Hidden in the Haunted School

The Boxcar Children #144

by Gertrude Chandler Warner (creator)

The old abandoned school in Silver City is being fixed up as an art center and the Boxcar Children volunteer to help clean up the place. But the other volunteers are scared by the spooky goings-on in the school doors lock by themselves, and chalkboard messages appear out of nowhere! Will the Aldens find out the secret of the haunted school?"

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

128 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2016

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]

I listened to the audiobook on Scrib on August 2018.

[Jennifer Burton]

Love these books very easy read

[Skylar Higgins]

This book is from a series based on about 4 children, referred to as the Alden children. There’s Benny, Jessie, Henry, and Violet. In this book, They discover this abandoned school is under renovation to be the new town art center. They are curious to see if this school is as haunted as the town says it is, so they join the volunteer group to help with the renovations. They quickly discover mysterious events happening around the old school, so they decided to investigate to figure out why these mysterious things are happening. This books is intended for 2nd-6th grade. I would use this book as a personal read for the children of for a literacy circle story time. This books has a good plot for younger children, so it might keep them engaged in the story. It is a good book for making inferences and you could use it to retell the main event in the story.

[Joseph D.]

Book 144 of the Boxcar Children series. Something creepy is going on with the renovation of the old school. When a scary message appears on a chalkboard, everyone is wondering if there really is a ghost. Items moving when no one is there. A fun book with a strange premise. No real bad guy on this one so it is appropriate for all ages. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[April]

My 4 kiddos and I very much enjoyed listening to the Audio version of this book going to and from appointments today. It was amazing to see my kiddos entranced while listening instead of fighting in the back seat ❤

[Eliana]

When the Boxcar Children are visiting Silver City, the come across an old, abandoned school. They sign up for volunteering to fix the old school. But, then they notice mysterious things are happening. Can the legend about the old ghost be true?

[Cherish Brown]

(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 there is more than one possible suspect, who each have reasonable motive. Would recommend.

[Holly Anderson]

What is all the hype?

[Alana Robinson]

So here's a mistake the author made: she said Bennie instead of Benny. But otherwise it was good book. :)

[Amy]

3

[Charles Reed]

76%

Better than the last few, I enjoyed hearing about the recent past.

[Gina]

I really enjoyed the story. Perfect for a fall read!

[Alex]

Fun as always!