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The Boxcar Children
(The Boxcar Children #1)
by
The Aldens begin their adventure by making a home in a boxcar. Their goal is to stay together, and in the process they find a grandfather.
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Paperback, 160 pages
Published
January 1st 1989
by Albert Whitman Company
(first published February 6th 1924)
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Start your review of The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, #1)

I read this book as a child and oh, did I ever cherish it. I'm a detail-oriented person, 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 of
...more

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

I never came across this book as a child - presumably it did not cross the Atlantic to the UK where I grew up on a diet of the Secret Seven and the Famous Five. So I thought I would check it out now as it sits at the top of many popularity lists.
Having read all the reviews I think many people must be giving it five stars just for nostalgia value because to an adult outsider like me it certainly does not get five stars for content! However it is a nice, child friendly story with a degree of actio ...more
Having read all the reviews I think many people must be giving it five stars just for nostalgia value because to an adult outsider like me it certainly does not get five stars for content! However it is a nice, child friendly story with a degree of actio ...more

Jul 11, 2012
Greg
rated it
really liked it
·
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
As the book was first published 70 years ago, I was expecti ...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 bec ...more

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

Aug 09, 2019
Juli
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
backlist-read-2019,
read-audiobooks-2019
I have always heard such good things about this children's series...but never took the time to read any of the books. This year I decided to make a concentrated effort to revisit favorite books/series that I love and to finally read books I've always wanted to read. This series made the list. I'm so glad I took the time finally to enjoy this sweet story! I enjoyed it enough to read more!
The Boxcar Children series was originally started in the 1920's. Gertrude Chandler Warner was a first grade te ...more
The Boxcar Children series was originally started in the 1920's. Gertrude Chandler Warner was a first grade te ...more

My love for reading was formed during my early years and I can clearly remember the books that brought it about. The picture books were all a blur of toddling first steps, a means to get to the main event…chapter books. I was never the child you had to force to check out the “big kids’ books”, I was the one that had to be reminded of the checkout limit. To be submerged in an ocean of bound together written words was and still is divine!!!
This book deserves a nod for creating two reading interest ...more
This book deserves a nod for creating two reading interest ...more

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
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

Picked this one up on the serial app mostly for the nostalgia factor but also hit a PopSugar Challenge prompt of reading a book in a series with over 20 books. Who knew?
Four siblings whose parents pass away leaving them to fend for themselves and run away from their town before their grandfather can find them. They find a old boxcar that they quickly inhabit and live in. They have adventures, adopt an Airedale, Watch, and earn a small living helping out the local Doctor. All is happy and a tad u ...more
Four siblings whose parents pass away leaving them to fend for themselves and run away from their town before their grandfather can find them. They find a old boxcar that they quickly inhabit and live in. They have adventures, adopt an Airedale, Watch, and earn a small living helping out the local Doctor. All is happy and a tad u ...more

We enjoyed this story of siblings surviving without grownups. Aimed at younger children as a read on your own style book ,we found it did lack substance because of it's simplicity of language. We did find similarities with Blyton's Secret Island which is a wonderful book. As an adult I found the storyline involving the Grandfather having nothing to do with the children's mother a little strange and perhaps unnecessary in a book aimed at young children to read to themselves as the situation wasn'
...more

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

hahaha wow this is such a weird story! But also just the kind of thing I like. I mean who wouldn't want to set up a little house in an old boxcar in the woods and eat delicious food and play in the creek.
In closing, I have two words: CHERRY. DUMPLINGS. ...more
In closing, I have two words: CHERRY. DUMPLINGS. ...more

This is the book that made me a reader. I know many people don't have any way of knowing this, so I'm so grateful that I know. I still remember the day I walked into my 5th grade classroom in 2008, and there was a little bookshelf in the corner with a green beanbag. It was my first time in an American classroom, and I had never read an English book before. My homeroom teacher told us that if we read anything there, she'd give us a sticker! So I went, sat on the beanbag, and looked at the books.
...more

A novel about orphan siblings whom ran away from their grandfather that they never saw and knew he would treat them badly, as he didn't like their late mother. The story ending is wise as it turns out into a great conclusion.
To sum up, sometimes the things we are most frightened of are the things we should, actually, embrace with all our senses. Finally, never close your ears of what you thought was the mere truth, everything needs consistent testing and evaluation by both our mind and heart. ...more
To sum up, sometimes the things we are most frightened of are the things we should, actually, embrace with all our senses. Finally, never close your ears of what you thought was the mere truth, everything needs consistent testing and evaluation by both our mind and heart. ...more

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.

I read The Boxcar Children as a child. I think I was 7 or 8 when I started reading them. It was the first series I ever collected and I loved these books.
I wanted to introduce them to my 5 year old. He's mildly autistic and has a very short attention span, but surprisingly, he sits still and listens to the story here. He loves Benny and Watch, and though he may not understand all of what is happening, I think he is getting the gist of it all. It's been a great experience to read these and re-li ...more
I wanted to introduce them to my 5 year old. He's mildly autistic and has a very short attention span, but surprisingly, he sits still and listens to the story here. He loves Benny and Watch, and though he may not understand all of what is happening, I think he is getting the gist of it all. It's been a great experience to read these and re-li ...more

Nov 10, 2019
Diana | Book of Secrets
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
j-middle-grade
Re-read! THE BOXCAR CHILDREN is one of my top five favorite books from childhood. I loved everything about it. That cozy home & life they made in the boxcar was so intriguing. I didn't realize until I was an adult that it was part of a mystery series, now with 150+ books. I have some catching up to do...♥
...more

I loved these books as a child. I just re-read this one again, now as an adult. In reading many of the comments made here, I realize that most of you may not know this book was published in 1942, right after the Great Depression. This is a book about children who start off with nothing, but managed to survive and even thrive on their own resourcefulness. This was probably a very powerful book in 1942 and it is still relevant, perhaps even more so, today.
I love that these children are respectful ...more
I love that these children are respectful ...more

Read for the third time and this time with the audiobook (https://pt.scribd.com) for improving my English. I intend to re-read many books until December 2018, because now we have www.scribd.com here in Brazil.
...more

I loved this book as a kid. I owned it and read it time and again. Reading it at age 40... it doesn't hold up so well. There's little substance to the book. The voice is quaint though rings as stilted, even for a period piece. What I still like best is the 'competence porn' aspect: these kids are great at surviving on their own. I loved their inventiveness like their behind-the-waterfall fridge and the way they rummage in the junkyard for tools and devices to repurpose. The gender roles are pret
...more

A nice nostalgia read courtesy of Worldreader Mobile and Open Road Media. I was so glad to find that the ebook has the gorgeous illustrations by L. Kate Deal, which make living in a boxcar and eating stew made of castoff runt vegetables just seem even that much more idyllic:
Although not without creepy Pleasantville moments ("'Tomorrow will be Sunday, and I can stay at h ...more
The Alden siblings divide loaves of bread.
Dumpster diving! Benny finds a pink cup.
Jessie stirs stew made from tiny vegetables.
Although not without creepy Pleasantville moments ("'Tomorrow will be Sunday, and I can stay at h ...more

Beloved by children everywhere!! Now beloved by this adult!!
This is the first of a series about 4 orphans, the Aldens, who housed themselves in an abandoned boxcar. They actually ran away from their rich grandfather, whom they had never met, because they had heard he was a very mean man. The oldest Henry, does odd jobs for a local doctor, making enough money to buy butter and milk. They resourcefully build a fireplace for cooking. The oldest girl, Jessie, cooks wonderful meals for them. They fin ...more
This is the first of a series about 4 orphans, the Aldens, who housed themselves in an abandoned boxcar. They actually ran away from their rich grandfather, whom they had never met, because they had heard he was a very mean man. The oldest Henry, does odd jobs for a local doctor, making enough money to buy butter and milk. They resourcefully build a fireplace for cooking. The oldest girl, Jessie, cooks wonderful meals for them. They fin ...more

I believe it was my second grade teacher who read this to our class. All I have is fond memories of childhood escapism, kids being able to forge their own way in the world without depending on adults.
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Goodreads Librari...: Boxcar Children books need to be added | 5 | 13 | Feb 01, 2021 04:53PM | |
Help! I can not come up with a series title to mystery/horror from my childhood | 1 | 8 | Oct 15, 2019 11:40AM | |
The Worst Bestsel...: Episode 77 - Boxcar Children | 3 | 23 | Jul 19, 2017 03:59PM | |
cant remember book name ! | 1 | 11 | May 13, 2017 04:56PM | |
Future Teachers, ...: Review 6 | 1 | 2 | Nov 11, 2016 01:43PM |
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
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