The Mystery of the Stolen Dinosaur Bones

The Boxcar Children #139

by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Creator)

The Aldens are visiting a real dinosaur dig in Montana, in an area full of fossils and caves! But the bones of a rare dinosaur have gone missing, and when the children begin to search for clues they hear strange noises in the caves and discover mysterious tracks! Why are bones disappearing? And could there be a real-life dinosaur on the loose?

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

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

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2015, so reflects recent science about dinosaurs (such as the modern-day bird connection) and the writing style isn't as banal as many of the earlier Boxcar Children books. The mystery is decent. Nothing outstanding but should please young dinosaur-lovers.

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another re-reading with audiobook to improve my English.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these book. I'm not hard to please with books especially mystery books

[Angelo Kuntz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mystery of the Stolen Bones.

The Boxcar children “Henry”, “Jessie”, “Violet”, “Benny” and “James” their grandfather went to see James’s friend Eliot who was a dinosaur bone digger. When they got there Eliot greeted them he said “Ready to see my latest find?”

“Yes but may we eat first?” Benny asked. Eliot said yes they went to a restaurant nearby the restaurant also had a small gallery. The owner of the restaurant’s name was Jolanda she Jessie noticed that she sneered at Eliot when he walked in.

After they ate they went to Eliot’s dig and went inside when they got inside they discovered that the bones were stolen. Eliot was shocked. The boxcar children decided to look around the room. Soon they had found some prints on the ground that resembled a ladder.

They decided to look tomorrow afternoon. The next day they asked if they could borrow Eliot’s ladder they went into a narrow pathway and crawled through it. On the other side of the dig there was a lot of bones stored inside crates.

Then a guy came in and said his name was Dinosaur Dan. They went back to tell Eliot. He said that he and Dan were in collage together and Dan had left with his notes and Eliot had to do the presentation all by himself.

They went back to the cafe and a guy was giving Jolanda a box when she saw the boxcar children she put the box underneath the counter violet had just snapped a photo of the box.

The next day they went back to Dinosaur Dans side And said if he had ever met Eliot before. He said he had in college. He said they could search the place for the bones. They discovered another room with Eliot’s bones in it.

They had also found a chisel with Someone’s initials on it they figured out who took Eliots bones. Jolanda took his bones.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 139 of the Boxcar Children. This was an interesting read. The point is how one person’s actions, that they feel are justified can strongly effect other people. Crime committed, yes. Doing the wrong thing for what you think is the right reason? This is a good life lesson on repercussions and how a house of lies can come crashing down. A fun read. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Camilla Leurs · Rating 4 out of 5]

My six year old loved it. Very simple children's mystery with very sweet (unlikely lol) results. Lots of children doing things most children would be unlikely to be allowed so guess it's nice escape for kids?

[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.

[Patty Giobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good bedtime listen with 9 year old dinosaur lover

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Teaches that dinosaurs evolved into birds 👎

[Angeline Gallant · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son enjoyed the audiobook. It held his attention

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute as always.

Plus - dinosaurs!

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stole the bones and no it wasn't Watch. The kids help find them while meeting some fun characters along the way, that help none what so ever in solving a crime!