“Huh?” said Benny.
“I know it sounds strange,” Henry said. “But when I ignore my problem, I get busy doing other things.”
“Like what?” asked Benny.
“Like building that new doghouse for Watch or fixing Grandfather’s record player or going for a long run. Pretty soon the answer to my problem sneaks up on me. The more I ignore it, the closer it comes. Then, one day, the answer jumps in front of me and shouts, ‘Here I am!’”
Benny thought about this. “So, I should stop worrying about the project?” he asked.
“That’s right,” said Henry. “Let’s go to Wintham Manor to see what a hundred-year-old house looks like. I bet watching out for ghosts makes you forget all about your problem.”
Henry lay back on the bank of the creek and closed his eyes. Benny lay back and watched puffy clouds change into different shapes: a dog, a bear, a shoe, a snowman. He liked listening to the sound of water in the creek. He liked feeling the cool ground under him. This place reminded him of when the children lived in the woods.
After their parents died, the Alden children had run away from home. They had been afraid to go and live with their grandfather because they thought he would be mean. The children searched and searched for a place to live. Then one night, they took shelter in an old railroad car in the woods. They decided to make that boxcar their home. They even found a dog named Watch and kept him as their pet. The children had many adventures in the boxcar. They even played in a creek just like this one. Then they met Grandfather, who had been searching for them. He wasn’t mean at all! Now the children lived with Grandfather in Greenfield. They used the boxcar as their clubhouse.
Just as Benny was starting to relax, Violet and Jessie came back.
“Time to hit the road,” said Henry.
This time Benny kept up with the others. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to meet ghosts. But, together, he knew the four of them could face whatever was waiting for them at Wintham Manor.
Introducing The Boxcar Children Early Readers!
Adapted from the beloved chapter books, these new early readers allow kids to begin reading with the stories that started it all. Look for The Yellow House Mystery and Mystery Ranch, coming Spring 2019!
Introducing Interactive Mysteries!
Have you ever wanted to help the Aldens crack a case? Now you can with this interactive, choose-your-path-style mystery!
The Boxcar Children, Fully Illustrated!
This fully illustrated edition celebrates Gertrude Chandler Warner’s timeless story. Featuring all-new full-color artwork as well as an afterword about the author, the history of the book, and the Boxcar Children legacy, this volume will be treasured by first-time readers and longtime fans alike.
GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.
Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.
While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.
Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.
The Sea Turtle Mystery Page 7