The Wright 3

I eagerly snatched this off the shelf of my bookstore while searching for Specials. I was excited because I truly enjoyed Chasing Vermeer, and the little smartypants kids at my school loved it also.

I wish I could love the sequel too.

It is the end of the same school year where Chasing Vermeer left off. Tommy is now back in Hyde Park and part of the same class with Calder and Petra. Ms. Hussey lets her class know about the pending destruction of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hobie House. And in typical progressive school fashion, they abandon the rest of the year's studies and concentrate on trying to save Hobie House.

I have two problems with this book. The first is that this time, the pentominoes and math aspect of the book seem to be hammered over the reader's head. The second is that unlike the first book, this one didn't get exciting for me until page 277 ( I know because I marked it!).

The one aspect I really enjoyed was the Fibonacci numbers. This is strictly personal because I had a friend named Greg (no longer with us anymore) who was an artist and he was obsessed with Fibonacci numbers and was busily incorporating them into his art when he died. I do think that some kids may really get into this idea if they haven't heard it before.

I think that the Wright 3 is definately worth reading, but if you loved Chasing Vermeer don't expect the same excitement.