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    The Children's Book Review

    The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner | Book Review

    Bianca SchulzeBy Bianca Schulze3 Mins Read Ages 4-8 Ages 9-12 Best Kids Stories Chapter Books
    The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner Book Review
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    Book Review of The Boxcar Children
    The Children’s Book Review

    The Boxcar Children: Book Cover

    The Boxcar Children

    Written by Gertrude Chandler Warner

    Ages 6+ | 154 Pages

    Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company | ISBN-13: 9780486838519

    What to Expect: Orphans and Adventure

    Author Gertrude Chandler Warner was a school teacher when she began to write about the Boxcar Children—she went on to write 19 books in the series. Other authors have gone on to write more about the Boxcar Children, and there are now well over 100 books in the series. There is a museum inside a red boxcar in honor of Gertrude and this remarkable book series. There is also an animated movie of The Boxcar Children.

    Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are orphans. The only person left to care for them is their grandfather, who they believe to be a very unkind man. The kids take shelter in a bakery, and they overhear that the baker plans to keep all the kids except the youngest; Benny will be sent to a children’s home. They run from the bakery and discover an abandoned boxcar in the forest, which they make a home. Henry, the oldest of the siblings, finds work to make enough money to buy food and other necessary items. 

    They do pretty well living alone with no grown-ups to help until Violet falls ill, and they must take her to see a doctor. The doctor recognizes their last name and remembers a notice he had read in the newspaper: James Henry Alden is offering $5,000 to the person that finds his four missing grandchildren. Will the doctor give the kids over to their grandfather? What will happen to the children? Is their life living in the boxcar about to be derailed?

    The Boxcar Children is an adventure from start to finish. You’ll want to ride the pages all the way to the end. All aboard! 

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    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.

    Gertrude Chandler Warner

    What to Read Next if You Love The Boxcar Children

    The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island, by Gertrude Chandler Warner

    Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren

    Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective, by Donald J. Sobol

    The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks

    Bianca Schulze reviewed The Boxcar Children. Discover more books like The Boxcar Children by reading our reviews and articles tagged with orphans and adventure.

    What to Read Next:

    1. The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden | Book Review
    2. Thea Stilton and The Treasure Seekers | Book Review
    3. Heartwood Hotel: Home Again, by Kallie George | Book Review
    4. Mermaid School, by Lucy Courtenay | Book Review

    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Adventure Albert Whitman & Company Chapter Book Series Classics Gertrude Chandler Warner Orphans
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    Bianca Schulze
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    Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

    2 Comments

    1. Judy Swann on April 20, 2023 5:07 pm

      Thank you. Just bought the book on Amazon (kindle version). I’m sure the grands will love hearing me read this to them virtually. Keep writing and will be looking forward to purchasing more of your literary works. Have fun with words, always!

      Reply
      • Bianca Schulze on May 15, 2023 5:25 pm

        You’re welcome! And so fun that you read out loud to them virtually. That’s amazing!

        Reply
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