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The Boxcar Children Special book cover 1
The Boxcar Children Special book cover 2
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The Boxcar Children Special
Series · 21
books · 1993-2003

Books in series

The Mystery on the Ice book cover
#1

The Mystery on the Ice

1993

The Boxcar Children have an adventure right in Greenfield. It all starts with some special news from Cousins Joe and Alice. Then a figure skating troupe comes to town―and a blizzard, too! Not long afterward, a house nearby is burglarized, and the evidence seems to point to the skaters. Can the Boxcar Children find out who the culprit is?
The Mystery in Washington D.C. book cover
#2

The Mystery in Washington D.C.

1994

Librarian's Note: Alternate cover edition for ISBN 10: 0807554103, ISBN 13: 9780807554104. The Boxcar Children take a trip to Washington, D.C, and visit the Capitol Building and the Air and Space Museum. But when things start disappearing from their hotel, and they realize they are being followed, the children know there's a mystery.
The Mystery at Snowflake Inn book cover
#3

The Mystery at Snowflake Inn

1994

Grandfather is taking everyone on a special holiday trip to an old-fashioned New England inn. The Aldens have fun playing in the snow, ice-skating, and working puzzles. Then mysterious things start to happen at the inn, and the owner worries he'll have to shut down. Can the Boxcar Children find the culprit, or will their winter vacation be cut short?
The Mystery at the Ballpark book cover
#4

The Mystery at the Ballpark

1995

Jessie and Violet join Greenfield's new baseball team, and Henry and Benny get jobs helping out. But someone is rooting against them. A special bat is stolen, Jessie's glove disappears, and the team almost misses their first game.Can the Aldens solve the mystery and save their team?
The Pilgrim Village Mystery book cover
#5

The Pilgrim Village Mystery

1995

The Aldens take a trip with Grandfather to Pilgrim Village which has been built to look like an old colonial town. They love the old-fashioned candle shop, printing shop, and the general store. They even get to wear colonial costumes.
The Mystery at the Fair book cover
#6

The Mystery at the Fair

1996

The county fair has come to Greenfield. The Aldens are so excited about entering the competitions at the fair. Henry and Benny will bake a blueberry pie, Jessie will make jewelry, and Violet will paint a picture. But it seems that someone is trying to ruin every event at the fair. Will the Boxcar Children be able to solve the mystery and win first prize?
The Pet Shop Mystery book cover
#7

The Pet Shop Mystery

1996

The Boxcar Children are going to help out at the Pretty Bird Pet Shop. They are thrilled to have the chance to work with the animals there. But things aren't going smoothly. The Aldens' deliveries of pet supplies keep getting mixed up. And someone has let the birds out of their cages. It's up to the Boxcar Children to find out who's behind all the trouble!
The Niagara Falls Mystery book cover
#8

The Niagara Falls Mystery

1997

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather, and they are on a trip to Niagara Falls. This is the Boxcar Children's first trip to Canada, and they are very eager to explore the Falls and all of the attractions in the area. The Aldens are even more thrilled when a friend of Grandfather's asks if they want to help out in his souvenir shop. But then valuable things begin to disappear from the store. The Boxcar Children must find out who is responsible.
The Mystery in the Old Attic book cover
#9

The Mystery in the Old Attic

1997

The Aldens are exploring an old house in Michigan. When they arrive at the mansion, they can't wait to start looking through all the rooms. They find an old diary that tells that a diamond and pearl ring is hidden in the house. The only way to find the ring is to solve a riddle written in the diary. But someone has already found the ring―and sold it! Who could be responsible?
The Windy City Mystery book cover
#10

The Windy City Mystery

1998

The Aldens are on their first trip to Chicago―the Windy City―and from Wrigley Field to the Sears Tower to Grant Park, there is so much to see. However, when they are given a series of clues in rhyme, they find themselves in the middle of two mysteries―to what are the clues leading and who is writing them?
The Mystery of the Queen's Jewels book cover
#11

The Mystery of the Queen's Jewels

1998

The Aldens are puzzled by the behavior of two guests, a stranger who follows them, and a misplaced brooch
The Mystery of the Black Raven book cover
#12

The Mystery of the Black Raven

1999

Back in the days of the gold fever, one of the Aldens' ancestors was part of the Four Rock Miners, a group that met annually in Skagway, Alaska. Now the Aldens are keeping the tradition alive by attending a reunion with the descendants of the other miners. But when the raven statue and scrapbook that have belonged to the group for more than a century go missing, it looks like the Aldens have stumbled onto another case!
The Mystery in New York book cover
#13

The Mystery in New York

1999

The Aldens are sight-seeing in New York City. But before the end of their very first day in the city someone steals the priceless Elizabeth Star Diamond from their friend Mr. Pound―and the Boxcar Children spring into mystery-solving action. They track clues through New York City's Central Park, down busy streets, and into glittering jewelry stores only to find that they have too many suspects! Can they figure out which one is the thief?
The Home Run Mystery book cover
#14

The Home Run Mystery

2000

While visiting Pikesville, New York, the Boxcar Children join the exciting last games of the season in a strange old ballpark behind an abandoned factory. The Pikesville Half Moons are playing the Eagles, but the Eagles seem to be hitting far too many home runs. Could they be cheating? Then Violet sees strange lights in the old factory at night. Could the lights―and the losing streak―have anything to do with the sad Pikesville legend of Home Run Herman? The Boxcar Children find out there's more to be lost in Pikesville than a baseball game.
The Honeybee Mystery book cover
#15

The Honeybee Mystery

2000

The Alden family makes an annual trip to the Sherman farm to stock up on delicious fresh honey only to discover that there is a honey shortage! The Aldens help the Shermans look for clues around the farm to see what's wrong with the bees. Can the Boxcar Children help keep the Sherman farm from going out of business?
The Mystery of the Screech Owl book cover
#16

The Mystery of the Screech Owl

2001

Grandfather and the children are visiting Broken Moon Pond, where Grandfather used to vacation as a child. The children are enchanted by the beautiful wilderness. But they soon encounter a strange set of coincidences, mishaps, and mysteries that threaten to spoil everyone's fun. When one night they see an empty boat rowing itself across the water, the Aldens wonder if the pond is really haunted, as the townspeople claim!
The Mystery of the Tiger's Eye book cover
#17

The Mystery of the Tiger's Eye

2001

Grandfather's college roommate, Edward, has spent years collecting toys, gadgets, and rides from carnivals and state fairs. When the Boxcar Children visit Edward, his mansion seems like a toy-filled paradise for the Boxcar Children. But they soon discover that something is very wrong in the old house. Strange music plays in empty rooms, machines turn themselves on and off, and furniture moves itself from room to room. When the Boxcar Children find out that the world’s most famous magician once performed there, they begin to wonder―could Edward’s house be haunted by the ghost of Harry Houdini?
The Candy Factory Mystery book cover
#18

The Candy Factory Mystery

2002

When Grandfather's friend Mrs. Winkles needs some extra workers at her candy factory, the Boxcar Children are thrilled to help. What could be more fun than spending their days making candy? But working in the factory isn’t as sweet as they expected. Workers are quitting, machinery is breaking down, and mysterious threatening messages are appearing on the candy hearts. It looks like someone is sabotaging Mrs. Winkles’s candy!
The Mystery of Alligator Swamp book cover
#19

The Mystery of Alligator Swamp

2002

The Aldens are down south in Louisiana bayou country, visiting an area that has come to be known as Alligator Swamp. They're enjoying their time, but something odd is going on―food goes missing, signs disappear, and Benny sees something in the swamp that no one can explain. Could it be the ghost of Gator Ann―a long dead alligator―come back to haunt the swamp and its inhabitants?
The Great Shark Mystery book cover
#20

The Great Shark Mystery

2003

The Alden children are on vacation at an aquarium in Florida. The Boxcar Children will feed the penguins, swim with dolphins, and come face-to-face with a great white shark! The shark draws crowds and thrills the park's visitors. But the Aldens soon discover that the shark is in danger―someone at the park wants it gone. The Boxcar Children are determined to fish out the crook before it's too late for the shark.
The Black Widow Spider Mystery book cover
#21

The Black Widow Spider Mystery

2003

One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery. No one knew them. No one knew where they come ffom...

Author

Gertrude Chandler Warner
Gertrude Chandler Warner
Author · 213 books

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/...

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The Boxcar Children Special