The Danger Box

The Danger Box
by Blue Balliett
Scholastic
ISBN:
Audience: grades 5-7

Blue Balliett is a master of creating a mystery with something special and precious at the heart of it, and kids who are curious enough to do the research to find out about the famous person it’s linked to. Her three art-based mysteries (Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and Calder’s Game) starred a great trio of smart, quirky kids, and were nothing less than fantastic.

This time out, she brings in a new character, and a much different one. Zoomy was abandoned on his grandparents’ doorstep as a baby, his father named in a note that also provided his own unusual name. He has grown up with them in a very small town, and attends a special class at school, mostly because he is legally blind and cannot see far, even with his thick glasses. He is also a kid who needs some tools for coping with the everyday – a system of notebooks, lists, and purple pens keeps him from going all “jittery-splat” and tapping his chin like mad. The voice that tells this story is this unusual, sheltered boy, which lets the reader understand him better, and also shows certain things that he doesn’t understand through his more naive eyes.

The plot works differently, too. This book is far more driven by character and the actions of a few people, rather than a larger adventure, but it nonetheless builds a suspense because you care so much about the characters, and you know that there is real danger to them, be it physical or emotional. The thing at the heart of the story, too, is both a blessing and a curse to the small family, as it could be used to solve a sudden and crushing financial loss, but is also desired by some not-so-nice people.

In the end, the kindness of people and some deep-down goodness comes into play, and while yes, I am being vague and not giving things away, I will say that you can assure a nervous child that things come out okay in the end, and that yes, all that stuff about Charles Darwin is totally real.