The Mystery of the Missing Pop Idol

The Boxcar Children #138

by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Creator)

It's a big day at the Silver City Mall, where hundreds of people are lined up to audition for the show Pop Star Sensation! The Aldens are in line, too, because Violet wants to meet one of the judges--her favorite pop star, Madlynn Rose. But just before the show starts, Madlynn vanishes! Can the Aldens track down the superstar before it's too late?

Genres: Mystery, Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction, Audiobook, Childrens, Family

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

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

[Helen Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

So cute! Review coming soon.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mystery books so I loved this one

[Mik · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very cliche and easy to figure out since the plot has been used in many different ways already before.

[San Diego Book Review]

Reviewed by Hannah Hom for San Diego Book Review

The Boxcar Children go to a mall to watch the filming of a television singing contest. When the contest is about to start, pop star Madlynn Rose disappears and soon after they discover that she is gone. One of the judges tells the Boxcar Children about the disappearance. The Boxcar Children look for her and find out that being a pop star is not as fun as people might think it to be. “The Boxcar Children: The Mystery of the Missing Pop Idol” created by Gertrude Warner is another in the series of modern Boxcar Children mysteries.

You can read this entire review and others like it at San Diego Book Review.

[Cheryl Gilmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked listening to this audiobook. It was enjoyable and the narration was great.I found the mystery predictable and I knew what was going on right away. That said, I am an adult, lol. A child might find this more mysterious, I'm sure. It was a good read though. The characters are cute and fun and the writing was well crafted. I would recommend this book to children aged 6-9 for sure and anyone else who wants to read a fun book.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 138 of the Boxcar Children. This one was an innocent fun little mystery. This is a fun one that appeals to the dark side of being famous. It is a good example without being over the top and preachy that fame isn’t all it is cracked up to be. As the children start following the clues and the suspects pile up, it seems that there is no way forward and then all the pieces come together. A perfect simple mystery that ties up well. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[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 each have reasonable motive. Would recommend.

[Chelsea Rapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

MVP: Violet

Hey even years later I see that Violet is still my favorite of the four children.

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

72%

Was okay, pretty tame.

[Mya Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was fun!

[Hannah Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a modern story in the classic series, The Boxcar Children, created by Gertrude Chandler Warner. It stars the well-known Alden children and follows them as they work to find out what happened to Violet’s favorite singer. I liked how the detectives in this book are children around the same age as my students would be. I think this sends a message that children do have the power to make a difference and that solving mysteries isn’t just for adults. The story highlights what can be accomplished when you work as a team and remained determined. This is a WOW book for me because once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down! It was very easy to read and I was immediately sucked into the mystery. I found myself looking for clues along with the Aldens and thinking about who could be a suspect.

I could use this book in my classroom in a variety of ways. I think this book, along with the others in The Boxcar Children series, should be included in my classroom library. This is a short chapter book with lots of dialogue that would be on many students’ independent reading levels, especially in 4th and 5th grades. Additionally, I could use this as a book club choice for students during a mystery unit. I think this book would lend itself to some great discussions over clues and suspects. I would give students graphic organizers to help them keep track of details they think may be clues, helping them solve the mystery using text evidence to support their case.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. All of these books are good

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Missing pop idol and the kids are around to help find her, maybe she doesn't want to be found?

[PetiteGirlieReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading and have always been very interesting. I've been reading The Boxcar Children since I was 10+ years old and I'm 20 now. :)