The Boxcar Children Collection Volume 2: Mystery Ranch, Mike's Mystery, Blue Bay Mystery

The Boxcar Children Collection Volume 2: Mystery Ranch, Mike's Mystery, Blue Bay Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Mystery Ranch - their grandpa has not got along with his sister. The children go to visit her. She takes a liking to the children and decides to leave the ranch to them. There was a friendly guy they saw on the train. He was a uranium prospector who discovered there was Uranium on the land. They set up a mine, while keeping land for the aunt. They also defeat the attempts of others to swindle the ranch from the aunt for cheep.

Mike's Mystery - The kids return a year later to find the ranch is now a big uranium mining operation. One of the swindlers returns to try to damage the ranch and take revenge on Mike who "talks to much". They are able to catch him and get Mike's mom set up in a pie making business.

Blue Bay Mystery - Grandpa takes the kids on a trip on a ship to the south seas. They do their schoolwork on the ship there. they are then dropped off on the island with Grandpa and an experienced man to spend time living and learning there. They discover another boy is on the island. He had been shipwrecked many months ago. He had lived for some time with a sailor who recently disappeared while swimming. (He may have fallen to sharks.) They take the boy back when the are picked up and are able to reunite him with his family.

Throughout the stories, the children are often able to quickly job whether a character is good or evil by looking at them. Is this a skill that has been lost as people attempt not to be prejudiced? It is an interesting line to be drawn. The kids also have a huge amount of optimism and everything seems to turn out well in the end.

The Mystery on the Train (The Boxcar Children Mysteries)

The Mystery on the Train (The Boxcar Children Mysteries) series created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The children's aunt is taking them on a train ride from the east coast to San Francisco. They will spend some time there, then fly back. Before getting on the train, the see a teenager and a woman fight over an are portfolio. They later meet the girl. She seems to change details of her story each time. They learn that the portfolio is actually movie posters. Her relative that she is going to meet in California has promised the posters to somebody and is an scheme to steal them. They help rescue the posters and the girl decides she wants to go back to the east coast rather than spend time with relative in San Francisco. It is a decent kid sleuth story.

Mermaids of the Deep Blue Sea: The Boxcar Children Creatures of Legend, Book 3

Mermaids of the Deep Blue Sea: The Boxcar Children Creatures of Legend, Book 3, series created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The original creator of the Boxcar children series died many years ago. However, she is still credited as the series creator with the actual author nowhere to be found. This series uses the characters from the original series in modern tales. In this one, they go to an island to find a missing guy. He had spread rumours of monsters to keep tourists away. Alas, this has attracted more tourists. One student has trying to raise funds by selling fake mermaid-like artifacts. It is bit of a reach.

The Boxcar Children

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The first Boxcar Children book has a innocence to it. Four kids are orphaned. They decide to fend for themselves rather than go to live with their grandfather. They find a boxcar that they turn into a nice house. The older boy goes to work odd jobs for a doctor he met. The other kids scour the junkyard for useful things. One day, the oldest boy enters a race on the spur of the moment and wins a prize. He doesn't say his last name so he won't be found. The doctor that they help out realizes that the kids are those that have a $5000 reward offered. He also has discovered where they live. However, he respects their industry and doesn't let on. Then one day, one of the girls is sick. The man helps her. He also contacts the grandpa, but has him hide his identity. The kids like him. Then he reveals his true identity and the kids are happy to go to live with him. Later, the man brings the box car back to the yard for them to enjoy. The kids have a joy and resourcefulness for themselves regardless of the circumstances

The Boxcar Children: The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Book 1

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Four children are orphaned, but don't want to go into a children's home. They try to hide from a family that said they might have to send the youngest one to a home. After a few not so pleasant nights, they find a nice railroad box car to live in and scrounge for some other furnishing. The oldest of the kids goes into town to do some odd jobs for money. A dog joins them and the baby of the group learns to read. Eventually, one of the kids gets sick and the doctor that the boy works for helps take care of her. He admits that he had followed them to see where they live. He also introduces them to their grandfather who was not as bad as they expect.

The kids have a very positive outlook on life, despite the poor circumstances. They are able to make do with a combination of items discarded by others and some ingenuity. The heavily regulated society of today would never allow kids to officially fend for themselves like this. (Though it might just turn a blind eye to those living in squalor in an encampment.)