The Mystery Bookstore

The Boxcar Children #48

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

When their grandfather buys a bookstore at auction in New Orleans, the Alden children help clean it up and discover that several people seem to be obsessed with the store and its contents.

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Kathy]

Loved the bookstore. It is always fun to read these stories with the kids and everyone was super excited about the bookstore.

[Joshua Morrison]

Another great Boxcar Children Mystery! I love these cozy mysteries before bed, they really help my to unwind and settle in for the night. I read a bunch of these mystery books growing up, but there are several that I never got to. The Boxcar Children go to New Orleans with their grandfather and Ms. Chase to attend an auction. Grandfather Alden bids on (and wins) an old bookstore. The children and Ms. Chase, spend the next week organizing the old books and cleaning the store for the upcoming grand opening. Everything is going according to plan besides the few townspeople that have a sudden interest in the old store and its contents. Will the children finish preparing the bookstore and solve the mystery?

[Nader Nate]

Fun as usual and quick read, i loved the bookstore atmosphere and the city too
cozy adventure especially for the book collectors
************************************
Verdict
(7/10)

[Hemavathy DM Suppiah-Devi]

A lovely little children’s story written in the style of Enid Blyton’s Five-Find-Outers series.

[Maggie]

I hope someday I will own a bookstore just like Miss Chase. (This really is a dream of mine to have a bookstore with a candy shop in the back of it. I hope it will be really popular. I KNOW it will be really popular... if I get it!) Gertrude Chandler Warner's books always make me want to finish them the second I start them. She's really good at drawing people in with her writing.I always LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVE them.

[Jacqueline]

Still entertaining after all these years. The mysteries are well woven and the characters very likeable. Hadn't read one in a long while and was pleased to that I enjoyed it.

[Susan]

The children are on a trip to New Orleans. They visit an auction where grandfather's friend Olivia Chase is hoping to buy a bookstore and its contents. With grandfather's help, she gets it, and the children decide to stay a few days longer to help her clean it up and get the books in order. Violet finds a lovely set of fairy tale books in the hobby section. When she asks Ms Chase where to put them, Ms. Chase gives them to her as a gift for being so helpful. She also needs to get an expert in to help her price the books. But that expert, and another man who was at the auction, keep coming around and the children are sure they are looking to steal books. This gives them another mystery to solve,

[Simon]

"The Mystery Bookstore," part of "The Boxcar Children" series by Gertrude Chandler Warner, is a delightful read for young mystery lovers. In this book, the Alden children find themselves on a new adventure, exploring a hidden beach and uncovering secrets.

The writing style is straightforward, making it easy for young readers to follow along. The Alden children's resourcefulness and teamwork shine as they solve the mystery, highlighting the importance of family and cooperation. The plot is engaging, with enough twists to keep readers interested without being too complex.

Overall, "The Mystery Bookstore" is a charming addition to "The Boxcar Children" series, perfect for kids who enjoy a classic, gentle mystery.

[Nicole]

I listened to this on audio while doing some menial tasks at work. When I need something that I don't need to pay that much attention to, I turn to short children's books. They're easy to follow and not a huge time commitment.

I LOVED The Boxcar Children when I was little and these books still hold up to this day. This one was fun because it included things like used bookstores, rare books, and stamp collecting. Yeah....I really like exciting things apparently :-P. It had a lot of sweet moments between the siblings, and made references to original boxcar days.

These books won't blow your mind or anything, but they're cute and would be great for any little kid (or kid at heart).

[Joseph D.]

Book 48 of Boxcar Children. This was a mystery about a mystery writer. Ok that was just fun to say. The overall mystery wasn’t terrific but had a cloak and dagger feel to it. The mystery was more about what it was that the person wanted with a couple of people suspects. Strange coincidences made this one a little less believable. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[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.

[HappyGay Bakunzi]

I'm 28 and this is the first time I've read a boxcar book and I love it!

[aem]

This one seemed a bit silly

[Whitney Boatright]

Review to come! Omg!!

[Charles Reed]

65%

The Mystery of why we keep letting high profile thieves wander about.

[Rhea]

awesome sauce!

[Kim Hampton]

I loved all the little tidbits about New Orleans that were in the book!

[Radonna Griesman]

Andora says, "A book inside a book."

[Pearline]

Grandfather, as usual, uses money to solve all problems!

[Robin Walker]

A fun read with Emery!

[Maddie Baddie]

☆☆☆

~~~~~~~

Little kid book wasn’t expecting much

[Mary]

Enjoyed! I wish that I had found these as a child.

[Amanda Del Brocco]

I was in a bad mood when I started reading this and it cheered me up considerably.

[Susan]

This is very good. I love ❤️ mysteries! It is also comforting to me because it is about bookstores.

[Bethany]

As far as audiobooks go, the voice of Benny is incredibly annoying, almost humorously so, but the other characters were fine. As far as Boxcar Children books go, it was okay. This one was a case of the children and adults always knew for certain whether or not they locked the door and exactly where they left things, i.e. not me, otherwise the bad guys would have gotten away with it. As for as listening to children's books on my commute, highly recommended.

[Stacie]

The kids get to go to New Orleans, man do they get around. Grandpa helps a lady get a bookstore and the kids help set up a book sale that involves FOOD................... and MYSTERY! This one has multiple bad doers and the kids find them all.

[Partridge Public]

Warner, Gertrude C. PB

[Lara]

I think it's cool because they had three thieves. I'm not telling!!!

[Mrs. Bahns]

This book is when the Aldens go to a bookstore and find someone wants it to go out of buisness. The Aldens try to find out who.

[Laura]

great when ur little