Spring semester at the Lab School in Hyde Park finds Petra and Calder drawn into another mystery when unexplainable accidents and ghostly happenings throw a spotlight on Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and it's up to the two junior sleuths to piece together the clues. Stir in the return of Calder's friend Tommy (which creates a tense triangle), H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man, 3D pentominoes, and the hunt for a coded message left behind by Wright, and the kids become tangled in a dangerous web in which life and art intermingle with death, deception, and surprise.

I have to say, in this series the level of pseudoscience and happenstance that leads to their more brilliant conclusions always irks me, but the story is still interesting and I learn from the characters about art. I think the portrayal of Miss Hussey is a bit flighty, but the curriculum is interesting. I like the notion behind the whole student-centered classroom, but I also see pitfalls in that Miss Hussey seems to use it as a chance to get on a soapbox about her issues and drag the kids into it whether they are on her side or not. I get so tired of the pentominoes that Calder is always trying to divine clues out of. Maybe I'm just a hard science guy, but the whole premise of his contribution seems absurd. Good mysteries, poorly solved. ( )

Calder's old friend, Tommy, has moved back to Hyde Park and the three of them are in Ms. Hussey's class sixth grade class. Before, Tommy and Calder were the best of friends. During Tommy's one year absence, Calder and Petra had become best friends. Tommy wasn't too sure if he liked it and didn't know if he wanted to be friends with Petra. Tommy's actions were as if Petra wasn't really around and he didn't want her around. This made for awkward times.

The Robie House, built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1910, had fallen into disrepair over the years. There was a plan to divide the house into three sections and send them to various museums. Something else would be built on the land. Ms. Hussey has brought the topic up and the idea that perhaps the students could drum up enough publicity to maybe save the house. The class learns a lot about the house and the architect who designed it. History, architectural style, myths, superstitions and the history of the various residents of the house.

Eerie things start to happen to people involved in the property. It is as if the house is a living being. Lights that show up inside when no one is supposed to be there. Workmen injured on the site in odd and unusual accidents. Unexplained events.

While trying to solve some of the myths and mysteries of the house, Calder, Petra and Tommy discover there is sinister activity and it is not the house that is causing it.

I enjoyed this book, as I did "Chasing Vermeer" as it gives you historical information as part of the background of the story. The kids try to work together and are also learning at the same time. There are parts that are scary where you do hold your breath, and parts where things may not work out for the good.

I will definitely keep an eye out for more works by Balliett. ( )

This book is written for children, apparently for 6th graders, since it's about 6th graders at a University School in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, home of the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry (a place I visited many times in my own youth), and the Frank Lloyd Wright creation, the Robie House, which I have not visited, but I have visited other house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, so I have a better than average feel for what the Robie House may be like compared to more typical homes. The author was an Art History major, lived in Hyde Park, and taught at the University School. That explains a lot about the story of this book. It does not explain the use of pentominoes, why only a limited number of letter combinations are used, why one of the characters carries them around all day in his pocket using them like a ouija board, why the 6th graders act so badly to each other's friends, or why everything is regarded not as a possible coincidence, if any coincidence at all, but as something directly connected to something they are thinking about or has happened to them. Oh, and they seem really hung up on ghosts. Apparently, just because. I thought the funniest part of the whole book was when the main three 6th grade characters feel horrible about one of the characters never having had a home of their own. And to think, he isn't even a Millennial yet. Ha. I will not be going back to partake in other books in the author's series. ( )

Narrated by Ellen Reilly. When Chicago's famous Robie House is slated for demolition, Petra, Calder, Tommy and their 6th grade class take up their teacher's injunction to save the house. But there is more going on in the house than imagined. Workers preparing to take down the house are injured on the job and strange lights are seen from within at night. Petra, Calder, and Tommy come across strange clues of their own and one night they take things into their own hands when they sneak into the house.

Calder, Petra, and Tommy are trying to save a famous house, built by Frank Lloyd Wright, from demolition. Mysteries about the house abound: Is the house moving? Is it speaking to them? What is the shadow in the upper window? Yet the biggest challenge to solving these mysteries lies amongst the three kids themselves: Petra and Tommy must find a way to get along. They will only have all the pieces to the puzzle if they can work as a team. I really liked this book, especially the ending. It was suspenseful and gripping! I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Blue Balliett's writing. ( )

This book would be good to use when talking about landmarks and students answering their own questions. It would be good for students who are interested in architecture and mysteries. ( )

set in Hyde Park

Very good but I hate to say it, the book was a little over my head. ( )

Calder's class is learning about the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie house because it is set to be torn down. As he and his two friends (Petra and Tommy who do not really get along) try to find a way to save the house, they must learn to work together to keep the house together!

Not as intriguing as Chasing Vermeer, but a good mystery. And I'm a sucker for anything set in/around Chicago. ( )

Review by: Carina S

The book "The Wright Three" by Blue Balliett and illustrated by Brett Helquist is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the second book in the series after "Chasing Vermeer." "The Wright Three" is about three kids who are trying to save a major piece of history of their city which is the Robbie House. Many coincidences occur that are all very related. This book is very suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat. In the last book Calder and Petra (two of the kids) had helped solve another mystery. Now Calder's old friend has moved back and is trying to help them solve. However, Calder cannot get his two friends to get along. While they are investigating they do very daring things and risk their lives for each other. Have you have ever heard the expression, "make the reader think or act?" Blue Balliett was certainly successful at that! While I was reading I would have to run to a different place in the house because it was so creepy I would want to be in a brighter spot to read. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, kids and adults. It is such a wonderful, page turning mystery! ( )

It's been a few months since Calder and Petra helped save a priceless painting, and Miss Hussey's class is just as exciting as it winds down for summer break. A newspaper article announcing the imminent destruction of a local landmark - Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House - urges the class into action. To add to the excitement, Tommy, Calder's old friend, returns to Chicago, but finds himself feeling left out now that Petra and Calder have become such good friends.

This is another creative and clever mystery, mixing excitement (the kids are chased by the bad guys at one point) and art and architectural history. The troubles the three have in trying to figure out how to turn tow twosomes into a threesome are realistic and treated seriously, as they should. A great read for 4th-6th grade level readers.

Highly recommended! ( )

This was an awesome book. The mystery is kinda confusing but it's like you have to figure it out yourself. ( )

Balliet, Blue - The Wright 3 - kids try to save the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House from demolition - with reference to the Invisible Man - though that connection is tenuous.Sixth gradersTommy Segovia who had been away for a year, Calder Pillay with a pocketfull of pentominoes, and Petra Andalee of curly hair and thick glasses. Their teacher is a treee-hugger, who takes them on field trips apparently without permission and encourages revolt or subversion. In other words, unbelievable. Really. ( )

In what is, what I consider, the strongest of the series, Calder and Petra are back in Chicago, rebounding from their recent art-conspiracy-cover-up that was in 'Chasing Vermeer', but now a cover up at the Chicago-Hyde Park area landmark the Robie House. With just that little inkling of creepiness in the background of Balliet's writing, The Wright 3 is a great read for kids and adults alike. ( )

Not as good as Chasing Vermeer -- a little more contrived, a little less genuine. ( )

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Twelve-year-old Tommy Segovia has returned to Chicago after a year away, and everything is different. His old house is completely different, and he doesn't live there anymore. His best friend, Calder, seems to have a new best friend, and it's a girl! And, the city wants to tear down Robie House, the historic Frank Lloyd Wright home that has always been a fixture in their neighborhood.

Calder Pillay is torn between his two close friends. He and Tommy have been best friends forever, but he and Petra solved a major mystery and crime together (Chasing Vermeer). They both have great and different talents, and Calder knows that if they could just all work together they could make an amazing team. Maybe even good enough to save Robie House. But it looks like he's going to be stuck in the middle for awhile. If only people could be more like his pentominoes. (Pentominoes are a mathematical tool, a set of twelve shapes of five connected squares. Calder keeps a set in his pocket; they help him think.)

Petra Andalee is a quiet girl who likes her books and writing, and she can't figure out why Tommy dislikes her so much. She and Calder make a good team, and Tommy and Calder make a good team, so where's the problem? She's torn between wanting to prove herself and feeling like she shouldn't have to. Either way, she intends to find a way to save one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces.

Between Tommy's finding skills, Calder's logic, and Petra's unique analysis, they aren't about to let the house go quietly. Provided they trust each other enough. And the house might have a few things to say about it, too.

There is A LOT going on in this stand alone sequel to Chasing Vermeer.

Obviously there is the relationship between the three main characters, and the attempt to save Robie House. There is some Frank Lloyd Wright history, as well as Robie House-specific history. There is also mathematical figuring, and architectural oddities. There are even hidden pictures inside the illustrations. It also brings up some interesting ideas about the science of art and the art of science. There's so much happening that I almost feel like I need to go through the book a few separate times, looking at it from different angles.

There aren't many young fiction books geared toward a math/science type mind. If you're that type, I think you will really appreciate and enjoy this book. And even if you're not, it's still a good adventure! ( )

This book is a great mystery, though i like Chasing Vermeer a lot better. This book is another intriguing book that anyone who likes mysteries, pentominoes, and teamwork can read. ( )

Clever writing. Rich. ( )

For anyone who grew up in Hyde Park, or knows the area well, The Wright 3 is a particularly delightful read.

It is easy to picture the wonder and magic of Chicago from a child's perspective in Blue Balliett's writing and Brett Helquist's illustrations. The descriptions (and drawings) of the Art Institute are spot on.

The story, while a tad far fetched, keeps up a good pace. The Wright 3 has the potential to captivate one's imagination at any age.

I would certainly recommend reading The Wright 3, but perhaps after meeting the 6th grade sleuths in the previous book, Chasing Vermeer. ( )

Not quite as good as Chasing Vermeer, but I still recomend it to any mystery lover. ( )

In the book, The Wright 3 by Blue Balliet, three kids who call themselves the Wright 3, try to save Robie House (designed by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright) from demolition.

I think the author tries to ask the question of whether the Robie House is a piece of art, or just a house. I believe that the Robie House is just a pretty house, not a work of art.

You want to know why I think that? It’s because there is one thing that defines a house. Is it a building that is lived in, or was lived in? Yes, Robie House was lived in, so it is a house, not a work of art.

I know it goes against the spirit of it all, but I’m a big picture kind of guy.

The story was a good mystery, but I didn’t completely enjoy it because it’s not my kind of book. It was a suspenseful mystery that left you wondering what would happen next. I recommend it for people who like a thrilling mystery. ( )

Similar to Chasing Vermeer (by this same author) and Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach and every bit as enjoyable. In each, a group of kids stumble upon a mystery that ties back to a historical figure - both educational and entertaining. ( )

Balliett's books turn me off somehow. They seem almost too clever for their own good and in the process of trying to create an intelligent mystery, she loses sight of her audience. This was a fast read without seeming to move that quickly and I found myself glad to be done with it. Having said that, this is a good choice for voracious readers and also for mystery lovers. ( )

Book 2 in a series, this one deals with a house (which was built by a famous architect and is a piece of art) that is going to be torn down and given to many different museums. The three kids try to stop it. ( )