The Mystery of the Singing Ghost

The Boxcar Children #31

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Aldens' cousins, Joe and Alice, move into a house that their neighbors say is haunted. The Boxcar Children know better than to believe such stories, but when they hear a mysterious voice singing upstairs, they begin to wonder if there really could be a ghost!

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

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/...

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd time reading, but now with the help of Scribd audio, which was really great. Continuing with my Project "Learning English on my own through children's books".

Synopsis: "The Boxcar Children are excited because their cousins are moving to Greenfield. They decide to fix up the house that cousins Joe and Alice have bought. There's just one problem: it seems to be haunted - by a ghost that sings! Is someone trying to keep Joe and Alice from moving in?"

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. I’m pretty sure I read this a couple years ago but I didn’t remember anything about it, and I was rather baffled by the suspects—an addition that surprised me, since usually mystery novels have one or two excellent suspects and a few others in varying degrees of unlikeliness.

Although the Boxcar Children style is extremely simplistic, there’s a something to it that makes all the extra details like their lunch food appealing. The set-up of the story was quite convincing of ghostly activity until everything was finally laid out—something to keep in mind if reading to children. The characters, although very one-dimensional, were still nice enough—especially the Boxcar Children—and I did like the initial mystery’s plot. Overall it was a fun, fluffy little read.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love reading with the kiddies. Nice story. They spent the day out and I really wanted to see how it turned out so I finished without them! I may make believe I'm surprised when we finish it tomorrow or maybe I'll fess up to it. We'll see how it goes....

[Margaret Cassman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the scariest yet.

[Bird Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading these as a kid. decided to listen to this one just for fun.

…entertaining enough to get kids to read. Great literature, no.

[Rose Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow,

[Erin Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds me of why I fell in love with The Boxcar Children as a child. They were my first introduction to mysteries, which remain my favorites as an adult. This book is short, sweet, and classic Gertrude Chandler Warner gold.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic and well acclaimed series, recommended as a great series for young readers. The Boxcar Children invoke the enjoyment for mystery-solving and having a close relationship with family.

The mysteries are certainly twinged with a bit more danger now, and you can tell that other authors are penning the stories. They still make for excellent adventures and problem solving. These books keep to the classic focus of the original 19 stories and have heart and family values and helping others as a forefront in every story.

The children are all oh-so-friendly to each other and those they meet. They seem to agree about mostly everything; their world seems to be made of butterflies and rainbows. The times of this book being written to present day are vastly different.

[Rebecca Gatzlaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked:
1) I liked the mystery. This mystery was about the past and the Aldens are trying to figure out if the house is haunted by a ghost.
2) I liked the writing. It was easy to understand and had some tough words in there( for my son)
3) My favorite character was Benny because he loved food and wanted some all the time

What I didn't like:
1) I didn't really like the bad guy. They acted too nice at the end.
2) Most of the characters were flat and had no personality.

This is very good for 3rd graders and a prefect read along.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 31 of the Boxcar Children. This one ranks right up there with an episode of Scooby-Doo. I feel it might have been a little over balanced with possible suspects. And the ending was just missing the whole “and we would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those pesky kids…” Aside from that it was a good read and perfect lighthearted mystery for early readers. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Benedict Randhawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The boxcar children are going to see Joe and Alice new house .It was a dusty and old looking house and one day the children heard singing in the house is someone their our is it hunted .Can they solve the Mystery?

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
I loved these books as a kid & I'm really enjoying reading through the series again. I liked the mystery & the suspense. I loved how they found the "missing" woman at the end & brought closure not only to themselves, but to her as well. Would recommend.

[Kristiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is more “scary” than normal. The kids are helping Joe and Alice fix up their newly purchased house and apparently it’s haunted. Of course, it’s not haunted because this is the BCC, but there’s scary noises and happenings all attributed to a ghost.

[Angel Mouser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the ending to this one, but I wish we weren't always supposed to immediately be forgiving to some characters. I don't think this series shows characters with true remorse most of the time, usually they're just sad that they got caught.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one as part of a Halloween special set of three Boxcar Children books. It's a pretty good book. I would give it 3.7 stars.

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

spooky...

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

85%

Reunited after death that's sweet.

I swear nobody called the police in the 1910-20's

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to the series.

[Isabel Sasine · Rating 5 out of 5]

audible

[Danny Mcalister · Rating 5 out of 5]

boxcar children never gets old i love readthis seris even more in 2024

[Claire Fontaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very fun to read and I like it a lot l. Good back to read if you need something short to read on a little time.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio, Youtube.

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one was sad but sweet. I really enjoyed it

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this aloud to my 6 year old. He was so engaged that we read all but two chapters in one sitting!

[Erin Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

They solved the mystery by hiding behind the fence of their neighbors and it is just a tape of a girl singing a sweet song and the dress is owned by Celia Roth. The Alden children thinks that Celia died because someone was saying to them that the house is haunted but he just want to buy the house and the Aldens was the first one who want to buy this house.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one scared me a little. I would be just as worried as Benny and Violet if I heard the house was haunted. But, it was still good. I actually thought that the lady did dissaper until they found the note It was just too good for me to turn down.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Alden's cousins are buying a house close to where they live with their grandfather. The place has been abandoned for years and there is a mystery. The kids clean up the house and solve the mysteries.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids get to solve 2 mysteries while adults try to scare the kids.... have you not heard of the kids, I mean seriously, they say every time that the are good at solving mysteries and you what, like want to test them... morons.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The singing was actually a tape recorder! And there wasn't really a ghost.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

great when ur little