Blue Balliett

Blue Balliett builds children’s mysteries from puzzles, art, architecture, and real places. Pieces and Players brings together young investigators from several of her earlier novels to solve the theft of thirteen works from a Chicago museum. Scholastic published the book for readers aged eight to twelve, with illustrations by Brett Helquist. Balliett studied art history at Brown University and taught at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools before becoming a full-time author. Her other art-centered mysteries include Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game. She creates suspense through codes, visual details, wordplay, and the different ways children observe a shared problem.