On our way to visit my parents-in-law once, we listened to the story “Chasing Vermeer,” by Blue Balliett on CD. It is an interesting mystery about two kids trying to find a missing Vermeer painting.

I thought it would make an interesting Christmas gift for The D - who loves books and loves puzzles - to put together a “Chasing Vermeer” gift set.

I will start with the book Chasing Vermeer. Then, since pentominoes play a prominent role in the story, I will include a set with the gift. Finally, since the main characters, Petra and Calder, eat blue M&Ms when they are trying to figure things out, I am going to buy a large bag of M&Ms, take all the blue ones out, and put them into a clear cellophane bag with a twist tie to include in the gift box.

Some other suggestions for addition are:
- The book Problem Solving With Pentominoes
- The sequel to Chasing Vermeer: The Wright 3
- Pentomino Pattern Cards

You can also make your own pentominoes out of wooden cubes or print them from this PDF available from Scholastic.

Scholastic also has some lesson plans to use with the book, if you like to do tie-ins like that.

This book is secular. It is written for children, but there is some name calling and deceitful behavior.