The Mystery of the Hidden Beach

The Boxcar Children #41

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Aldens are spending a week at Camp Coral in Florida. They love studying fish, learning how to windsurf, and exploring the ocean. But then a portion of coral reef is destroyed. The Boxcar Children are determined to find the culprit!

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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]

Learning English by myself. First time: I read this along with Scribd audiobook in 0,8 velocity. Second time: I translated many phrasal verbs, words and idioms with the help of Google Translate.

Synopsis: "The boxcar children and their cousin Soo Lee are all at Camp Coral, Florida learning about the ocean and enjoying water sports. Things seem wonderful, but there are a few things that just don't seem right. Someone's stealing coral, a conch shell has gone missing from one of the aquariums, and a few people seem very strange. The boxcar children need to solve the mystery to save the reef."

[Noel Hume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just picked this off my bookshelf of my collection of Boxcar Children books. Read it in half an hour. My siblings were getting into them, so i thought I'd read one after not reading them for literally YEARS. These books are amazing- perfect for kids, wholesome, educational, simple. I wish more kids books were like this nowadays!!

[Gianna Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really good but they could’ve added a little detail because it got a little boring but I guess you would like it if you really like the ocean

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of talk about coral and the importance of leaving it alone. Not a ton of facts, but could be a good addition to an ocean unit.

[Laura Walz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remember the original books actually written by Warner? Remember how smart the children were? How resourceful? This book has none of that, unfortunately. And the more I read the series, the more I'm getting tired of them always being with adults. What happened to the books where they cared for themselves, something they really enjoy? Lived in a boxcar alone, stayed on Surprise island basically alone, a winter cabin alone where they had to walk to the store and buy their own food and cook it ...

Their independence, intelligence, and resourcefulness are lacking in a lot of these the further into the series you go, and the mysteries appear to be more an afterthought to educating children on marine life. It's not so entertaining or imaginative.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Mystery of the Hidden Beach," 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 of the Hidden Beach" is a charming addition to "The Boxcar Children" series, perfect for kids who enjoy a classic, gentle mystery.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 41 of the Boxcar Children. This was a fantastic mystery. Definitely kept you guessing with lots of strange goings on. I loved the red herring in this one. Completely pulled the suspicion off of the bad guy. This is in that top 10 for the series for sure. Recommended. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Mystery Books for Kids

This was our first Boxcar book. Both my daughter and I really enjoyed reading this together. It sparked a discussion about marine wildlife and also speculating "Who done it?" We look forward to reading more from 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 there is more than one possible suspect, who each have reasonable motive. Would recommend.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, nostalgic, sweet

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better mysteries that wasn't written by Mrs. Warner.

[Brianna Allman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think students would really enjoy this book because of the topic of the beach. I think both students that have been to the beach and those that haven't would be intrigued by the book.

[Charles Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

62%

Wrapped up waaaay too abruptly.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of interesting facts about coral and fish.

[Amy Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I don’t like when dishonest adults are at the center of the mystery.

[Tina Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The goal for writing the Boxcar Children Mystery titles was to encourage young children to read. It must work because DECADES after my first time reading the first Boxcar Children book I still remember details from it. I am reading a stack of the Mystery titles to revisit my childhood and I enjoy them as much now.

They are entertaining, suspenseful and engaging. What more could you want in young adult literature? Well, you could want to learn facts about something in particular. Well, the titles do just that, too. 'The Hidden Beach' enlightens readers about facts on marine biology and coral, especially.
It takes hundreds of years for coral to regrow.

The mystery series keeps almost every character under suspicion to the point of rivaling Columbo.

[Maja Jeppesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next to Goosebumps Choose Your Scare books, the Boxcar Children was another book series that forever marks my childhood, something my parents were happy about because neither of them could stomach having to read The Baby-sitters Club with my sister and me. While I've never gotten to read the whole series and bitterly regret it, I still have the copies of the owns I owned as a child squirreled away for my own. I remember loving the very 'Murder, She Wrote' feel of the books, having a mystery was was simple yet exciting for a child without the need of extreme violence and if you ever need a mystery series to start your kids on, this is a great series to start with.

[Rebecca]

One of my favorite childhood series. I read over a hundred of them. The first 50 or so were in order; after that I read whatever book I could get my hands on :)

I remember really enjoying this book despite not realizing that the Boxcar Special The Mystery on the Ice comes before this one. It was quite a surprise that the children had a new relative....

[Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this to read with my daughter but ended up finishing it by myself and telling her about it. She liked it much more than she thought she would. She's only 6 and that fact that their was only 1 picture per chapter bummed her out. It was a great book to ween her off pictures though. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I'm loving the boxcar children.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Is Good Book. This Book About The Aldens Going to the Key West.

[mackenzie ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love these books! i can't remember the ones i read! but i know i have read this one!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

great when ur little

[Caitlin Jesenovec]

It is a good book a nice mystery and you can practice peed reading on fiction books like this.

[Karina Abraham]

awsome

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The boxcar children

I love this books!
The boxcar children books are awesome! I would read the entire series in about one day!

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read May 12, 2019