The Windy City Mystery

The Boxcar Children Special #10

by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Creator)

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?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Juvenile

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one takes place in Chicago in spring. The story involves a treasure hunt and sightseeing. I have been to the places in the story that they went to, so it was fun to see their reactions to the things they saw and did. I had the mystery figured out early in the story, but I still enjoyed the treasure hunt.

[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 like how there is more than one possible suspect who could have left the clues. I thought this book was too easy as far as suspense. It was very easy from the beginning to know who left the clues. The ending was cute, but this is definitely one of the weaker mysteries of this series.

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a weak plot???

["aww look at the wittle puppie! She's SOOO CUTE!!" · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good, But not gertrud's best

[Jamie Leeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the mystery books by Gertrude Chandler Warner are great. The boxcar children was the first and each one has a great story!

[Ashley]

love it

[Rebecca]

One of my favorite childhood series. I read all the books I could get my hands on :)

[Mike Zyskowski]

I’m not the audience for these kids, but the tour of Chicago was nice