The siblings looking out for one another pulled at the familial strings in me. And the sisters closeness tugged at my wish for a sister. But the mysteries they found and solved kept me coming back for more too.
The original book and first 19 books of the series were written by an American school teacher, Gertrude Chandler Warner. The original book was published in 1924 and covered how the four orphaned Alden children, Henry, Jessie,Violet, and Benny, came to live in a boxcar.
The series took up after they moved in with their wealthy grandfather. The children solved mysteries from their boxcar now in their grandfather's backyard and while traveling with him on holidays.
There was a touch of the supernatural in some of the mysteries, but Henry and Jessie had the practical minds and would find the reason for anything that appeared "other-worldly". Most of the mysteries dealt with theft and the children usually became involved due to knowing the person they were helping.
Today the series has over 100 books. The original series was set in the 1940's and 50's some of which were written by other authors but always credited with "created by Gertrude Chandler Warner". The new "Specials" which were written after Warner's death are set in current times.
Do you remember the name of the Alden Children's dog? What was your first mystery?
10 comments:
Oh, gosh, I should know the name of that dog... Was it Watch or something like that? I loved that series, and they were the first 'chapter' books I read to my boys growing up...Now I'm going to have to go see if they are still up on the bookshelves or if we sent those on down to cousins....
Lauri, Good guess it was Watch. Thanks for stopping in!
I remember reading those and also reading them to my kids, thrilled because they still loved them. I also enjoyed Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon.
Kay, come back on Mondays I'm talking bout Nancy Drew later on.
I didn't read The Boxcar Children, but my daughter did. I loved mysteries and read so many! My favorite series was Trixie Belden. I also liked Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys.
Sarah, Some how I missed Trixie Belden, but I'll be talking about Nancy Drew in a few weeks. Mysteries have always been my first love in reading.
I loved when my children were old enough to read this series. I have to admit I wasn't into mysteries as a child and Nancy Drew didn't interest me. I wish I'd discovered the Box Car Children though.
Dog - Watch.
Lynne, I read anything but enjoyed the mysteries the most. What did you read? Maguerite Henry horse books? I read those too.
And Watch is correct.
I'll have to admit, I don't remember reading the Boxcar Children. I know that I read a lot of horse stories when I was a child and the Nancy Drew stories though.
Becky, I read a lot of horse stories as well.
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