Shey and her dog Jasper are sent to stay with her elderly uncle over the summer holidays while her parents fly off to Egypt to search for fossils. Shey is resentful and expects to be bored. But her artist uncle begins to show her a different way to look at pictures. She finds the ruby opera glasses and suddenly she is in the world depicted in the painting. While there, she discovers she has inadvertently followed her uncle. Her journey into the painting may have been accidental, but Ruben is searching. Two heads are better than one and Shey helps Ruben find what he has been searching for.

The Mystery of the Ruby Glasses takes the reader on a journey through art and history, collecting clues. It crosses from the real world into another (several others really) using well-known paintings as portals. Shey experiences the paintings and painters in her quest to solve the mystery that consumes Ruben. Shey is a brave and curious main character. Her relationship with Ruben evolves as they spend more time together. Shey grows in maturity as she learns more about the sadness that has been part of Ruben’s life since the death of his wife. An engaging read for upper-primary, early-secondary readers.

The Mystery of the Ruby Glasses, Lindsay Cripps
Lothian Books 2007
ISBN: 9780734408044

This book is available online at Fishpond.