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The Boxcar Children: Tree House Mystery (The Boxcar Children #14)

by Gertrude Chandler Warner, David Cunningham (Illustrations)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 1,207 ratings · 16 reviews

One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery. No one knew them. No one knew where they had come from.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather and are helping their neighbors build a tree house.

From the new tree house, the Aldens can keep an eye on the house next door. That house has a very old a...more

Published (first published 1969)

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May 19, 2013 Irene rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Elementary school aged kids

Shelves: children

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. *** WARNING: This review contains spoilers!!! ***

I really enjoyed this one! There was so much that I liked about this book.

I liked the introduction of Jeffrey and Sammy Beach, and I liked that they - like Mike - were different from the Alden children, yet they still all got along.

As a parent who likes to see positive role models in books, I liked how the Alden children kept reminding the Beach boys that they should ask for their parents' permission before doing new things. :P I also liked that...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Shellys♥ Journal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: year-2011, childrens, fiction, mystery, series

I read this to my boys age 5 and 7. This is the first book in the series we have read. We really enjoyed it. The story is interesting, but simple. The language is perfect for read aloud or on their own (soon.) I wanted to push through to the end, because I had no idea what the mystery was. Can't wait to read more!!!

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May 04, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

But I don't get it. Do u have to buy it? Why can't I just download books for free? I love the series, but I want to read it on my iPod for free....

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Aug 19, 2012 Elevetha Houre rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, childlings, mystery

The Boxcar Children = most read series between the ages of 6 and 9 for me. I think of these fondly. Every child should read this series.

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Mar 20, 2013 Meredith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gertrude-chandler-warren, boxcar-children

This was a very good read, and I loved how the story progressed.

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Aug 04, 2011 Hazel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A good series for the young reader.

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Aug 21, 2009 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boxcar-children

great when ur little

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Nov 21, 2010 Megan is currently reading it · review of another edition

its really good.

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May 21, 2009 Cws added it · review of another edition

Shelves: jear

JEAR3-War

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Jan 10, 2012 Wendolyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children

THINK I read it!

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Dec 26, 2008 Corky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Maya and I are doing a "grandma/granddaughter reads" during school break. We read 2 chapters a day of a designated book and discuss them over the phone. Our first selection is The Boxcar Children's Tree House Mystery.

This was an awesome experience and Maya wants to continue our "club"! What is there not to like about this idea?

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Jun 27, 2008 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boxcar-children

Those lucky Alden kids! As if being a mystery-solving orphan weren't enough now they have a tree house to boot!

1 like · like · see review

Dec 01, 2007 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone fond of fun light mysteries!

Shelves: kids-books-for-all-ages

I love all of the Boxcar children books! Great series for kids, but fun for grown-up kids, too!

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Jun 23, 2008 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first book I ever read ALL on my own! No help from a grown up whatsoever!

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Sep 19, 2007 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boxcarchildren

This book I didn't really like, what I learned ??? I have NO CLUE!

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Sep 24, 2007 Partridge Public added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: JF War

Shelves: juniorfiction

Warner, Gertrude C. PB

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May 23, 2013 Karen Lewis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 22, 2013 Keyla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 22, 2013 Anthony added it · review of another edition

May 21, 2013 Ben added it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

May 20, 2013 Madeline rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-books, mystery

May 20, 2013 Emma Young rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 20, 2013 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 19, 2013 Kristie Walker added it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

May 19, 2013 Lily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

May 18, 2013 Zauniga marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 18, 2013 Kyle Brackman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 18, 2013 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 18, 2013 Leslie Buford-chadwick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 18, 2013 Yinzadi marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: age-5, read-alouds

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About Gertrude Chandler Warner

Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in Putnam, Connecticut, on April 16, 1890, to Edgar and Jane Warner. Her family included a sister, Frances, and a brother, John. From the age of five, she dreamed of becoming an author. She wrote stories for her Grandfather Carpenter, and each Christmas she gave him one of these stories as a gift. Today, Ms. Warner is best remembered as the author of THE BOXCAR CH...more Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in Putnam, Connecticut, on April 16, 1890, to Edgar and Jane Warner. Her family included a sister, Frances, and a brother, John. From the age of five, she dreamed of becoming an author. She wrote stories for her Grandfather Carpenter, and each Christmas she gave him one of these stories as a gift. Today, Ms. Warner is best remembered as the author of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES.

As a child, Gertrude enjoyed many of the things that girls enjoy today. She loved furnishing a dollhouse with handmade furniture and she liked to read. Her favorite book was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Often on Sundays after church, Gertrude enjoyed trips to visit her grandparents' farm. Along the way, she and Frances would stop to pick the wildflowers they both loved. Gertrude's favorite flower was the violet.

Her family was a very musical one. They were able to have a family orchestra, and Gertrude enjoyed playing the cello. Her father had brought her one from New York ---a cello, a bow, a case and an instruction book. All together, he paid $14. Later, as an adult, she began playing the pipe organ and sometimes substituted for the church organist.

Due to ill health, Ms. Warner never finished high school. She left in the middle of her second year and studied with a tutor. Then, in 1918, when teachers were called to serve in World War I, the school board asked her to teach first grade. She had forty children in the morning and forty more in the afternoon. Ms. Warner wrote, "I was asked or begged to take this job because I taught Sunday School. But believe me, day school is nothing like Sunday School, and I sure learned by doing --- I taught in that same room for 32 years, retiring at 60 to have more time to write." Eventually, Ms. Warner attended Yale, where she took several teacher training courses.

Once when she was sick and had to stay home from teaching, she thought up the story about the Boxcar Children. It was inspired by her childhood dreams. As a child, she had spent hours watching the trains go by near her family's home. Sometimes she could look through the window of a caboose and see a small stove, a little table, cracked cups with no saucers, and a tin coffee pot boiling away on the stove. The sight had fascinated her and made her dream about how much fun it would be to live and keep house in a boxcar or caboose. She read the story to her classes and rewrote it many times so the words were easy to understand. Some of her pupils spoke other languages at home and were just learning English. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN gave them a fun story that was easy to read.

Ms. Warner once wrote for her fans, "Perhaps you know that the original BOXCAR CHILDREN. . . raised a storm of protest from librarians who thought the children were having too good a time without any parental control! That is exactly why children like it! Most of my own childhood exploits, such as living in a freight car, received very little cooperation from my parents."

Though the story of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN went through some changes after it was first written, the version that we are familiar with today was originally published in 1942 by Scott Foresman. Today, Albert Whitman & Company publishes this first classic story as well as the next eighteen Alden children adventures that were written by Ms. Warner.

Gertrude Chandler Warner died in 1979 at the age of 89 after a full life as a teacher, author, and volunteer for the American Red Cross and other charitable organizations. After her death, Albert Whitman & Company continued to receive mail from children across the country asking for more adventures about Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny Alden. In 1991, Albert Whitman added to THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES so that today's children can enjoy many more adventures about this independent and caring group of children.(less)

More about Gertrude Chandler Warner...

Books by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, #1)

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, #1-4)

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children, #2)

The Yellow House Mystery (The Boxcar Children, #3)

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The Boxcar Children: Tree House Mystery (The Boxcar Children #14)

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