Gertrude Chandler Warner (1890–1979)
Author of The Boxcar Children
About the Author
Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in Putnam, Connecticut on April 16, 1890. Due to her poor health, she never finished high school and studied with a tutor. During World War I, a shortage of teachers prompted the local school board to hire her to teach first grade, a position she held for over 30 show more years. She wrote the first Boxcar book in 1924, while home recuperating from an illness, but the version most people are familiar with was originally published in 1942. The Alden children became so popular that she wrote 19 adventures about them including Surprise Island, Mystery Ranch, and Snowbound Mystery. She died at age 89 August 29, 1979, but the Boxcar Children are still being written about by a team of writers faithful to her vision. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Warner is the author of the first 19 books in The Boxcar Children series; all of the remaining volumes were ghostwritten.
Series
Works by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Yellow House Mystery (The Boxcar Children: Time to Read, Level 2) (The Boxcar Children Early Readers) (2019) 58 copies
The Boxcar Children Guide to Adventure: A How-To for Mystery Solving, Make-It-Yourself Projects, and More (The Boxcar… (2014) 45 copies
The Pizza Mystery (The Boxcar Children: Time to Read, Level 2) (The Boxcar Children Early Readers) (2022) 32 copies
The Boxcar Children Favorites 30 Books Boxed Collection with Activity Book, Journal, Sticker Sheet , DVD, Magnifying… (2019) 29 copies
The Boxcar Children Collection, Volume 01 [3-in-1] [Unabridged Audio Book] (2006) 18 copies, 1 review
The Boxcar Children Books 1-8 Eight Stories of Mystery and Adventure with Bonus Bookmark Boxed Set (2012) 12 copies
The Boxcar Children Collection, Volume 1: The Boxcar Children, Surprise Island, Yellow House Mystery (2022) 10 copies
The Boxcar Children Dog Lovers' Special: Mystery at the Dog Show/The Guide Dog Mystery/The Mystery of the Midnight Dog (2009) 10 copies
The Boxcar Children From Sea to Shining Sea Special (The Boxcar Children Mysteries) (2011) — Creator — 5 copies
Boxcar Children Series 4 copies
Bicycle Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #15) by Warner, Gertrude Chandler (1990) Paperback 2 copies
The Boxcar Children Collection Series Set of 6 Volumes - 18 Complete Boxcar Children Stories including The Boxcar… (2014) 2 copies
The Boxcar Children Books 33-36 2 copies
The Great Shark Mystery (Boxcar Children, The: Special: #20) published by Scholastic [Paperback] 2 copies
The boxercar Children 1 copy
Children of the Harvest 1 copy
The Boxcar Children Collection, Volume 5: Snowbound Mystery, Tree House Mystery, Bicycle Mystery 1 copy
[(Bus Station Mystery)] [By (author) Gertrude Chandler Warner ] published on (September, 1974) 1 copy
The Outer Space Mystery 1 copy
The Great Shark Mystery (Boxcar Children, The: Special: #20) published by Scholastic [Paperback] 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #83 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #41 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #44 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #47 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #69 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #71 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #77 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #79 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #23 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #85 1 copy
The Old Hotel Mystery 1 copy
Boxcar Children, books 1-4 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #37 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #20 1 copy
The Boxcar Children #19 1 copy
The Boxcar Children Deluxe Hardcover Boxed Gift Set (#1-3) (The Boxcar Children Mysteries) (2013) 1 copy
The Box-Car Adventure 1 copy
The Boxcar Children Collection, Volume 4: Schoolhouse Mystery, Caboose Mystery, Houseboat Mystery 1 copy
The House of Delight 1 copy
The Boxcar Children ~ Gertrude Chandler Warner ~ Volumes 1-15 (1989) (The Boxcar Children, Volumes one through fifteen) (1989) 1 copy
8 Book Set : The Boxcar Children Mysteries - The Deserted Library, The Animal Shelter, The Old Motel Mystery, The… (2000) 1 copy
Boxcar Children Collection Volume, the 18: The Mystery of the Lost Mine, the Guide Dog Mystery, & the Hurricane Mystery (2015) 1 copy
Abduction 1 copy
The Boxcar Children Collection Volume 22: The Black Pearl Mystery, The Cereal Box Mystery, The Panther Mystery (1898) 1 copy
20 Book Set : The Boxcar Children Mysteries - Boxcar Children, Surprise Island, The Yellow House Mystery, Mystery… (2000) 1 copy
15 Boxcar Children Mysteries (1-16, missing #14): Surprise Island, Mystery of Purple Pool, Mystery Ranch, Mike's… (1971) 1 copy
Mystery ranch. Illustrated 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1890-04-16
- Date of death
- 1979-08-30
- Burial location
- Grove Street Cemetery, Putnam, Connecticut
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Putnam, Connecticut, USA
- Place of death
- Putnam, Connecticut, USA
- Places of residence
- Putnam, Connecticut, USA
- Occupations
- children's book author
- Disambiguation notice
- Warner is the author of the first 19 books in The Boxcar Children series; all of the remaining volumes were ghostwritten.
Members
Discussions
The Boxcar Children - comparative notes in Table For One (July 2023)
Reviews
This is not a 5 star book but dammit, I'm giving it 5 stars anyway. I remember gobbling this up as a kid and it felt like a goddamn treat to read it as an adult and throw away everything I've learned of life. As I read it, I remembered what it felt like to be a kid -- every broken dish, every rusty spoon is a treasure. I dreamed of moving to the woods, making do for myself, surviving on my own without adults who just don't get it. And (possible spoiler alert) they end up rich! Rich, I tell show more you! That's exactly how I thought my life would turn out and I'm still waiting. Best of all worlds, totally fake book where people are rewarded for good behavior, there's not a disgusting creep on every corner (or in the White House) and that's exactly how I want it. show less
Orphaned children terrified of being sent to live with a nasty grandfather instead run away and end up taking shelter in basically a shipping container in the woods. Faced with starvation the eldest, a 13-year-old boy, seeks work in the nearest township and this source of child labour is readily exploited by a local doctor. His 12-year-old sister meanwhile scavenges in a nearby rubbish dump in order to make a semblance of home - and school! - for her younger siblings. Inevitably however this show more highly suboptimal way of living leads to the 10-year-old falling dangerously ill.
The moral of the story of course is that no matter how badly off you are, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is fun and surprisingly easy, and if you're ever in any real danger not to worry, that's when your rich relative will appear to save you all.
Would definitely appeal to children and also everyone who'd much rather play housekeeping sim games than do actual housekeeping; is a terrible example for anyone who'll ever have any influence on social policy. show less
The moral of the story of course is that no matter how badly off you are, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is fun and surprisingly easy, and if you're ever in any real danger not to worry, that's when your rich relative will appear to save you all.
Would definitely appeal to children and also everyone who'd much rather play housekeeping sim games than do actual housekeeping; is a terrible example for anyone who'll ever have any influence on social policy. show less
Only a few weeks left in the summer, so the Boxcar Children are going on (another) adventure closer to home! This time, they're going to ride their bikes to Aunt Jane's and of course find a several mysteries (and a dog!) along the way. It's really quite strange how close together everything is. They keep going by previous locations, such as Second Landing and Aunt Jane's. New England I guess?
It's a cute story and, given their current ages, seems entirely appropriate. Although just how old is show more Benny supposed to be to plan to ride up to 50 miles a day several days in a row? I don't know if it's something that would really make sense where we live in the midwest, but everything in New England is a bit more compact.
Random weird thoughts:
The foreign man who takes a liking to the Aldens and won't take food from them. And this isn't the only time. There are entirely too many points making a big deal about 'your money is no good here' / who's going to pay / how much for variou things.
Also, this amused me greatly:
"Good," the policeman said. "We found them with two stolen poodles and a Scottie that didn't belong to them. That man and woman will go back where they came from, but they will pay a great big fine!"
"They deserve it!" Benny said. "I hope they won't do it again."
"They won't," promised the man. He laughed. "They have policemen on the West Coast, too, you know."
Perhaps I'm projecting, but man that makes them all sound snooty about the West Coasters. Old Money New Englanders looking down on New Money Californians?
Probably just me. :)
And this:
So long as they have money or you can buy them, right? I'm not really being fair, Grandfather does seem to generally be a good person. He just also tends to solve all of his problems with money.
I'm curious if that sticks for Benny though. show less
It's a cute story and, given their current ages, seems entirely appropriate. Although just how old is show more Benny supposed to be to plan to ride up to 50 miles a day several days in a row? I don't know if it's something that would really make sense where we live in the midwest, but everything in New England is a bit more compact.
Random weird thoughts:
"No, just for today I serve lunch for you. Look in there."
The foreign man who takes a liking to the Aldens and won't take food from them. And this isn't the only time. There are entirely too many points making a big deal about 'your money is no good here' / who's going to pay / how much for variou things.
Also, this amused me greatly:
"Good," the policeman said. "We found them with two stolen poodles and a Scottie that didn't belong to them. That man and woman will go back where they came from, but they will pay a great big fine!"
"They deserve it!" Benny said. "I hope they won't do it again."
"They won't," promised the man. He laughed. "They have policemen on the West Coast, too, you know."
Perhaps I'm projecting, but man that makes them all sound snooty about the West Coasters. Old Money New Englanders looking down on New Money Californians?
Probably just me. :)
And this:
"I'm sorry myself," said Grandfather. "But there was a reason. And don't forget, Ben, somebody always has to come in second."
And this was something Benny Alden never forgot.
So long as they have money or you can buy them, right? I'm not really being fair, Grandfather does seem to generally be a good person. He just also tends to solve all of his problems with money.
I'm curious if that sticks for Benny though. show less
In a nutshell, new neighbors move in, they're mostly ignored by their parents (back to that in a moment), the Aldens barge in and make friends, they all build a treehouse, find a hidden room, and fix a old (kind of dumb) feud between the neighbor's father and uncle.
Oy.
It's actually a pretty cute and fairly realistic story. I like the idea of them building a treehouse, mostly by themselves, although my own children are far too young for it. Some day. And while the feud is dumb, it kind of show more makes sense. And the mystery of the hidden room isn't much of a mystery, but it's about the right level for a kid's book.
All together, it's a fun book. And hey. The family next door is constantly referred to as they Beach boys (their name is beach, their house is on the beach). This amuses me more than it probably should.
One thing that really bugs me and is only sort of mentioned in the story is the Beach boys' (heh) relationship with their parents:
: I like how the Aldens are so independent, but you never get the idea that it's because their grandfather doesn't have time for them...
A few random thoughts:
Why is Watch not in any of these stories? It's just kind of weird at this point...
Blunt much? Feels like a younger kid though, so it works.
Sounds familiar! show less
Oy.
It's actually a pretty cute and fairly realistic story. I like the idea of them building a treehouse, mostly by themselves, although my own children are far too young for it. Some day. And while the feud is dumb, it kind of show more makes sense. And the mystery of the hidden room isn't much of a mystery, but it's about the right level for a kid's book.
All together, it's a fun book. And hey. The family next door is constantly referred to as they Beach boys (their name is beach, their house is on the beach). This amuses me more than it probably should.
One thing that really bugs me and is only sort of mentioned in the story is the Beach boys' (heh) relationship with their parents:
"I know he is an important scientist now. He won't have much time for me, I'm afraid."
: I like how the Aldens are so independent, but you never get the idea that it's because their grandfather doesn't have time for them...
A few random thoughts:
"We really have big dog," said Benny. "His name is Watch, but he isn't here this summer. My Aunt Jane wanted him on the farm."
Why is Watch not in any of these stories? It's just kind of weird at this point...
Benny Alden was a boy who liked to see things happen. One day at breakfast he burst out, "Those kids next door are the dumbest kids I ever saw."
Blunt much? Feels like a younger kid though, so it works.
Sammy said, "I know. Maybe there's something hidden in the mattress. Come on, Jeffrey."
Sounds familiar! show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 463
- Also by
- 20
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- 104,438
- Popularity
- #87
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 426
- ISBNs
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