Blue Balliett Books in Order
Blue Balliett has written 10 books, published between 1990 and 2018. The first book is The Ghosts of Nantucket (1990) and the newest is Out of the Wild Night (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 10
- Published
- 1990–2018
- Pages on record
- 1,819 in 7 of 10 books
- Reading time
- 30–45 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,819 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 10 titles with a page count on record.
Art theft and the children who solve it made Blue Balliett's name. Chasing Vermeer (2004), illustrated by Brett Helquist, turns on the stolen painting of a 17th-century Dutch artist, won the 2005 Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery and a 2004 Agatha Award, and led to The Wright 3 (2006) and The Calder Game (2008). Balliett's 10 catalogued books span 1990 to 2018, opening with Nantucket ghost stories and closing with Out of the Wild Night (2018). Chicago, its Robie House and mobile sculpture anchor the mysteries, at a median of 282 pages.
Petra and Calder are the two children at the center of Chasing Vermeer, working together to solve the puzzle around the missing artwork.
How many Blue Balliett books are there?
Blue Balliett has 10 books, released between 1990 and 2018. 4 of them belong to the Chasing Vermeer series.
Blue Balliett Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 10 Blue Balliett books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Ghosts of Nantucket1990 · 118 pages · confirmed 1/419901181/4
- 2Nantucket Hauntings1990 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/419901761/4
- 320042541/4
- 42006–1/4
- 5Nantucket Ghosts2006 · confirmed 1/42006–1/4
- 620084001/4
- 7The Danger Box2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 8Hold Fast2013 · 274 pages · confirmed 1/420132741/4
- 920153061/4
- 10Out of the Wild Night2018 · 291 pages · confirmed 1/420182911/4
Blue Balliett books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Chasing Vermeer in order
4 booksStandalone books
6 books6 Blue Balliett titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Blue Balliett books in order?
You only need to read Blue Balliett books in order within the Chasing Vermeer series, which holds 4 of the 10 Blue Balliett books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Blue Balliett
Start with The Ghosts of Nantucket (1990), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Blue Balliett book?
Out of the Wild Night (2018) is the newest Blue Balliett book released so far.
Is there a new Blue Balliett book coming?
No next Blue Balliett book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Blue Balliett has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Blue Balliett. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Edgar Awards2005Won
Blue Balliett at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Blue Balliett title on record dates from 2018, 8 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Blue Balliett books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 1,819 pages across the 7 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 274 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Blue Balliett books, 4 of 10, were published in the 2010s.
What the Blue Balliett books are about
9 of the 10 Blue Balliett books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 7 of 9. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Children's fiction 7 of 9 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 9 books
- Ghosts 3 of 9 books
- Chicago (Ill.) 2 of 9 books
- Family life 2 of 9 books