Editing Chasing Vermeer (section)

==Inspiration and origin==
''Chasing Vermeer'' is Blue Balliett's first published book. Its original purpose was a book to read to her class for fun.<ref name="site">{{cite web|first=Blue|last=Balliett|url=http://www.blueballiettbooks.com/vermeer.html|title=Behind the Scenes|publisher=Blue Balliett Official Site|access-date=January 12, 2011}}</ref> She realized that a mystery about "real" art issues had not been written since [[E.L. Konigsburg]]'s 1967 novel ''[[From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler]]'', and desired to write what she wished to read.<ref name="focus">{{cite web|first=Liza|last=Szabla|url=http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3998|title=What Makes Chasing Vermeer So Special?|publisher=Scholastic Teachers|date=May 2004|access-date=November 29, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102221309/http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3998|archive-date=January 2, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''Chasing Vermeer'' took about five years to write, as Balliett was also a teacher and parent.<ref name="chat">{{cite web|url=http://teacher.scholastic.com/authorsandbooks/events/balliett/transcript.htm |title=Author Chat: Blue Balliet |publisher=Scholastic Teachers |date=November 8, 2005 |access-date=December 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923091131/http://teacher.scholastic.com/authorsandbooks/events/balliett/transcript.htm |archive-date=September 23, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref> She compared writing the book to weaving, as she first wrote mainly about art, but then incorporated the pentominoes and classroom scenes, creating many different levels to read on. She admits that it ended up more complex than she had thought it would be.<ref name="bookpage">{{cite web|first=Linda M. |last=Castelitto |url=http://www.bookpage.com/0406bp/blue_balliett.html |title=Mystery at the Museum |publisher=BookPage |date=June 2004 |access-date=December 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210072527/http://www.bookpage.com/0406bp/blue_balliett.html |archive-date=February 10, 2010 }}</ref>

Balliett used art and blank plates as inspiration for the characters' names. Calder Pillay is derived from the artist [[Alexander Calder]] and Petra Andalee was inspired by the architecture in [[Petra, Jordan]].<ref name="afterwords">{{cite book|last=Balliett|first=Blue|title=Chasing Vermeer with Afterwords by Leslie Budnick|chapter=Author Q&A|year=2004|publisher=Scholastic|isbn=0-439-37294-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chasingvermeer000ball}}</ref> The names were meant to be different, which Balliett considered "fun for a child."<ref name="wright">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001358.html|title=Doing What's Wright|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 11, 2006|access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref> Balliett felt that she could capture the attention of reluctant readers if they related to characters who enjoyed writing and math.<ref name="roker">{{cite web|first=Blue|last=Baliett|url=http://www.blueballiettbooks.com/media-awards-reviews/roker.html|title=Blue Balliett on Al Roker|format=Video|work=NBC News|access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref> Calder and Petra's teacher, Ms. Hussey, was inspired by an old name on [[Nantucket Island]] and the old-fashioned word [[wikt:hussy|hussy]].<ref name="chat" /> Balliett compares herself to Ms. Hussey, stating that "[we] think a lot alike."<ref name="chat" /> Some of Ms. Hussey's assignments and dialogue even came from Balliett's classroom.<ref name="site" /> She chose the setting of [[Hyde Park, Chicago]], where she currently lives, because she considered it full of secrets that children could discover.<ref name="chasing art">{{cite web|first=Felicia|last=R. Lee|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20040716friday.html?scp=1&sq=chasing%20vermeer%20balliett&st=cse|title=Chasing Art, Sixth Graders and a Dream|work=The New York Times|date=July 16, 2004|access-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref>