encounters a young ghost and an old unsolved sea mystery (RL 5.0).

Lafayette gumshoes can investigate other mysteries from the world of art: Art Fraud Detective by Anna Nilsen is a spot-the-difference game, a mystery story, and an art book rolled into one great summer read.  The book challenges Reading Road Trippers to decide which paintings are genuine and which are forgeries (RL 5.2).

The Great Art Scandal , also by Anna Nilsen,  introduces twentieth- century art through hidden details in thirty-two paintings by sixteen artists (RL 7.2).







Let's give a round of applause with our claws: each year, nearly ninety per cent of the nation's lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine!  And if we're feeling blueberry, Maine is the top producer of blueberries (also known as bilberries, whortleberries, or hurtleberries) in the United States.

Mr. Cronin may want to keep a copy of L is for Lobster: A Maine Alphabet by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds stored in his glove compartment for handy reference.  It’s an illustrated alphabet book that celebrates the many attractions of Maine (RL 4.9).