The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, #1)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children #1)

by Gertrude Chandler Warner, L. Kate Deal (Illustrator)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 39,121 ratings · 1,331 reviews

Orphaned and alone but determined to stay together, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden set off on their own and turned an abandoned boxcar into their home. The Boxcar Children, published over sixty-five years ago in 1942, has captured the imaginations of generations of readers. This Collector's Edition features the original artwork plus additional information about Ger...more

Hardcover, Special Edition, 165 pages

Published September 1st 2009 by Albert Whitman & Company (first published 1924)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

buried treasures: classics of children's literature

43rd out of 185 books — 56 voters

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Best Books of the Decade: 1940's

109th out of 296 books — 265 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 05, 2013 Lin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book as a child and could have squeezed it tight. I'm a girl who adores details, and this book speaks to the super organized control freak in me. Warner weaves so many details into the lives of the Boxcar children that, as a young'un, I found myself mentally picturing their home in exquisite detail. Over a decade since I last read it, I still remember the milk kept cool by the waterfall, or the kids carrying the cherries back to the boxcar between them. These details are the strength...more

12 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2008 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I had just given this a rating instead of feeling the need to re-read it, I would have clicked five stars and moved on with my life. I remember REALLY liking these books when I was a kid. And I like to think of myself as fundamentally the same person. Turns out, The Boxcar Children series is terrible! The only reason I gave it two stars was out of respect for the sliver of memory I have left of enjoying it. The writing is uninspired, the situations are improbable, and the stories aren't even...more

9 likes · like · see review

Kianna lol I remember when i was in elementary, my Teacher would read those books to us and i always thought they were so boring. i actually thought i was th...more
Mar 28, 2008 04:20pm

Carolyn Luong I think part of the magic of this book that only appeals to children (I say this specific one because I tried reading the others in the series, and ev...more
May 10, 2010 09:53pm

Alyse Like Carolyn said, these books were written to be appealing for children. They are very easy to read and don't require a lot of thought for young read...more
Mar 27, 2011 01:43pm

Nov 28, 2007 Analicia De Anda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-faves, my-kiddie-books

No, this was not one of the best children's books ever written, but I had to include this as one of my all time favorites because I cried and cried and cried when I read it. I was about 6 years old and I remember running into my parents' room and throwing myself on the bed, just sobbing. My mom couldn't figure out what was wrong with me; I finally calmed down just enough to whimper that I didn't want them to be rescued! I wanted them to always have adventures by themselves without the grandfathe...more

15 likes · like · see review

Mar 03, 2009 Greta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile

I never read these as a child and don't think I had much interest in them until searching for more books for my son to read. He's 7, in 2nd grade, but reads on a 5th grade reading level. I'm always trying to find books he can read that are on his level where the content isn't too old for him. This was one of the books I picked off the library shelf in hopes that it would meet that criteria. I thought it was a nice story and look forward to reading a few more of the boxcar books to see how they m...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2009 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children

I happened to stumble across this and I was addicted to these when I was younger so I thought a re-read was in order. It was a little different than I remember but just as charming. I can see why I wanted to live in a boxcar when I was little. However, there is some weird gender things and other stuff that I never would have noticed as a child but seems glaringly obvious and weird as an adult. Overall reading it again was a heck of a lot of fun.

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2008 Stacy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: babies

Recommended to Stacy by: Mom

I wanted to read this book because my mom said it was one of her favorites from her childhood. She said she identified with the children who had to take care of themselves. I don't think that's a compliment to my grandparents.

Anyway, reading this makes me realize how much children's literature has changed. The plot is like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - orphan siblings using their own resources to help themselves. But the tone is so sugary sweet it gives me a toothache. The c...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 21, 2007 Bookwormdragon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: children

Shelves: dont-own, reviewed

This is one of the many classics from my childhood. I greatly enjoyed the whole series as a child, and would certainly recommend them to other readers in the targeted age-group, but I can't say that I have an overwhelming urge to re-read them as an adult. The Boxcar Children books fall into what I like to call the 'Library' category: worth checking out from the library, but not worth buying sight-unseen. While young children will probably enjoy them, I doubt that they will want to read most of t...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 07, 2008 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The one gripe I have with this book is that it's so fake. Those children are damn LUCKY to be near civilization, or else they'd die in a week. "Oh, let's go to a dump to find some dishes!" "Yes, Jessie, let us go!"

"I shall go to town to find a job! Because you are girls and a five year old boy, and I am totally sexist, I shall worry that you will not be able to protect yourselves!"

"OMG! Violet is, lyk, sick! since we're just, like, stupid children, were gona go run to an adult 4 halp D:"

Ugh.

But...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 24, 2013 Elesa Hagberg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-aloud-to-kids

I loved this book as a kid. It wasn't till I read it out load to my own kids that I realized how silly it is. "Sure, lets just let these kids fend for themselves and live all alone in the woods because they are having such a great time even though they just lost their parents. Everything is fun!"

But really, all that stuff is beside the point. Who doesn't want to go live in a boxcar by themselves for a while?

The language and the story and the way it was told were just perfect to hold my two litt...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 Irene rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Elementary school aged kids

Shelves: children

I remember loving this series as a child. I even have a specific memory of looking for books in this series on the library shelves - up high on the last shelf before the windows in the children's area.

Somehow, though, I managed to forget every single detail about them except that there are four children, and they live in a boxcar. Re-reading this book for the first time since I was a kid, I was surprised to learn that the children were reunited with their grandfather! I honestly didn't remember...more I remember loving this series as a child. I even have a specific memory of looking for books in this series on the library shelves - up high on the last shelf before the windows in the children's area.

Somehow, though, I managed to forget every single detail about them except that there are four children, and they live in a boxcar. Re-reading this book for the first time since I was a kid, I was surprised to learn that the children were reunited with their grandfather! I honestly didn't remember there being any adult supervision at all. I also remember the books being "mysteries", and was surprised that this book wasn't.

The sentences are very simple, and they have a kind of wholesomeness that I associate with the 1950's. (Actually, it looks like this book was first published in 1942.) Except for the baker's wife in the beginning, every character is "good", and all the children - even 5-year-old Benny - are well-behaved. Besides being kind and polite, they are also hard-working and resourceful. Their good-naturedness might be a little unrealistic, but since this is a book for children, I rather like that they are good examples for behavior.

I don't know if the characters get fleshed out more in subsequent books, but in this one, none of the children has much of a personality besides what might be expected from each child's age and gender. But honestly, I don't mind when characters in children's books lack personality, because I wonder if that makes them more appealing and relatable to a wider audience of young readers who might like to imagine being one of the characters themselves.

I was a little put off by how matter-of-factly the children stated that their parents "are dead". And though their death must have been recent, the children didn't seem to miss them at all. Moreover, I really didn't understand how the grandfather fit in. He seemed so good and kind, and he lived nearby, so why didn't he ever see his grandchildren before? Did he really dislike their mother, and basically held a grudge against the parents until they died, at which time he realized the error of his ways and sought to make things up with his grandchildren? Well, whatever. I guess it's really not important to the story. It's about the kids, and their adventures with the boxcar, and everything else must be filed away under "suspended disbelief".(less)

1 like · like · see review

view all 5 comments

Irene Yeah, this is funny, I thought the kids LIVED in the boxcar, too! I wonder why our memories are so selective, and in the same way. :P

I noticed that th...more
Apr 23, 2013 05:57am

Elaine we've finished the original series, we did those in order, because they age chronologically (Henry goes to college even), but then newer ones I think...more
updated Apr 23, 2013 06:06am

Apr 17, 2013 Andrea Carter added it · review of another edition

Shelves: popular-series

I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading the first book in the popular series 'The Boxcar Children' written by Gertrude Chandler Warner. This was one of my absolute favorites when I was younger. I specifically remember my third grade teacher reading us the first chapter and instantly I was hooked. I can also remember my librarian eventually telling me I was too old to read the series. The classic book follows orphan children Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny and their mysterious journeys. I would recommen...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I was young, around the age of 7 I think, my mother was hospitalized for several months. I went to stay with my aunt and uncle. I missed my parents dreadfully. One warm afternoon while wandering around around on their property, I found a box of old books in a barn of sorts. I picked up The Boxcar Children and begain to read. My loneliness disappeared, and my life changed forever. The story pulled me in and I couldn't put it down. I felt as if I was a part of their adventures and the boxcar....more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 18, 2012 iram rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grade/Interest Level – Upper Elementary (3rd-5th)
Reading Level: Lexile 490L
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Characters: Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny
Setting: Rural area in a fictitious town and in a boxcar
POV: Narrator
Rating: 5 stars

This story is about 4 orphaned siblings (Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny) and their search for the necessities of life, namely food and shelter. The children stick together by helping each other find food and comforting each other when resources run scarce. They preten...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2012 Kayla Fallis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: popular-series

This book was the first in this Series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. This is a story about four children Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny who are all Orphans after the death of their parents. In the beginning the children go to a bakery where they ask the Bakers wife if they can stay the night and help her in the morning but they overhear the bakers saying that they are going to take Benny, the youngest to a Child's home because he is too young. The children know that they only way they can all st...more This book was the first in this Series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. This is a story about four children Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny who are all Orphans after the death of their parents. In the beginning the children go to a bakery where they ask the Bakers wife if they can stay the night and help her in the morning but they overhear the bakers saying that they are going to take Benny, the youngest to a Child's home because he is too young. The children know that they only way they can all stay together is to make it on their own so they leave. They begin walking and end up finding a boxcar in the woods to live in. Henry goes into Silver City and finds work with a Doctor working around his home. He gets money and food from them for the others. The children have always thought that their grandfather was a mean man because he didn't like their mother so they did not want to find him. Dr. Moore ends up finding out who their grandfather is and he is wealthy. Violet becomes very ill and Dr. Moore brings the children to live at his house until she is better. He ends up telling their grandfather who the children are but does not tell the children. The grandfather gets to know the children and they grow to really like him. Once they realize its their grandfather they know him as a nice man. They go to live with him and he tries to make them feel at home. He moves the boxcar to his garden so they can still play in it whenever they want.
This was one of my favorite series as a child. I loved mystery and suspense books so these were always very enjoyable for me. I would recommend these for students in second and third grade. The length and events make me think that this would be a perfect age for students to read these. The adventures that the children take would be interesting to students at this age. Although this is an easy read for me now, I still enjoy it and it takes me back to my childhood. I feel that these are great books to get students intrigued and interested in continuing reading and finding out what happens in all of their adventures. (less)

like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Chelsie Morrison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: popular

As a young reader I remember being obsessed with The Boxcar Children series. I probably read every single book in the series; some even twice! Reading this book as an adult, however, has left me with a very different opinion than I had as a child.

As first book in the series, The Boxcar Children introduces four siblings: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. The four children are orphaned and decide to run away because they do not wish to live with their grandfather, who they believe to be very crue...more As a young reader I remember being obsessed with The Boxcar Children series. I probably read every single book in the series; some even twice! Reading this book as an adult, however, has left me with a very different opinion than I had as a child.

As first book in the series, The Boxcar Children introduces four siblings: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. The four children are orphaned and decide to run away because they do not wish to live with their grandfather, who they believe to be very cruel. The children first live with a baker and his family, though run away upon hearing they wish to send Benny away because he is too young. The siblings find an abandoned boxcar in the woods and make this their home. They domesticate the boxcar very well, even finding dishes to use from the dump. The siblings stay here every day while the oldest siblings, Henry and Jessie find ways to get food and make money. Violet becomes very sick and they take her to the doctor Henry had been working for. The children eventually stay with the doctor until he turns them over to their grandfather, disguised as Mr. Henry, who had been looking for them! The children fall into love with the rich, kind, old man and it is disclosed that he is the children's grandfather. At the conclusion of the book, the grandfather moves the boxcar into his back yard to be used as a playhouse.

I found upon reading this book that despite some elaborate descriptions, the overall story is lacking in entertainment or excitement. As a young child it was very easy to relate to the children and I could not imagine living in a boxcar all by myself! As an adult, however, I found it very impractical that the children did not seem to have any hard times, got along SO well, and eventually were reunited with a rich grandfather. I think that there could have been a lot more to the story, and it comes across very cheesy. The characters seemed to not really have personalities and the whole book was just too "perfect." Though the cover illustration is done very realistically with many bright colors, the Kate Deal's inside illustrations were done in monochromatic black and white. Though they are great drawings with detail, they seem very bland compared to the front cover. Instead of using silhouettes, I think it would have been more appealing to use color and continue the "realistic" drawings throughout the novel.

Though it might not have the same appeal to me as an adult, I think this book is great for students grades 2-4. The text is simple and easy to read and the content is not above their knowledge. I do not encourage the use of this book in an educational lesson, but would be fine for easy reading and for free-choice books. (less)

like · see review

Oct 22, 2012 Jenni Kemling rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chapter-book, child-protagonist, children-s-literature, edci-311, print-format, realistic-fiction, third-grade

Summary

The Boxcar children series starts out in the first book which introduces us to these lovable relatable characters. The story is told from third person view from the lives of 4 siblings, Jessie, Henry, Violet, and Benny. After the death of their parents the flee from a supposed evil grandfather who is supposed to care for them. They flee to a forest where they find a boxcar in which they end up living in. They live day to day here while the older children Jessie and Henry go to jobs and m...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 15, 2012 Maryann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, graphic-novel, adventure, suspense

Summary:

The Boxcar Children is the story of 4 brothers and sisters Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden. When the children’s mother and father die, the children are supposed to go and live with their grandfather. Afraid that their grandfather is going to be mean and not like them, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny run away into the woods where they fend for themselves. The children find and old red boxcar and decide to make it their home. Henry begins working for a Dr. Moore in order to make s...more Summary:

The Boxcar Children is the story of 4 brothers and sisters Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden. When the children’s mother and father die, the children are supposed to go and live with their grandfather. Afraid that their grandfather is going to be mean and not like them, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny run away into the woods where they fend for themselves. The children find and old red boxcar and decide to make it their home. Henry begins working for a Dr. Moore in order to make some money so that he can provide bread and milk for his brothers and sisters. Dr. Moore soon realizes that the four children are James Henry Alden’s grandchildren and that he has been searching for them. Dr. Moore doesn’t want to turn the children over to their grandfather unwillingly, so he waits patiently. One day Violet became very sick and Dr. Moore had to help her. Dr. Moore eventually tells James Henry Alden that Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were his lost grandchildren. The grandchildren loved their grandfather and learned that he is a very nice man. James Henry Alden took the children back to his home, where he had rooms waiting for them all. The children loved their new home, but missed their red boxcar. Their grandfather surprised them by putting the red boxcar in the backyard for them! And they all lived happily ever after!

Response:

The graphic novel, The Boxcar children, is a really easy and fun read. I would give The Boxcar Children 4 stars. The pictures add to the story and help the reader to picture what all the characters look like. The plot of the story is exciting and as a reader you can’t wait to see what the boxcar children are going to do next! As our textbook discusses one of the positive parts of a graphic novel is that they “appeal to reluctant readers.” (TMY, 2010, p. 295). I would agree and say that a graphic novel is a good way to get children who don’t necessarily enjoy or like to read, excited about reading.

Classroom Connection:

As a teacher you can use graphic novels such as The Boxcar Children to encourage students to picture the characters and the setting in other stories as well. After reading a graphic novel, teachers can assign students to create their own comic strip for another story, or create their own graphic novel. Students can also discuss the pros and cons of graphic novels and why they do or do not prefer them.

Text Complexity:

Interest Level: 3-5
Lexile: 490L
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.2
Guided Reading Level: O
Age: 8-10
(less)

like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Greg Fewer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, children-s-books

Never having read any of The Boxcar Children series as a kid, a friend recently gave me a copy of an ebook comprising the first 12 volumes to see what I missed out on. As a boy, I had been a fan of Enid Blyton's books, which were largely set in Britain, so I was curious to see how something similar from the US would read. I had also read that The Boxcar Children series is still very popular among kids despite having started in the 1940s.

As the book was first published 70 years ago, I was expecti...more Never having read any of The Boxcar Children series as a kid, a friend recently gave me a copy of an ebook comprising the first 12 volumes to see what I missed out on. As a boy, I had been a fan of Enid Blyton's books, which were largely set in Britain, so I was curious to see how something similar from the US would read. I had also read that The Boxcar Children series is still very popular among kids despite having started in the 1940s.

As the book was first published 70 years ago, I was expecting it to be somewhat old-fashioned and sexist. To some degree this is true. The four orphaned children mimic the typical white middle-class family with the older boy and girl taking on parental roles towards the younger girl and boy according to a largely traditional sexual division of labour. Henry, the older boy, goes into town to do odd jobs so that he can earn money to buy food and other needed items, such as a tablecloth, for himself and his siblings. Jessie, the older girl, stays at home to mind the younger kids (at one point cutting Benny's hair) and acts as a housekeeper, washing clothes and cooking meals. Similarly, Henry makes a cart for Benny while Violet is thrilled to hem the new tablecloth and Jessie makes a broom. However, the girls are also resourceful in locating an old dump from which cracked, but serviceable, crockery and a cooking kettle could be salvaged. They also make, with the help of little Benny, a stone-lined fire-pit over which the kettle could be suspended from a wire strung between two trees. Jessie also made a ladle from a tin cup fastened to a stick and used charcoal to write words on sheets of wrapping paper so that Benny could start learning to read.

But the kids also work together to build a small dam across a stream and instead of Henry using his age and gender to dictate what the group should do, he often asks Jessie for her advice. It is probably because he is the eldest that Henry is always the one to light the fire, and it is his strength (as the oldest and biggest child) that is sometimes needed to lift heavier rocks.

The book subtley teaches some practical wisdom - to always drink water from a water pump or fountain as opposed to a brook, that things can be recycled, to use boiling water to rinse off crockery found in a dump instead of just washing it in cold water, to use sand as a scouring agent, how to manage time (Jessie washing everyone's stockings while the others built the dam), using pine needles as bedding, locating a hearth away from anything that might catch fire (and having a container of water to hand in case something did catch light), and so on.

The children are also respectful of other people's property, with for example Henry asking permission to take stunted vegetables thinned out from a vegetable patch or bent nails from a garage rather than presuming to take them even though they would've been discarded anyway.

The overall impression I have of reading the book is that the kids are very practical and independent (except, not unreasonably, when it comes to illness). They seem to belong to a can-do generation unlike many of today's children whom, I feel, are more dependent and infantilised. Many schools in the US apparently ban kids of even high school age from possessing or using a pointed pair of scissors because it could hurt somebody. Likewise pen-knives are forbidden. And how many kids today could make a broom, hem a cloth or make a cart without the help of parents or other adults? Books like The Boxcar Children therefore serve as useful and accessible repositories of practical knowledge and advice that kids today and in the future can learn and that will hopefully encourage them to explore, make, repair, and innovate in ways that endless hours of computer games and cartoons on TV will not.

A couple of things that made me go 'hmmm' include the kids not hearing thunder as they slept outside in a wood (is that even possible?), or the description of the kids after a day spent cherry-picking as being 'better than most workers, because [they] are so happy' (so most workers should go about their work gleefully in order to be considered 'good'?). Henry also seems to be a bit dense later in the story in not recognising a man he had only seen a day or two before - but this is probably to add a little tension to the narrative and to get any kids reading the book a bit frustrated over how long Henry was taking to figure it out.

Apart from these minor quibbles, this is a book I would recommend to any child old enough to read it - and maybe for those adults who want to catch up with aspects of their childhood that they missed.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 13, 2012 Abigail rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this story several years back when I was a kid, and I can understand how it's appealing to children because of their creative lifestyle, but now that I think about it again...it had a lot of problems.
•How did their parents die? Was it a car accident, age, sickness, a fire, MAKE UP YOUR MIND.
•What amazing luck these kids have, they have a good job and unsuspecting people living around them, a perfect boxcar, civilization, they don't seem to worry over anything, and nothing terrible befall...more

like · see review

May 07, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-to-jacob, read-to-graham, children-and-young-adult

I read this book aloud to Jacob and Graham, one or two chapters a night at bedtime, and they loved it. The chapters were short and simple enough to keep even my two-year-old interested. It is simple and sweet--a very good first novel for independent readers or for reading aloud to young children. The characters are so sweet and the story is charming. There is nothing offensive in this book whatsoever. As an adult, I was a bit bothered by the fact that we never understood why the children's grand...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 14, 2012 Timothy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-reviewed-in-2012

The Boxcar Children was one of my favorite series of books growing up, especially the first ones written by original author, Gertrude Chandler Warner. The story of the four young siblings who mange to make it on their own for a time, and display an independent nature even when they come into their grandfather's care, has fascinated children for decades, myself included.

Most folks know the premise by now. Four orphaned children, named (by order of age) Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny, are on th...more The Boxcar Children was one of my favorite series of books growing up, especially the first ones written by original author, Gertrude Chandler Warner. The story of the four young siblings who mange to make it on their own for a time, and display an independent nature even when they come into their grandfather's care, has fascinated children for decades, myself included.

Most folks know the premise by now. Four orphaned children, named (by order of age) Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny, are on the run and trying to make it by themselves. They have a grandfather, who they know is looking for them, but they fear him. Due to a fractious relationship between their parents and their granddad, they view him as pretty much a mean old ogre. They are convinced that he will put them all in orphanages, or some other horrible idea, and they don't want to be separated, as they only really have each other.

One night, they are on the run from a couple who intend to split them up forcibly by adopting the first three, and putting the youngest, little Benny in an orphanage (this being a time when this might have been easier to cause to happen), as they have no use for a little boy. They eventually take refuge in the woods, and stumble upon an old, abandoned boxcar. They decide to make a small "house" out of it, and so begins their adventures.

There is not much more to say about such a slim volume. Warner, who was primarily a school teacher, noted that her very young students found most of the books at their age and reading level wanting, as they had no protagonists with whom the youngsters could identify. Warner set out to write such a book herself, and when she released The Boxcar Children, it was a literal smash hit. Readers and her publisher alike clamored for more books, which she went on to write.

From the research that I have done, I can say that the first nineteen books, which were by Warner herself, actually had a coherent story line. The children age, grow, develop, and change. Fifteen years after Warner's death, the copyright holders began hiring others to write under Warner's name. This is a common enough practice, except that the books are not generally as good as those penned by Warner herself, and the continuity is reverted back to where it was right at the end of the first book. Certainly, these later books are not worth anyone's time, at least in my opinion.

The first ones, and in particular the very first one, are certainly worth the time. Fun, engaging, (simplistic, but they're designed for very little kids, so what do you expect?) and slim, delightful reads for parents and kids alike.

Highly Recommended for families and schools, or those who want a trip down memory lane with a beloved childhood classic. :)(less)

like · see review

Dec 20, 2011 Esti rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-ya-media-class

Bonus review (not following the rules, but very heartfelt): I re-read this book out of sheer nostalgia, after typing up my review of the very unfortunate graphic novel adaptation. Though I probably read it a dozen times as a child, I hadn't looked at it since about fourth grade. I was impressed, when I read the graphic novel, how much I remembered from the original... Benny's pink cup, the swimming pool, the wonderful domesticity of everything, to the point of spending scarce money on salt and s...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 31, 2011 Kathryn Cullen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I chose this book for my popular series because I feel like it is a good book that older readers can relate to. There are four kids Benny, Jessie, Henry and Violet. This kids lost their parents at a young age. Therefore, they are forced to go live with their grandfather, who they feel does not like them very much. So, the children decided to run away. The children were on their own, walked through woods and came across and empty box car. The oldest, decided this place would become their new home...more

like · see review

Oct 31, 2011 Allyson Sparks rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: popular-series

What a fun adventure story that kids will love! I think this book would be great for kids from 1st grade and up. These four orphans are brave and set a good example for kids. I'm sure every kid that reads this book would want to be a boxar kid. This is a great example for kids to be strong and brave. When the kids are caught in a storm, they find a red boxcar and make it into their home. What kid doesn't like adventure? And what kid doesn't want to be a part of a club like the boxcar children? I...more

like · see review

Oct 24, 2011 Jennelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read some reviews that say this series may not hold for modern young people, but really, I read it in the mid-late 80s and I enjoyed it, and I think there is still plenty of entertainment value for today's kids. Maybe some kids will be deterred by the lack of technology, but if they enjoy a good adventure, I'm not sure they'll miss it. After all, the adventures that the children go on are often the kinds of adventures that many kids dream of (like spending the summer all by themselves on an...more

like · see review

Jul 02, 2011 Nicola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

Reason for Reading: This is another book from the Random Bookshelf that I am reading from this year.The Boxcar Children have played a big part in my and my children's lives. I intend to acquire a complete set of the first 19 books (the others hold no interest to me) and keep them as keepers on my juvenile shelves for my future grandchildren.

When I read these books from the library is the mid '70s, they were hardcover's with picture boards and I was entranced with them. I'd always go over an pick...more Reason for Reading: This is another book from the Random Bookshelf that I am reading from this year.The Boxcar Children have played a big part in my and my children's lives. I intend to acquire a complete set of the first 19 books (the others hold no interest to me) and keep them as keepers on my juvenile shelves for my future grandchildren.

When I read these books from the library is the mid '70s, they were hardcover's with picture boards and I was entranced with them. I'd always go over an pick one out to read whether I'd read it before or not. For my oldest son, who was a very young, strong reader, these were his first chapter books that he read for his own personal pleasure. Due to my business as a used book dealer at the time of his childhood, we went to a lot of garage sales on Saturdays and he would always take a Boxcar Children book with him in the car and have it finished before we'd finished garage sailing. He had a huge collection of all the newer books and super specials, etc. For my younger son, these were his first chapter book read alouds and he loved him so much. I think he and his dad read about 8 of them when he was about five. Now having just re-read this one again I'm fairly confident he could read it himself so I'm going to set it aside for him and let him have a go in the near future.

Although the books in this series always have a mystery to solve, this first book does not really have a mystery other than the children themselves. Orphans who have runaway because they don't want to stay with a mean, old grandfather they've never met. They stumble across an old boxcar and set up house in there, which is a lot of fun seeing how these children work so diligently to create a simple home for themselves. The writing style throughout the series is also very high interest while keeping to a simple 3rd grade reading level. I honestly can't remember the stories of any of the other books offhand but I do especially love this first book as it is the only one of the series to be illustrated by L. Kate Deal in stunning silhouette art. One can tell the story takes place long ago with the girls in dresses and kerchiefs and the boys in short pants and long stockings but the darkness and absence of detail leave much to the imagination. Even if you have no intention on reading the series as a whole, "The Boxcar Children" itself is a modern classic to be enjoyed by all. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 29, 2011 Kathryn McCary rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: on-their-own, children-s-literature

I know I read this as a child--I remember it rather differently. Everything you read as a child seems ever-so-much-moreso, and this is no exception.

Commentary available on the web about Gertrude Chandler Warner repeatedly mentions that she wrote the book because her elementary school students lacked books with exciting incidents but a very simple reading level. She definitely succeeded in filing that gap. They also note that the book was criticized because "the children were having too good a ti...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 14, 2010 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, boxcar-children

I read this in 1993 when I was in 3rd grade and just loved it.
I never thought of all the gender stereotypes because I knew that it was an old book and you often see that in old books.
Come on, there is a "horse and cart" coming down the road, the boys are wearing short pants and stockings, and the girls have on kerchiefs over their heads.
Clearly this is not a modern book and we don't need to expect it to be modern.
Kids reading it should not be changed or affected by the gender stereotypes bec...more

I read this in 1993 when I was in 3rd grade and just loved it.
I never thought of all the gender stereotypes because I knew that it was an old book and you often see that in old books.
Come on, there is a "horse and cart" coming down the road, the boys are wearing short pants and stockings, and the girls have on kerchiefs over their heads.
Clearly this is not a modern book and we don't need to expect it to be modern.
Kids reading it should not be changed or affected by the gender stereotypes because they should be able to understand that in the past, things were very different than how they are now.

To children reading this when it was re-released in 1942, children who had been through the great depression, this book told them what kind of people they should be... ever optimistic even in hard times, good at working together toward a common goal without fighting with each other, self-relient and hard working. Good lessons for kids in any time period, including today.

History of it, for those interested.....
People think it came out in 1942.
But they often don't know this actually came out in 1924 but few copies were made and it is extremely hard to find an original. The books is very different from the current version.
I do have one, and many things were changed. Some of the characters names are different, there are a lot more adventures in the book (the current version is shortened), and the kids actual mom and dad are included in the beginning of the book before they died (and it was a bit darker, because apparently they got drunk a lot and were not said to be good parents- so if you thought it was odd that the kids aren't upset over their dead parents, well, maybe that's why).
The book was also a lot more descriptive than now.
But anyway, it was published by a different company in 1924. Then, in 1942, it was re-published but the new company had the author re-write it to simplify it for younger children to read. That's why there are all the changes.
The current version, the 1942 version, is the same as the version you read today.

(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 10, 2010 Kelsey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: relistic-fiction

The boxcar children is about 4 kides named Henry. Jessie, violet, and Benny. There parents both died so the cildren run away so there grandfather dosen't find them. The think that there grandfather is old, and mean. the go to the bakery and as they look at the display window when the backers wife comes and lookes at them with a verry bad look she hates kids. As the walked in they bought a lofe of bread and Henery asked if they could sleep ther at night if they helped do the dishes in the morning...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 22, 2010 Melissa Mckee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-literature

Warner, Gertrude Chandler. The Boxcar Children. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 1977. Print.
Genre: Children’s Chapter Book
The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner is about four orphans running away from their orphanage due to mistreatment. They find a boxcar and make it into their home because they fear their legal guardian, their grandfather. While living in the boxcar, they encounter some issues that determine their future will not be as they’d hope living on their own. This bo...more

2 likes · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Who else loves this book?	37	81	Apr 07, 2013 01:06pm

combine
Other Editions (18)

More editions...

Genres

Childrens

443 users

Mystery

200 users

Young Adult

135 users

Classics

110 users

Adventure

53 users

Childrens > Juvenile

51 users

Realistic Fiction

44 users

Kids

36 users

Childrens > Chapter Books

30 users

Childrens > Middle Grade

28 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

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, #1-4)

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children, #2)

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

The Lighthouse Mystery (The Boxcar Children, #8)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Boxcar Children

11 trivia questions
3 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: The Boxcar Children
avg rating	preview: The Boxcar Children Goodreads rating: 4.03 (39121 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6852332-the-boxcar-children?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348865586l/6852332.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6852332-the-boxcar-children?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner[/url]

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website