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    The Boxcar Children
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    The Boxcar Children
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    The Boxcar Children
    Ebook109 pages1 hour

    The Boxcar Children

    By Gertrude C. Warner and L. Kate Deal

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The New York Times–bestselling tale of four orphaned siblings who will do anything to stick together, featuring more than thirty original illustrations.

    Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden take care of one another. They have no parents, no other family—except for a grandfather they don’t care to see—and no home . . . until the night they find the boxcar. Old, rusty, lonely, and abandoned in the woods, it’s the perfect home for four brave children on their own.

    Through hard work and courage, the Aldens begin to build a life full of fun and adventure. But when they’re faced with a problem they can’t solve themselves, they’re forced to look for adult help—and will find it in the most unlikely ally.
    ​
    Hailed by School Library Journal as one of the top 100 children’s novels of all time, Gertrude Chandler Warner’s story has delighted generations of young readers and launched a long-running series and an animated film featuring her fearless foursome. Now, new and old fans alike can delight in the timeless book that started it all, featuring illustrations by L. Kate Deal.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlbert Whitman Company
    Release dateDec 14, 2010
    ISBN9781453207512
    Author

    Gertrude C. Warner

    Gertrude Chandler Warner (1890–1979) was an American author of children’s books, most notably the nineteen original titles in the Boxcar Children Mysteries series. Warner was raised in Putnam, Connecticut, across the street from a railroad station, which later inspired her to write about children living in a boxcar. In 1918, she began what would become a thirty-two-year career teaching first and third grade at the Israel Putnam School. She died in Putnam on August 30, 1979, when she was eighty-nine years old. But the Boxcar Children live on: To this day, talented authors contribute new stories to the series, which now includes over one hundred twenty books.

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    Reviews for The Boxcar Children

    4/5

    923 ratings44 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I should have read this classic as a child, I wonder how I missed it.
    • 4/5
      This should have a "Caution: Parents be aware your children may run away to find a boxcar" warning. One of my favorite books growing up.
      Everyone has those times in the childhood where they think running away is better than being at home. The Alden children reinforce that belief. Not only do they manage to leave a bad life with the family of bakers but they also find a boxcar and are able to scrounge around enough to survive until one of the children becomes ill. By that time they have met a doctor who has heard of their grandfather.
      This is an old fashioned story where the family always works out their problems and their is no true evil - everyone (except the baker's wife) is good and kind, loving and trustworthy. Read this with your children, preferably in a boxcar.
    • 5/5
      When we were children out playing in our back yards, we were ALL boxcar children. We all braved the wide world alone and took care of those smaller than we were. We were the adults in our own little world of play. This book brings back all those wonderful memories of childhood.
    • 3/5
      What a lovely book! Looking forward to continuing with this series!
    • 4/5
      What a sweet book! I'm not the target audience (as of this first reading, I'm 52), but I can certainly see the appeal. It shows that you don't necessarily need a villain to make a book (as I learned in, I think, middle school, sometimes "the environment" can be a successful antagonist). Surely being an orphaned child in the 1920s (when this was first written, though apparently revised in the 40s) is problem enough. And yet the Alden children approach their adversity with pluck and resolve and good humour (there's an awful lot of ' "Oh, Benny!" they all laughed' sorts of phrases). The kindness of most of the people they meet, the happy resilience with which they solve problems (they'd make a good match for Pa from the Little House series are a pleasure. The writing is plainspoken (I tried to read an early Bobbsey Twin book recently, which I'd use to love, and it's almost unreadable now) and effective.

      (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
    • 2/5
      My mom loved these books, and always wanted us kids to love them--but, by the time I got around to trying them in first grade, I was already reading Nancy Drew and these just couldn't keep my interest. Now that I've gone back to reading some kids and MG lit as an adult, I thought I'd give them a second try. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I still can't quite understand what others have seen in them. For me, the book felt a bit flat and simple--I'd have preferred a bit more depth or detail, even if the book or story had been simpler. I'm sorry to say that, in all likelihood, this wouldn't be a book I'd pass on to kids or parents looking for simple chapter books for their children. I just found it a bit boring, both back when I was in first grade, and now as an adult.
    • 4/5
      I remember reading the Boxcar Children books when I was very young and being absolutely entranced at the idea of being alone in the world, living in an old boxcar, no ooky parents around. I probably should have left this one in the memory banks; not that it's bad, just that from the towering distance of incipient old age it all seems so gosh darn sweet. Siblings never fight and always pay each other compliments, nothing bad happens to four kids out on their own, they even get adopted by a cute dog, for heaven's sake! I'm not saying I need a fight to the death aired on live television to make things interesting, but something in between would be nice. Ah, well. I still have my fond memories from childhood, at least.In summation: A lovely story for kids, and not so much for grumpy old ladies.
    • 5/5
      I loved it because I like the topic of survival and adventure it had a dramatic start but a happy ending also I recommend you to read this amazing book,hope this review helped.?
    • 4/5
      I think this book great because there are no evil people in it. Even the grandfather is so kind. I hope the children will live happily ever after.
    • 5/5
      When we were children out playing in our back yards, we were ALL boxcar children. We all braved the wide world alone and took care of those smaller than we were. We were the adults in our own little world of play. This book brings back all those wonderful memories of childhood.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of four orphaned siblings looking for their grandfather. In the meantime, they have made a home in a boxcar.The book is full of examples of hard work, love, and forgiveness. It is a heartwarming story that students will enjoy.
    • 5/5
      I read this as a child and of course love love loved it. I would play Boxcar Children endlessly with my two other friends, both girls, who played the sisters, so I played the eldest brother (it was obvious to me his was the best role to have as he knew everything and was the breadwinner and the most calm) and we were minus the youngest brother (who was really more of a pain than anything else). But the whole mystery thing? I tried, but I never got into it. Once they left the boxcar, the fun was over. Re-reading this, I find the writing to be rather simple and repetitive, but it's a kids book, and kids books at that time weren't allowed to have words over ten letters long, or some such.
    • 4/5
      Another fine chapter book to read aloud to young listeners. The old time feel and pace of this book was just right. There is a slight mystery that occurs that my 5 year old did not really pick up on - but certainly did not detract from the book. Some old wording that was not updated in our copy but a swift parent could easily modernize while reading. A feel good happy ending story - we will certainly read book 2.

      Just went and read some other reviewers - wow some harsh critique out there. I agree with another poster who reminds us all that this a book from the past of course there are gender stereotypes and scenarios that seem unrealistic in modern times...but should we just throw out all the books that do not directly relate to modern times? I think literature is one of the greatest ways to help children relate to a time and place they will never be apart of.
    • 4/5
      Pretty much a staple of my early elementary school years, I read it over and over again. Didn't get too far otherwise in the series - maybe book five? After they leave the boxcar it just got way too goody-goody for my evil childhood mind. Not that they were deviants or anything, but I always wished I had a boxcar to run away to; still do really.
    • 2/5
      "This is my pink cup!" Yes it is, Benny. Very cute story.
    • 4/5
      lovev this whole series
    • 4/5
      The rest of the series is complete crap, but there is something classic and wonderful about children digging through trash to find cups for their milk. To this day I remember that they kept their glass milk jug (!) cold in the nearby stream. This book was clearly the prelude to my post-apocalyptic fantasies.
    • 4/5
      This very gentle, early-reader Robinsonade was intensely memorable for me as a child, and is still charming today, judging by my 6yo's enjoyment of it. Four orphaned children who are on their on, running from a grandfather they believe to be cruel, find an abandoned boxcar and make it their home. They find a dump (oh, the days when people just started dumping crap in random places) and trashpick a kettle, and pitchers and plates and a cup, and make a soup ladle. They build a stone firepit, adopt a dog by picking a thorn from his paw, and dam up a small pool for bathing. The hard-working older brother brings home enough spare cash to provide butter, the girls figure out how to keep milk and butter cold in a rock in a pool -- it's all completely precious. Anyway, of course it ends happily, and my 6yo seemed quite satisfied with the happy ending. As an adult, I noticed many interesting strands that I didn't pick up on in my childhood -- the baker & her husband who didn't like children, but would have been happy to "keep" them for child labor! The wealthy grandfather who was a mill owner, but paid for a big town race once a year. Might be fun to read a socialist realistic retelling of The Boxcar Children. The gender roles of the two older siblings were notable too, although they were more matter-of-fact and less annoying than in some more modern works. This time around, I read a "60th anniversary" edition which included a brief biography of Gertrude Chandler Warner, and a lot of photos. It mentioned she'd written The Boxcar Children originally in 1924, but the version which has been reprinted so many times is the illustrated version published in 1942. Who knew?Anyway, the book was delightful, and I'm pleased to have had the experience with Ada. I was never that into the books after this first one, when the kids are living the high life with their rich granddad, but the first one I read over and over.
    • 4/5
      My kids really enjoyed this one, possibly even more than they enjoyed the two Laura Ingalls Wilder books we've tried. They have the same detail that kids find fascinating, but without all the boring bits of exhaustive detail. Add in gentle bits of suspense and nice sibling relationships, and this was a winner.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books from childhood! To this day, I think I am still trying to create that adventure of making a home. AND I think I only had the first book. Love.
    • 5/5
      What a fun reread! It was every bit as delightful as I remembered. Didactic yet utterly charming. The fierce independence of the Alden children is fantastic. There's also a humor element in the absurdity of it all that wasn't there for me as a child.
    • 5/5
      amazing!!!!
    • 4/5
      good book
    • 1/5
      3366
    • 5/5
      bom
    • 5/5
      great
    • 1/5
      me aparece en inges por favor ayuda
    • 5/5
      vn
    • 5/5
      download it now for free and easy to use the book
    • 3/5
      It’s fascinating with a kids-living-on-their-own story. Without any parents they are running away afraid they will end up with their grandfather - whom they all think is an evil man. There’s not a bad streak in any of these four kids - or their dog for that matter - it’s all very cozy despite their destitute situation living in an abandoned boxcar. So, well, it’s a good moral story that found an audience and many other books in the series.