The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Illustrated by L. Kate Deal. Genre: Beginning reader chapter book. Pages: 129. Copyright date: 1942
Under the cloak of darkness, four orphaned children darted between the shadows. Silent so that no one could hear them. They couldn’t be discovered, they just couldn’t, there was no way that any of them were going to go and live with their Grandfather. Since they had never met him, they just KNEW he had to be a rotten old man. After all, who wouldn’t want to meet their four grand children? Well, there was no way that they were going to allow the misfortune of loosing both of their parents get any worse! Instead, they would do as they always had done, and fend for themselves. On that last dark night, as they ran, they never imagined what they would find. Hidden in the shadows of the woods, covered in over grown leaves, settled and parked on rusted old train tracks, lay the most perfect thing that they had ever seen. A beautifully old, and overgrown, abandoned boxcar. And they would make this boxcar, the perfect home of their very own. Can the children turn this rusted metal box into the perfect place to live? Can they continue undetected? Can they escape their cruel fate of living with their mean, old, Grandfather? To discover what happens, read The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Summary:
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny have recently been orphaned. Terrified that their Grandfather, whom disliked their mother, and had gained guardianship over them, would dislike them as well, they decided to run away and live on their own. Hungry and in need of a rest, they stumble upon a bakery. Fortunately for them, the baker’s wife, although she did not like children very much, sold them some bread and agreed to let them spend the night in exchange for them to do a bit of work the following morning. That night however, as the younger children Violet and Benny slept, Jessie and Henry over heard the baker and his wife talking. She intended to keep them and use them to work for her but had no need to keep the youngest Benny, so she would send him off to the orphanage. Since splitting up was not an option, Henry and Jessie decided that they needed to continue running right away; they woke Violet and carried a sleeping Benny, and once again took off into the night!
Life on the road was tough for the four children. They feared being discovered and being shipped off to their Grandfather so they decided to sleep during the day and only travel at night, when they could not be seen. At one point the Baker and his wife went looking for the children. While the children hid from them, they overheard them discussing where they thought the children were headed. This became very fortuitous for the children because it caused them to change course and travel in a new direction. While walking through some woods, they discovered an old abandoned boxcar. It was the perfect place for them to set up a new home! Thrilled with the discovery the children quickly embraced their new home and slept that night incredibly well, for the first time in days!
With dreams of what the boxcar could become the children quickly started to make plans. But the first and most practical thing that they needed to do was to ensure that they had food to eat. So while Jessie, Violet, and Benny stayed in the woods, Henry took off to the nearest town to find some work. While he was out searching, the children went on a search of their own. The three of them discovered a local dump where they found usable dishes and things that they could use to create their home. Not only had they found the dishes, they also found blackberries to pick, and they happened upon a very friendly and hurt dog that decided to adopt the children! Being the caretaker that she is, Jessie helped the injured dog and after that he never left her side. Because he was going to prove to be not only a wonderful new addition to the family, he would also be great protection, Benny named him Watch,
In town, Henry came across an older man working in the garden and offered to help him. Again, a very lucky moment for the children. The man was a local Doctor named Dr. Moore, and he had a lot of work for Henry to do. Quickly everyone in the household from Dr. Moore’s mother to Mary the cook became smitten with Henry. That first day, they sent him home not only with the money that he earned but also with a bunch of cookies. And everyday after that he came home with more and more goods that the Moore’s gave him. Always under the guise that he had worked hard for them, which he had. Little did they know, Dr. Moore knew exactly who the children were, and he also knew their Grandfather. He kept a watchful eye on the children and allowed them to live happily in the forest until it was time to tell the Grandfather that he had found them.
One terribly frightening night, Violet became very ill. Henry went and got the Dr. who immediately took them all to his house. He also called their Grandfather who came right away. For the first few days though, Dr. Moore and the Grandfather agreed to not tell the children who he was. They did not want to frighten them and wanted the children to love him instead of fear him. As Violet healed, all of the children began to love this man that they only knew as Mr. Alden. When the time was right, the children discovered who the man was and everyone was elated. As soon as Violet was ready, they all moved into his home. This happiness continued until they became homesick for the boxcar. Grandfather did the only thing that he could think of to make his grandchildren happy, while they were away one day, he had the boxcar shipped and moved into their back yard! They all lived happily ever after!
My Assessment:
This was such a great story when I was young and it is still such a great story! It is wonderful to read about the children’s resourcefulness and how well they all got along and took care of each other in a time of need. The illustrations, although minimal, accompany the story beautifully. One of my favorite illustrations is located on the front and back cover. They are lovely maps of all the places that the children went.
Teaching Tips:
One of the things that I liked about the story is the ability to make connections to then and now. A lot of the things that were written about, today, are cause for great alarm! They thought that children lived in the woods alone, eating from broken dishes that were found in a dump! I think that it is a great book to share with students because although dated, the ideas of their adventures and building swimming holes, stands the test of time! This book also naturally lends itself to be great for lessons in predictions and inference. This would also be a great story to use to introduce map making!
What I liked the most:
I really like the way that these children’s dismal situation was easily romanticized into a great adventure. The creativity and ingenuity that they used is really inspiring. I also really love how the children remain happy throughout the story. It reminds me greatly of the beauty of childhood innocence.
Under the cloak of darkness, four orphaned children darted between the shadows. Silent so that no one could hear them. They couldn’t be discovered, they just couldn’t, there was no way that any of them were going to go and live with their Grandfather. Since they had never met him, they just KNEW he had to be a rotten old man. After all, who wouldn’t want to meet their four grand children? Well, there was no way that they were going to allow the misfortune of loosing both of their parents get any worse! Instead, they would do as they always had done, and fend for themselves. On that last dark night, as they ran, they never imagined what they would find. Hidden in the shadows of the woods, covered in over grown leaves, settled and parked on rusted old train tracks, lay the most perfect thing that they had ever seen. A beautifully old, and overgrown, abandoned boxcar. And they would make this boxcar, the perfect home of their very own. Can the children turn this rusted metal box into the perfect place to live? Can they continue undetected? Can they escape their cruel fate of living with their mean, old, Grandfather? To discover what happens, read The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Summary:
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny have recently been orphaned. Terrified that their Grandfather, whom disliked their mother, and had gained guardianship over them, would dislike them as well, they decided to run away and live on their own. Hungry and in need of a rest, they stumble upon a bakery. Fortunately for them, the baker’s wife, although she did not like children very much, sold them some bread and agreed to let them spend the night in exchange for them to do a bit of work the following morning. That night however, as the younger children Violet and Benny slept, Jessie and Henry over heard the baker and his wife talking. She intended to keep them and use them to work for her but had no need to keep the youngest Benny, so she would send him off to the orphanage. Since splitting up was not an option, Henry and Jessie decided that they needed to continue running right away; they woke Violet and carried a sleeping Benny, and once again took off into the night!
Life on the road was tough for the four children. They feared being discovered and being shipped off to their Grandfather so they decided to sleep during the day and only travel at night, when they could not be seen. At one point the Baker and his wife went looking for the children. While the children hid from them, they overheard them discussing where they thought the children were headed. This became very fortuitous for the children because it caused them to change course and travel in a new direction. While walking through some woods, they discovered an old abandoned boxcar. It was the perfect place for them to set up a new home! Thrilled with the discovery the children quickly embraced their new home and slept that night incredibly well, for the first time in days!
With dreams of what the boxcar could become the children quickly started to make plans. But the first and most practical thing that they needed to do was to ensure that they had food to eat. So while Jessie, Violet, and Benny stayed in the woods, Henry took off to the nearest town to find some work. While he was out searching, the children went on a search of their own. The three of them discovered a local dump where they found usable dishes and things that they could use to create their home. Not only had they found the dishes, they also found blackberries to pick, and they happened upon a very friendly and hurt dog that decided to adopt the children! Being the caretaker that she is, Jessie helped the injured dog and after that he never left her side. Because he was going to prove to be not only a wonderful new addition to the family, he would also be great protection, Benny named him Watch,
In town, Henry came across an older man working in the garden and offered to help him. Again, a very lucky moment for the children. The man was a local Doctor named Dr. Moore, and he had a lot of work for Henry to do. Quickly everyone in the household from Dr. Moore’s mother to Mary the cook became smitten with Henry. That first day, they sent him home not only with the money that he earned but also with a bunch of cookies. And everyday after that he came home with more and more goods that the Moore’s gave him. Always under the guise that he had worked hard for them, which he had. Little did they know, Dr. Moore knew exactly who the children were, and he also knew their Grandfather. He kept a watchful eye on the children and allowed them to live happily in the forest until it was time to tell the Grandfather that he had found them.
One terribly frightening night, Violet became very ill. Henry went and got the Dr. who immediately took them all to his house. He also called their Grandfather who came right away. For the first few days though, Dr. Moore and the Grandfather agreed to not tell the children who he was. They did not want to frighten them and wanted the children to love him instead of fear him. As Violet healed, all of the children began to love this man that they only knew as Mr. Alden. When the time was right, the children discovered who the man was and everyone was elated. As soon as Violet was ready, they all moved into his home. This happiness continued until they became homesick for the boxcar. Grandfather did the only thing that he could think of to make his grandchildren happy, while they were away one day, he had the boxcar shipped and moved into their back yard! They all lived happily ever after!
My Assessment:
This was such a great story when I was young and it is still such a great story! It is wonderful to read about the children’s resourcefulness and how well they all got along and took care of each other in a time of need. The illustrations, although minimal, accompany the story beautifully. One of my favorite illustrations is located on the front and back cover. They are lovely maps of all the places that the children went.
Teaching Tips:
One of the things that I liked about the story is the ability to make connections to then and now. A lot of the things that were written about, today, are cause for great alarm! They thought that children lived in the woods alone, eating from broken dishes that were found in a dump! I think that it is a great book to share with students because although dated, the ideas of their adventures and building swimming holes, stands the test of time! This book also naturally lends itself to be great for lessons in predictions and inference. This would also be a great story to use to introduce map making!
What I liked the most:
I really like the way that these children’s dismal situation was easily romanticized into a great adventure. The creativity and ingenuity that they used is really inspiring. I also really love how the children remain happy throughout the story. It reminds me greatly of the beauty of childhood innocence.