The Vanishing Passenger

The Boxcar Children #106

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The famous mystery writer, Gilbert Finch, is coming to Greenfield to speak at the library, and the Aldens can't wait to meet him. When they go with Grandfather to pick Finch up at the train station, he is nowhere to be found. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny need to solve this mystery quickly. Otherwise, Finch's archrival, Daniel VanBuren, will speak at the library instead of Finch!

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Audiobook, Middle Grade

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

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.

Books about Gertrude: https://www.goodreads.com/characters/...

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "The Aldens are at the Greenfield train station to meet their favorite mystery writer! Gilbert Finch has agreed to come to their library and meet all of his fans. But when Finch's train arrives, there is no sign of him anywhere. The famous author has vanished! Will the Boxcar Children be able to find him?"

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Vanishing Passenger" created by Gertrude Chandler Warner (like The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, this was written by an unnamed 'ghost' writer). The short novel - aimed at under 12 year-olds - was a decent traditional mystery. Clues were ample. The mystery was inconsequential. The passenger - Gilbert Finch - may have vanished but was never missing. After all, Finch did leave a voicemail. Unfortunately, technology was the biggest culprit. That is, cell phones caused a huge hole in the plot. Supposedly Finch couldn't phone anyone because all the land-lines to a small town were down due to a storm. Yes, Finch's cell phone was ruined by the rain. But, surely others in the town would have cell phones. Hmmmm, still the box-car kids find Finch and all is well.

[Joseph D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 106 of Boxcar Children. This was not a crime mystery but a lost person. This is appropriate for all ages and sensitivities as this mystery is all about finding a passenger that has disappeared. ​The clues lead them through with just a few red herrings to mix it up. Overall a fun but short one, this was shorter than most.

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining adventure with the Boxcar children

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

81%

Very silly story

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick story in this series.

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
I loved these books as a kid & I'm really enjoying reading through the series again. I liked the mystery & the suspense. I like how lighthearted the ending was. Would recommend.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

They kept on following where the vanishing passenger was but when they were there, he was already gone! And they finally caught up to him and he was there just in time for the library arrival for him.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

great when ur little

[Swathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Kellye Voigt · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter thought that the villain in this mystery was easy to spot and a little obvious, and she was disappointed.

[Licie Louis]

good