The Boxcar Children

By Gertrude Chandler Warner

ISBN: 9780807508527

Four hungry siblings admire the food in the window of a bakery. No one knows anything about these children – where they come from, nor where they’re going. The Baker’s wife doesn’t even like children, but when they offer to do work in exchange for a place to sleep for the night, she decides to “keep them”, except for the youngest one, because she doesn’t have time to keep an eye on him – he’s too young! The older children overhear her plan to send Benny to an orphanage instead, and they hit the road in the middle of the night with whatever little possessions they have in order to keep their family together. So starts their journey until they find a deserted boxcar (railroad freight car), and through exploring, creative thought and hard work transform it into a comfortable home for themselves.

The children’s independence and resourcefulness is remarkable – the story follows how they help, care and provide for one another every day, finding ways to survive, eat and enjoy, until they eventually meet the grandfather they’ve been hiding from, and they find he’s not as bad as they thought.

Written in an easy-to-read style, this story might appeal to readers with a sense of adventure. All kids who have been allowed to use their imagination in make-belief play will be able to identify with how the kids in the story find objects and apply them usefully, although it was real for the characters.

You can listen to a reading of the book here:

or you can download the MP3 recordings from Librivox.org

The Boxcar Children is a series of chapter books, the first of which was originally published in 1924, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner. In 1942, Warner rewrote the book with a prescribed vocabulary of six hundred words and a text of about 15,000 words, so that it could be used as a leveled reader for children in school. Some of the pupils she taught spoke other languages at home and only started learning English. The Boxcar Children made it easy and fun for them to read. After she had passed away, the adventures continued from 1991 on, written by subsequent authors who wonderfully contributed to the series.

In 2014 The Boxcar Children featured in an animated movie, and in 2018 its sequel, Surprise Island, will be released.

View the trailers here here:

The Boxcar Children novels include:

1. The Boxcar Children 1924 as Box-Car Children; reissued 1942
2. Surprise Island 1949
3. The Yellow House Mystery 1953
4. Mystery Ranch 1958
5. Mike’s Mystery 1960
6. Blue Bay Mystery 1961
7. The Woodshed Mystery 1962
8. The Lighthouse Mystery 1963
9. Mountain Top Mystery 1964
10. Schoolhouse Mystery 1965
11. Caboose Mystery 1966
12. Houseboat Mystery 1967
13. Snowbound Mystery 1968
14. Tree House Mystery 1969
15. Bicycle Mystery 1970
16. Mystery in the Sand 1971
17. Mystery Behind the Wall 1973
18. Bus Station Mystery 1974
19. Benny Uncovers a Mystery 1976

Written by subsequent authors:

20. The Haunted Cabin Mystery 1991
21. The Deserted Library Mystery 1991
22. The Animal Shelter Mystery 1991
23. The Old Motel Mystery 1991
24. The Mystery of the Hidden Painting 1992
25. The Amusement Park Mystery 1992
26. The Mystery of the Mixed Up Zoo 1992
27. The Camp Out Mystery 1992
28. The Mystery Girl 1992
29. The Mystery Cruise 1992
30. The Disappearing Friend Mystery 1992
31. The Mystery of the Singing Ghost 1992
32. The Mystery in the Snow 1993
33. The Pizza Mystery 1993
34. The Mystery Horse 1993
35. The Mystery at the Dog Show 1993
36. The Castle Mystery 1993
37. The Mystery of the Lost Village 1993
38. The Mystery of the Purple Pool 1994
39. The Ghost Ship Mystery 1994
40. The Canoe Trip Mystery 1994
41. The Mystery of the Hidden Beach 1994
42. The Mystery of the Missing Cat 1994
43. The Mystery on Stage 1994
44. The Dinosaur Mystery 1995
45. The Mystery of the Stolen Music 1995
46. The Chocolate Sundae Mystery 1995
47. The Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon 1995
48. The Mystery Bookstore 1995
49. The Mystery of the Stolen Boxcar 1995
50. Mystery in the Cave 1996
51. The Mystery on the Train 1996
52. The Mystery of the Lost Mine 1996
53. The Guide Dog Mystery 1996
54. The Hurricane Mystery 1996
55. The Mystery of the Secret Message 1996
56. The Firehouse Mystery 1997
57. The Mystery in San Francisco 1997
58. The Mystery at the Alamo 1997
59. The Outer Space Mystery 1997
60. The Soccer Mystery 1997
61. The Growling Bear Mystery 1997
62. The Mystery of the Lake Monster 1998
63. The Mystery at Peacock Hall 1998
64. The Black Pearl Mystery 1998
65. The Cereal Box Mystery 1998
66. The Panther Mystery 1998
67. The Mystery of the Stolen Sword 1998
68. The Basketball Mystery 1999
69. The Movie Star Mystery 1999
70. The Mystery of the Pirate’s Map 1999
71. The Ghost Town Mystery 1999
72. The Mystery in the Mall 1999
73. The Gymnastics Mystery 1999
74. The Poison Frog Mystery 2000
75. The Mystery of the Empty Safe 2000
76. The Great Bicycle Race Mystery 2000
77. The Mystery of the Wild Ponies 2000
78. The Mystery in the Computer Game 2000
79. The Mystery at the Crooked House 2000
80. The Hockey Mystery 2001
81. The Mystery of the Midnight Dog 2001
82. The Summer Camp Mystery 2001
83. The Copycat Mystery 2001
84. The Haunted Clock Tower Mystery 2001
85. The Disappearing Staircase Mystery 2001
86. The Mystery on Blizzard Mountain 2002
87. The Mystery of the Spider’s Clue 2002
88. The Mystery of the Mummy’s Curse 2002
89. The Mystery of the Star Ruby 2002
90. The Stuffed Bear Mystery 2002
91. The Mystery at Skeleton Point 2002
92. The Tattletale Mystery 2003
93. The Comic Book Mystery 2003
94. The Ice Cream Mystery 2003
95. The Midnight Mystery 2003
96. The Mystery in the Fortune Cookie 2003
97. The Radio Mystery 2003
98. The Mystery of the Runaway Ghost 2004
99. The Finders Keepers Mystery 2004
100. The Mystery of the Haunted Boxcar 2004
101. The Clue in the Corn Maze 2004
102. The Ghost of the Chattering Bones 2005
103. The Sword of the Silver Knight 2005
104. The Game Store Mystery 2005
105. The Mystery of the Orphan Train 2005
106. The Vanishing Passenger 2006
107. The Giant Yo Yo Mystery 2006
108. The Creature in Ogopogo Lake 2006
109. The Rock and Roll Mystery 2006
110. The Secret of the Mask 2007
111. The Seattle Puzzle 2007
112. The Ghost in the First Row 2007
113. The Box that Watch Found 2007
114. A Horse Named Dragon 2008
115. The Great Detective Race 2008
116. The Ghost at the Drive-In Movie 2008
117. The Mystery of the Traveling Tomatoes 2008
118. The Spy Game 2009
119. The Dog-Gone Mystery 2009
120. The Vampire Mystery 2009
121. Superstar Watch 2009
122. The Spy in the Bleachers 2010
123. The Amazing Mystery Show 2010
124. The Pumpkin Head Mystery 2010
125. The Cupcake Caper 2010
126. The Clue in the Recycling Bin 2011
127. Monkey Trouble 2011
128. The Zombie Project 2011
129. The Great Turkey Heist 2011
130. The Garden Thief 2012
131. The Boardwalk Mystery 2013
132. Mystery of the Fallen Treasure 2013
133. The Return of the Graveyard Ghost 2013
134. The Mystery of the Stolen Snowboard 2014
135. The Mystery of the Wild West Bandit 2014
136. The Mystery of the Soccer Snitch 2014
137. The Mystery of the Grinning Gargoyle 2014
138. The Mystery of the Missing Pop Idol 2015
139. The Mystery of the Stolen Dinosaur Bones 2015
140. The Mystery at the Calgary Stampede 2015
141. The Sleepy Hollow Mystery 2015
142. The Legend of the Irish Castle 2016
143. The Celebrity Cat Caper 2016
144. Hidden in the Haunted School 2016
145. The Election Day Dilemma 2016
146. The Doughnut Whodunit 2018
147. The Robot Ransom 2018
148. Legend of the Howling Werewolf 2018
149. Day of the Dead Mystery 2018

Other novels related to these:

The Boxcar Children Great Adventures

1. Journey on a Runaway Train 2017
2. The Clue in the Papyrus Scroll 2017
3. The Detour of the Elephants 2017
4. The Shackleton Sabotage 2017
5. The Khipu and the Final Key 2017

The Boxcar Children Specials

1. The Mystery on the Ice 1993
2. The Mystery in Washington, DC 1994
3. The Mystery at Snowflake Inn 1994
4. The Mystery at the Ballpark 1994
5. The Pilgrim Village Mystery 1995
6. The Mystery at the Fair 1996
7. The Pet Shop Mystery 1996
8. The Niagara Falls Mystery 1997
9. The Mystery in the Old Attic 1997
10. The Windy City Mystery 1998
11. The Mystery of the Queen’s Jewels 1998
12. The Mystery of the Black Raven 1999
13. The Mystery in New York 1999
14. The Home Run Mystery 2000
15. The Honeybee Mystery 2000
16. The Mystery of the Screech Owl 2001
17. The Mystery of the Tiger’s Eye 2001
18. The Candy Factory Mystery 2002
19. The Mystery of Alligator Swamp 2002
20. The Great Shark Mystery 2003
21. The Black Widow Spider Mystery 2003

Prequel

The Boxcar Children Beginning: The Aldens of Fair Meadow Farm 2012