A visit from Blue Balliett is a special occasion indeed. Blue is a former Nantucket resident who has enjoyed remarkable national success with her recent books for young adults, Chasing Vermeer and, new this spring, The Wright 3.

Blue's newest mystery finds the intrepid sleuths Petra and Calder, along with a third cohort, immersed in questions surrounding a Frank Lloyd Wright home threatened with demolition. Architecture, pentaminoes, a haunted house? The Wright 3 has it all!

The first adventure, in which an exceptionally inspirational middle school teacher (Ms. Hussey!) introduces her class to big concepts in art and life, solving the mystery of a stolen Vermeer painting along the way.

If you and the young people in your life (ages 8-10 and up) are not already familiar with these books, you need to be. Start with this one and share the puzzle- solving. Truly fun for all ages.

In her autobiographical blurb, Blue has this to say about her history on Nantucket. "I graduated from Brown University with an art history degree, and moved out to Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, in order to write. At the time I got my degree, I felt that art historians were always telling people what to look for, in a painting for instance, as if they couldn’t see for themselves. I didn’t agree with that, so I gave art history a rest. I surprised myself by writing two books of ghost stories, stories collected by interviewing people who live on Nantucket Island. During that time I also worked as a grill cook, waitress, researcher of old houses, and art gallery director. My husband and I met and were married on Nantucket, lived there year-round for another ten years, and had our two children there."

Her ghost books, "Ghosts of Nantucket" and "Nantucket Hauntings" have been out of print for a few years but will be re-issued in one volume this summer. We will let you know when that becomes available.