The Mystery at the Calgary Stampede

The Boxcar Children #140

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Aldens head up north for the Calgary Stampede—a cowboy celebration of Canada's frontier spirit! But when a valuable piece of jewelry from the festival's history vanishes, the children are on the case. Can the Boxcar Children find the thief before the big show?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Chapter Books

128 pages, ebook

First published September 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]

I enjoyed this more than most in the series. I felt like it actually had some atmosphere and I enjoyed learning about the Calgary Stampede. The mystery is not too far-fetched and is well suited for the target audience.

[Angelo Kuntz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mystery at the Calgary Stampede.

The Aldens are “Henry”, “Jessie”, “Violet”, “Benny” and their Grandfather James. They are going to Cow Town to see the Calgary Stampede and their grandfather’s friend Judy is a Young Canadian and has been one for five years.

Judy’s niece Daisy has wanted to be a Young Canadian since she was a small child.

At lunch, Judy gives Daisy the pin that Judy got for being a Young Canadian for five years because Daisy has a performance tomorrow night.

The next day she was getting ready for the performance with all of the other Young Canadians.

She went to her locker to get her pin but it wasn’t there. She asked if anyone had seen her aunt’s pin because she needed it for the show. Judy reassured her that it would show up.

When Daisy sang she was stuttering. Then Clay her friend and a girl came on and sang with her.

After the show they searched for the pin but it didn’t show up.

The Aldens and Judy went to Judys house to sleep. The children got their own room and were talking about the pin.

The next morning was the Calgary Stampede. The Young Canadians sang after the Stampede. This time when Daisy came on she brought Clay and the girl and they sang. Then Judy came on and sang. For the last song she brought Daisy on stage and they sang it together.

The next day they figured out who the thief was. They went to Clay’s house and heard someone singing in the back yard. Then they went to find out who was singing. They found Clay’s sister Melody singing with the pin on her collar.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it’s my knowledge of Canada, but I enjoyed reading this with Olivia.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another a fun mystery that the Alden's race to solve. This time they are in Calgary Canada for the town's special celebration. Their grandfather has taken them there on a surprise visit to meet one of his friends a famous singer. When a special broach is stolen the kids have two days to find it. A easy to read book for 3rd-5th graders and some goo readers in second grade. The text has enough adventure and clues to be a good aloud reading for class.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole plot seemed more rushed then normal.

Also, did someone even edit this book? I found about a dozen mistakes if not more. It's only a 104 page big-font, children's book! Stop rushing and do your job properly.

[Dr. Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book about the boxcar children in Calgary Stampede.

[Cheryl Gilmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would! The characters are adorable and well fleshed out and the story was fun. This is a children's/middle grade book that was easy to read. I listened to this on audiobook.
I did pick this particular one of the series as my first delve into it, because it takes place at the Calgary Stampede, and being Canadian, I've been to this event a couple of times in my life. I enjoyed hearing references to places I've personally seen. I will most likely listen to more of these audiobooks, as they are relaxing and easy to listen to.
I feel that I would rate this book higher if I was the target age, but being an adult, I gave it three stars. I would recommend this book for any child age 5-10 with no hesitance.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 140 of the Boxcar Children series. This novel takes us to Canada and lots of strange deep-fried fair style foods. An item is missing and there are plenty of motives to go around. Who could the thief be? I feel like the conclusion on this one wasn’t as seamless as others. I can see why, because it is hard to make the thief not a criminal. Overall, this is a solid read and a fun romp in Alberta. ​

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.

[Ilena Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book! I want to read more of her books.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Boxcar children and so do my grands!

[Charles Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

48%

That was disappointing.

[Sariah Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to the kids. It was cute and I loved that it was set so near to where we live!

[Lillian Slater · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was pretty cheesy.

[Andre · Rating 1 out of 5]

My kids love to eat up every single boxcar kids book they can get their hands on, but for some reason seem to have no interest in finishing this one. We just couldn't connect to this one enough to see it through.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who edits these newer volumes? My kids and I find error after error in every one of these newer Boxcar Children books. It is frustrating.

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read May 24, 2019