Lighthouse Mystery

The Boxcar Children #8

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather and are spending the summer in a lighthouse on the New England coast.

Jessie sees a mysterious woman waling on the grounds of the lighthouse late at night. Watch, Jessie's dog, wakes up growling almost every evening--at midnight. And Henry finds a puzzling note in the sand....

Many more strange things will happen before the Boxcar Children can solve The Lighthouse Mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Chapter Books, Classics

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1962

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

[Meredith Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lighthouse Mystery begins with the end of the Woodshed Mystery, because that’s how synched up Gertrude is. Aunt Jane is relieved that no one calls her Mrs. Bean after her marriage, because even she knows that is a stupid sounding name. We are not even one full page into the book before bread and milk come up. Henry has decided to take the scenic route home, never missing a chance to enjoy the power steering and smooth ride of their STATION WAGON and Grandfather knows of a beautiful lighthouse that they will drive past. I feel a mystery coming on.

I am not even a little bit surprised when the lighthouse is for sale, and even less surprised that the family feels like this is something they NEED TO BUY. Like now. However, imagine my shock when the group discovers that the lighthouse has ALREADY been sold. The grocer, Mr. Hall, offers to rent it to them for the summer, and I’m amazed that Grandfather agrees to this, instead of insisting that he WILL buy it, ONE way or the OTHER that lighthouse shall be mine! That’s kind of how the scenario went in my head. Grandfather does make the children wait in the car however while he ‘negotiates the rent,’ whatever that means, probably a pistol-whipping.

When the family returns to the lighthouse, ‘the girls went into the kitchen at once.’ This is a direct quote. Dear God. After inspecting the stove and dishes, and how cold the water is, and if there is sufficient storage for the enormous amount of milk and bread that Benny requires; they go to bed. At 8 o’clock.

Mystery Alert! At the stroke of midnight, Watch begins barking and Benny smells food (no one else smells food, but we know that Benny has a keen sixth sense for anything edible). After a few minutes, Watch goes back to sleep, but Grandfather feels that they should still alert the police due to the highly suspicious activities—that I will reiterate —consist of a dog barking, and Benny, a food obsessed halfwit, maybe smelling some potatoes. This combination of Benny and Watch and food just made me think of Scooby Doo…Henry, Jessie, and Violet/Fred, Daphne, Velma? Are we discovering the adult iteration of the Boxcar Children? Just think about it.

The next day, the group discovers that they don’t have any food and maybe should go to the grocery store. Facepalm. The same grocery store they were at the night before, while renting the lighthouse? NO ONE thought to buy food while they were already there? Not housekeeping maven Jessie? Not epicurean Benny? Wow. This may be the first time that they’ve passed up an opportunity to purchase, discuss, and cook food.

But if they hadn’t been forced to traipse back to the grocery store we might not have met angry, black-eyed man. If his dark eyes weren’t enough to let you know he’s a bad seed, let me tell you how he ALMOST bumps into Jessie on the sidewalk. Yes, to clarify, he doesn’t actually bump into her, but he almost does, which sets the whole group off into hysterics. I assume that they are used to their own town, where the citizens kowtow respectfully, and know to clear the streets at their approach, perhaps strewing palm fronds beneath their feet. Just a hunch.

As if this incident wasn’t traumatizing enough, inside the grocery store, Henry tries to chat up a boy his own age, and is REBUFFED. Mr. Hall, sensei of the town of Conley, tells the family that this boy wants to go to college and his cruel father, Mr. Angry Dark Eyes, won’t let him. All the children are predictably aghast at this information. Mr. Hall tells them nothing can be done about this, many have tried and failed, and all the children immediately think of Grandfather, and how he can force anyone to do anything, no matter how much they dislike it. It’s worded slightly differently, but that’s the gist of it.

Back home at the lighthouse, Jessie makes lunch and the family goes out onto the beach to enjoy it. There are some rocks conveniently arranged like a chair for Grandfather to sit on, and Benny has the bright idea to build everyone rock-chairs, and then cement them together so that no one can ever remove them. Everyone thinks this is a great idea, because why wouldn’t Mr. Hall want a bunch of huge concrete lumps sitting in the middle of his beachfront property, emblazoned with the shaky scratched names of all the Aldens? So there’s no point in asking him, right? They’d rather just pay him off when he raises a fuss.

After that adventure, the children are ready to go to bed again, and of course Watch wakes up at midnight barking, and THEN Jessie and Violet see a mysterious woman walking past the lighthouse all sneaky like.

The next morning at breakfast, Violet and Jessie tell their tale, and the whole crew goes next door to the abandoned, boarded up house to snoop around. Trespassing rules don’t apply to them since they’re just trying to help. Henry finds a piece of paper with squares and ‘strange’ letters on it, and immediately intuits that it must be proof of someone really smart doing science experiments, mainly because he doesn’t understand any of it. He tells anyone that will listen that he recognizes it as college-level science work, but I like to think that he just found a piece of paper with the periodic table printed on it. Looking at the abandoned building gets boring really fast I guess, as the afternoon devolves into looking at shells and seaweed. You would think that after about three other ‘mysteries’ revolving around shells and seaweed, that this family would be tired of looking at them, or at least more knowledgeable, but nope.

Henry suggests swimming, but Jessie dismisses it, seeing as how they didn’t bring suits, and buying them would be too expensive. . After buying a blue suit for Jessie, a red one for Benny, etc etc color-coded obsession, who do they spot outside but TOM COOK, or MR. DARK SCARY EYES! The lady at the bathing suit store gives them the rundown:

1) Tom Cook is rich

2) Tom Cook is stingy

3) Tom Cook has a boat

Furthermore, Tom Cook doesn’t let his son (angry-wants-to-go-to-college-boy) use the boat, even though everyone (even the woman at the bathing suit shop, but not Tom Cook apparently) knows that Angry Boy takes the boat out at night, returning with mysterious jars and barrels of who-knows-what. “We’ll have to do something about that,” Grandfather says, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

That night, Benny sits in his PJs staring at the stars from the top of the lighthouse, and sees a boat come in from sea, and then turn around again. With an intelligence that belies all we know of Benny, he guesses that the captain of the ship must have seen him sitting in the lighthouse, so he turns off his lights, and sure enough, the boat comes in. A man jumps out with a bucket and walks up the street. Our omnipresent narrator lets us know that more exciting things happen, but Benny misses them because he falls asleep. Natch. Benny loves to sleep ALMOST as much as he loves a canned ham.

Watch continues to bark every night at midnight, but everyone just ignores it now. The fact that something is going on that they are not meddling in is eating Henry up inside, so he organizes another snoop-fest at the abandoned house. Lifting Benny onto his shoulders, they discover the kitchen inside has cooking pans, seaweed, a microscope, and plankton in it. All VERY SUSPICIOUS. Unauthorized cooking. And sciencing.

I’ll just summarize the about ten pages it takes for the Alden kids to put their clues together to hypothesize that the angry Cook boy is trying to cook seaweed in the abandoned kitchen and some woman is helping him. Even though they’ve literally only seen Angry Boy one time, they immediately know this most be his nefarious work. He was rude to Henry. No decent, law-abiding citizen would dare. This case against Angry Boy is only further strengthened when Watch barks at him downtown the next day. Just like Watch barks at night! And as Henry points out, everyone in this town is borderline stupid—if this boy could get into college, he’s the only one that could possibly be writing strange letters on pieces of paper. However, Henry is also in college, even though he can’t decipher the alien symbols on the papers, so I’m not sure what that says about the student population.

The next chapter is dominated solely by the Aldens’ cookout on the beach, in which I believe Gertrude uses the word ‘frankfurter,’ approximately 32 times. Then Henry goes back to the grocery store, only to run into Angry Boy again. I’m starting to believe there are only twelve people in this town. This is a momentous occasion, because even though they don’t speak, Mr. Hall tells Henry that the boys name is Larry. So we can finally start referring to him as that. Anyway, Larry always cooks for the town’s ‘village supper’ to help raise money for the town—but this year his helpers can’t come. Who knew Larry had a heart of gold? Seeing an opportunity to weasel their way into his life and improve it for him, the family immediately volunteers to help him cook. Without much of a choice, Larry acquiesces.

The day of the cookout, Henry tries to draw Larry out with ridiculously transparent comments. Like, ‘too bad we can’t get more food from the sea,’ eh Larry? Maybe some seaweed would really make this frankfurter pop? But Larry doesn’t cave to Henry’s suave questioning tactics.

A mysterious man at the cookout questions Larry about his secret baked-bean recipe, which Larry refuses to answer. After learning that Larry just loves to cook, the man asks the next logical question (?!): “Do you go to college?,” since, as we all know, all master chefs first matriculate at their local state university. Or at least at the community college down the street. This predictably cheeses Larry off, and he stomps away.

For a change of pace, the next day Grandfather takes them all to look at a boat, the Tahiti, which he is thinking of buying since that wily Mr. Hall beat him to the lighthouse. The captain, Snow, is more than glad to show the obscenely rich man who will be his future boss and his family around his boat. Just because he’s a nice guy, of course. In the walk-in freezer, the family notice some large white bags. Jumping to a conclusion with almost zero evidence as usual, they decide that the large white bags are full of plankton, and that Captain Snow must be providing Larry with plankton for his experiments. They decide this before they learn that Captain Snow is Larry’s uncle—which feels less like detective work, and more like blindly guessing.

Back in town, who does the family run into, but Captain Snow! They have a nice chat about Larry (so smart!), his father (so mean!), and how they will befriend Larry and get his father to pay for his college tuition, no matter the personal freedoms they have to squelch.

The next morning, Violet wakes up with her face horribly swollen from mosquito bites. Now the children have the perfect way to befriend Larry; by guilt-tripping him into building them screen windows. There’s no better way to make a friend than to force them to do manual labor for you.

The Aldens’ Friendship Plan isn’t moving fast enough for their liking, so Grandfather calls up a dangerous storm, trapping Larry out at sea on his night-time boating run. Well, it doesn’t exactly happen that way, but pretty close. Anyway, Mr. Dark Angry Eyes/Tom Cook shows up looking for his son, and since the phone lines are out, he and Henry drive to the next town to alert the Coast Guard. Just about everyone in the whole town shows up to the lighthouse, and watches the Coast Guard tow in the boat with Larry. Grandfather snidely remarks that he’s surprised that a town without any policeman would have a doctor, but everyone pretends not to notice. Larry is rescued, warmed up by heated blankets, and starts shouting ridiculous things, like, “FEED THE WHOLE WORLD!” in a fever-fueled delirium. While he’s unconscious, his ‘good friends’ the Aldens, show his father (and anyone else that happens to wander by) Larry’s secret lab. Henry explains that Larry is trying to make seaweed into food.

“But don’t the Japanese already do that? Like, for hundreds of years?” the doctor wants to know.

“Well, good point,” Henry concedes. “I didn’t think of that. But no one likes that slop except for the Japanese. This is AMERICA. Gawd. Let’s figure out how to fry this stuff or turn it into hamburgers.”

The doctor is suitably chastened.

Larry wakes up, and there is a big, tearful reunion with his distraught father who promises he can go to school now that he almost died. “I’ll pay for it,” Grandfather volunteers, always happy to have someone indebted to him. “No, that’s cool,” Dark Eyes waves away his offer, “I have plenty of money, I totes can afford it. I just didn’t feel like letting him go for some reason, can’t remember know. Oh well, no harm no foul right?! I mean, like, except for my son almost dying.”

Then Mrs. Cook invites them all for dinner, which they only accept after thinly insinuating that she couldn’t afford to cook for them all. The dinner is full of meaningless conversation and food descriptions, until Jessie’s secret lover, Mr. Carter shows up with a new microscope for Larry. Grandfather found a way to pay for something expensive after all!! Hooray! Larry sincere “I could never thank you enough,” is followed by Mr. Carter’s “I know, don’t even try. You will pay us back in other ways, hapless fool!” Or something like that.

Then the family returns home, where Henry prepares to leave for college (where he’ll surprise his new BFF Larry by introducing him to a professor who is the SAME GUY WHO WANTED THE BAKED BEANS RECIPE). Poor thing. Little does he know that only a few short years of adulthood remain before he becomes 14 forever.

(from my blog, Rampant Reads--see more at rampantreads.wordpress.com)

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first time, I thought the children - though it's hard to call Henry a child since he is now in college - came across as spoiled! The family drives by a lighthouse for sale, and the kids ask Grandfather to buy it as if it's no big deal! It's weird, too, because later on, when the kids want to go swimming but don't have any bathing suits, Jessie is hesitant to ask for new ones because "four new suits would cost too much." Their money sense just seems to be out of whack.

While many of the books include some thing or other that dates the writing - e.g., a reference to "long distance phone calls", or illustrations of the kids boating without life jackets - this one included something that seemed a bit much even for "the old days". The family wants to have a place to eat outdoors, so they move around the rocks to form chairs and a table, and then they cement the rocks in place! This activity just doesn't sit well with me in today's heightened environmental consciousness, and there really isn't even any sense of nostalgia to redeem it. It seemed like an arrogant and entitled thing to do.

I was also kind of bummed that the author seems to have made up the names of the towns in this book. We know the Boxcar Children live some place in New England, but are they in MA? Or CT? This book mentions two towns: Conley and Ashland. There is an Ashland in MA, but it's not a seaside community, and I can't find any Conley anywhere in New England. Oh, well.

Finally, I don't know if I'm just getting tired of the Boxcar Children's we'll-fix-the-world adventures, but for the first time, their interest in other people's activities seemed to border on meddling. Sure, this "Cook boy" was gruff and seemingly unhappy, but was it really any of the Aldens' business? I can understand their interest in any goings-on at the house next to the lighthouse, but beyond that, why are they so interested in other people's affairs?

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

My enthusiasm for this series is quickly waning, though my oldest is enjoying them. The "mystery" here is very thin, and the Aldens are up to their meddlesome (um, I mean, helpful -- yes, most definitely they are seen as helpful!) ways interfering (I mean, helping) in the lives of perfect strangers because they Know Better and can Enlighten. I kind of annoys me. But, honestly, most of the child audience is going to get "kids-are-helpful-and-save-the-day" from this and will probably come away with a smile and no propensity to become busybodies. I can see where many people feel this just has an "old-fashioned charm" and, on the plus side, it's nice to see a family getting along, even if they are all one-dimensional and boring--but I'm frankly kind of surprised these are still in print. (Other than the first book, which I do think is actually good!)

For kids, there's nothing overly objectionable in this, so I wouldn't NOT recommend it for kids enthusiastic to continue the series. For adults, though, I highly recommend skipping the book and reading this review (by Meredith Buchanan) instead. It is absolutely hilarious and spot-on with how I felt as I was reading this! It's a play-by-play of the story, and it's better written and vastly more entertaining than the original :-)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jg · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun and it makes you feel like you're in a swimming pool. the last part at least, I think

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my popsugar challenge. It's a series I remember really enjoying as a child. The 3 star rating is because I recognize that it's well done Children's literature but isn't meant for me as an adult. Some of it is very dated at this point (as expected from a book written in the 60s). It wasn't terrible, but I wasn't as blown away as I remember being as a kid.

Popsugar Challenge Prompt: A book from a series with more than 20 books in it

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to watch the children grow up and every book. They are sometimes you feel like they don't grow up at all in other times you can tell how they've grown. This was definitely a fun read.

[Jessica Woodring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandfather tries to throw money at an old lighthouse but has to be content with renting it for the summer once he’s learned it’s already been sold. Jessi and Violet immediately check out the lighthouse’s kitchen to scope out the food sitch and Benny wakes up at midnight to Watch’s barking and also the smell of steak and mashed potatoes. Although, Violet tells him that mashed potatoes don’t have a smell so he must be smelling the butter and pepper. (Side note: I’ve never been more annoyed with Violet.) The next day, Grandfather feels the need to report these peculiarities (which again, consist of a food-obsessed boy smelling steak and potatoes and a dog communicating in the only way it can) with the police, only to find out the town has no police (gasp)! From there, the mystery of the dog barking and food smelling commences. The Boxcar Children solve the mystery (of course) and also find time to eat lots of things that they think taste amazing.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Aldens spend a summer living in a lighthouse where they meet all kinds of people, including a boy who always seems angry. They work together to solve the mystery of this boy and try to befriend him.

I read this book with one of the book clubs in my fourth grade class. The kids really enjoyed it and I think I managed to get them hooked on mysteries, which is exciting! This story was definitely outdated, but we enjoyed reading it anyway.

[V. Arrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was delightful. I don't know that I would like it if I were a 2025 CHILD, because the pacing is decidedly midcentury, but as an adult reader I loved it. (And don't remember what I thought as a kid in the '90s.)

[Eliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Aldens are spending time in a lighthouse but Watch, their dog, keeps barking late at midnight and an unknown woman is seen. I don't want to tell you anymore - I hope you enjoy the book!

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these little children's mysteries. The first is definitely the best (in my opinion), but I am enjoying each new addition to the the little adventures that the children go on.

[sincerely]

Kids loved it, all these are in scribd

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This takes place in New England. The family spends a while in a rented lighthouse. They build and explore and cook and swim. It sounds like a good time. There is also a mystery involving a strange woman and seaweed. It wasn't exciting, but I still enjoyed it.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the eighth book in the Boxcar Children series, called "The Lighthouse Mystery". I enjoyed it more when I read it at the age of 11. Although this is well written, it seems to be written more for a younger age. I was a little displeased in the setting and characterization in this book because it was never really there. The characters felt as though they were flat, along with the setting. The mystery was good and I enjoyed that part of the book.

"The Lighthouse Mystery" starts with Grandfather Alden and the children on an adventure at a local lighthouse. After finding out that the lighthouse was for sale, the group begged Grandfather Alden into buying it. Grandfather Alden decides to rent it instead of buy it. After moving in, strange things begin to happen almost overnight. During the night, around 12 a.m. every night, the group's dog Watch barked for about ten minutes. For some time they tried to figure out what Watch was barking at. The group soon determined the house is the source of Watch’s distress. The house is really old and boarded up, and was used for the summer kitchen. During the following night, the group spotted a woman walking away from the house. In the following weeks, the group ran into an angry young man. This guy was carrying books, and looked quite distraught. They soon found out that the boy’s dad will not let him go to college. He graduated High School at the age of 16 and loves science. During the night, the boy practices science experiments in the boarded-up house attached to the lighthouse. His mother sneaked in supplies for him, and sometimes used the father’s boat. One day a terrible storm rolls through, while the mother and boy were out to sea to gather supplies. Almost losing their lives to such storm, they are saved by the children. The boy is able to go to college, and the kids return to the lighthouse.

The characterization in this book was a little flat. I feel the first Boxcar Children book would set a template for the main characters. This book jumps right into the mystery. I found it hard to determine which character was which. Most of the time the book was focused on Larry, the boy who could not go to college. Larry was still a flat character though, and that was one of my downgrades for the book.

The setting took place near the bay in an undisclosed location. The Lighthouse was for sale along with the attached house. The attached house is boarded up and is only used for Larry’s experiments. The setting was very bland in my opinion and was never expanded on.

I would recommend this book for grades eight and under and ages 11 to 14. I recommend this because it appeals to the middle school age group. The way the book is written exemplifies this. I would also recommend reading the rest of the books before this one.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in the process of re-reading the original 19 in order. This book takes place immediately following book 7, The Woodshed Mystery. It is the same summer and as the family is driving home from a visit to nearby Aunt Jane's new home, they decide to stop at the beach where they find a lighthouse for sale. They end up renting instead of buying and this is where they stay for the next couple of weeks. While the last book had one of the finest mysteries to date in the series, this one is hard pressed to even find a mystery within its pages. A truly charming story which I thoroughly enjoyed but the mystery consisted of wondering what the boy next door was up to and figuring it out all very quickly. Of course, they didn't tell the boy they knew what he was up to but that's not exactly mysterious! This one contains quite a bit of interesting information on sea life and seafood and Warner actually makes a political statement on her thoughts on the space race. She thinks that time and money would be better spent on exploring the sea (for the purposes of feeding the world) than on exploring outer space. A new character is introduced and ends up going to Henry's college so I expect we'll see him in future books. A perfectly enjoyable story about the family, has the family very gently "roughing it" in an old lighthouse but not exactly a mystery.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

These children are spoilt as anything. Driving home from Aunt Jane's, they spot a lighthouse for sale, and immediately beg grandfather to buy it for them so that they can spend a few weeks(!) of their summer there. Grandfather, who is a poor example of decent behaviour at the best of times, does not tell this grabby foursome to shut their traps and stop being such gimme pigs, but he should. Hence the mystery in the lighthouse, because when you've been trained to be just this entitled - and what a contrast to how attractive these kids were in the first volume of this series, when they made the best of very little without complaint - it's only a matter of time before you start poking your noses into other people's business.

On the plus side, there actually is a nice kid in this. Larry, the subject of said mystery, is a marine biology nerd of the highest order. He spends his time running experiments on seaweed and plankton - having done this myself I am predisposed to like him - and being disinterestedly focused on the welfare of others... instead of merely interfering out of boredom.

[hedgehog · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite bit was how the kids just up and ask their grandfather to buy a lighthouse for them to play in. No big deal! Gramps can afford this! An entire lighthouse! Can't wait for a book where Violet passes a baby in a carriage and decides she just has to take it home....

(Then in a backpedaling bid to make us forget this gross sense of entitlement, Jessie frets about buying 4 bathing suits. Isn't that too, too expensive, Grandfather? NICE TRY, JESS. I'M ON TO YOU.)

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit bothersome, the kids seem to just assume that their grandfather will buy them a whole lighthouse just because they want it, then are afraid maybe swimsuits will be to expensive. They are all a bit overly confadent that they will solve everything perfectly. It felt a bit to perfect.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read of the Boxcar Children! This one did lean a bit more towards mystery than the others, which was nice-I enjoy these books more for the nostalgia than the actual story or writing quality.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the 'mystery' aspect of this one was *really* light - even for the intended age group - but it gets points both for having 'normal' food and for being the first to not feature them finding an estranged member of their family in some way ;)

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read along with son Greg, who did a book report on this for grade school. I fondly remember reading this series when I was a kid, so it was a trip down memory lane for me.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love lighthouses. Add a mystery and a six-year-old's crush on Benny and you've got the makings for an enjoyable easy read.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just your average adventure with the Alden kids. However, I'd forgotten that John Carter showed up so that was a nice surprise.

[Adam Carman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The books in the original Boxcar Children series will always have a special place in my heart (and truthfully I've enjoyed a fair amount of the new ones as well) but this one was one that always kind of fell off my radar in my memories. It hadn't grabbed me like The Woodshed Mystery or the Treehouse Mystery or the Caboose Mystery had. But rereading it now I feel like it's an unsung volume in the set. The Aldens are on their way home from vacation when they decide to take a detour by the beach and end up renting a decommissioned lighthouse for a few days. Staying in the tiny town, they run into an unfriendly local and his equally unfriendly son(is it really a Boxcar Children book if they don't have to win over grumpy people?). But what turns it into a mystery is their dog Watch waking up each night at midnight barking. This leads them into the politics of the town and particularly a proud man and a talented boy trying to do important work. I'm sure at some point the keyboard warriors will get around to condemning the Aldens as rich people coming in to an area and trying to help in the way they think is best. But the message I get from this one is the importance of education for everyone, not just those who can afford it and the Aldens' quest to help people achieve their dreams is exactly the sort of message about society our current generation needs.

"Dr. Steer says something else," said Grandfather. "He says that we ought to spend more money getting food from the sea instead of bothering with space."

"I think so, too," said Larry. "I suppose ought to do both. But I am more interested in the sea. Think how deep it is. Miles and miles. And all full of food if we can only get it."

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second Boxcar Children book and overall these are actually pretty good stories. I can see why young people, and probably adults, enjoy them. They were simply written and the Alden children are a very independent group.

In this story, the Alden children pass a lighthouse and ask their grandfather to buy it for them. He does. Spoiled much? Needless to say, mysterious goings-on start happening. Watch, their dog starts barking at the same time at midnight. A strange woman is seen in the moonlight along the road and a young man is seen riding a boat to a little white house just next to the lighthouse that's owned by a stern fisherman.

After reading two of these novels in the series I'm kind of familiar with the formula. Slightly spoiled kids whose grandfather has money are always on some kind of vacation and always are smarter and better than everyone they encounter. But that's not a bad thing. I do find Benny annoying, but hey, he's a precocious child. It must come with the territory.

I recommend this series to people who are into simple linear plots and want something different than the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. They're quick, fun, and tame, but have a lot of mystery, the family dynamics, and the people they meet are all very entertaining.

Will probably seek out more of these stories. I'd be curious to see how they do when not written by the series' original author, Gertrude Chandler Warner. Apparently, there are over 150 entries in this series. So something must be working, and it's not hard to see what that something is. Great start for those young mystery enthusiasts.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Renting a lighthouse is unusual, but even more so is an unfriendly boy's peculiar behavior.

You know what's even more unusual? Traveling home from The Woodshed Mystery, seeing a lighthouse for sale on the side of the road and deciding that your grandfather should buy it. And knowing that he totally could[^wat].

Luckily (?), it's already been sold, so instead they just rent it. And of course find a mystery in the night which even to my five year old wasn't that much of a surprise. But it's still an engaging story and a new settings, so that's cool. And the idea of using concrete and rocks to make natural beach chairs is one I may have to steal (albeit sadly without the beach)[^environment].

They also sort of force themselves into the grumpy family, whether they want it or not. But it all ends up well in the end because friendship.

And hey. It has a lighthouse!



It's a fun enough story, par for the course for the Boxcar Children. My children enjoyed it at least.

[^wat]: It's even crazier when later Jessie complains because "four new [swimsuits] would cost too much". Um. More or less than a lighthouse...

[^environment]: Granted, it's not the most environmentally friendly option. Everything in moderation?

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, these books are getting more dull.

Of course the plot line would revolve around trying to feed the whole world!, the real shocker is that this wasn't Benny's idea. All the kids do is make a mess of concrete in front of a lighthouse which is not the same as buying and washing dishes, complain about their dog barking (honestly, don't they know that means someone is up to no good?), making fun of Violet's fat mosquito bitten face (no one can even recognize her! Like this poor girl needs more things to break down her mental health), and we also find out Gertrude is low key anti space race-which is probably the most interesting development. You know, because we should be exploring the sea-THERE COULD BE MORE FOOD THERE! What food shortage hell must have been going on in the 60's to make these food obsessed books with a side of capitalism and being a Karen before it was cool. Literally someone needs to tell these kids and more disturbingly the grandfather, to mind their own buisness.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I read the first Boxcar Children book but did not remember reading any of the others until I got to this one. I don't know why I'd have read this one out of order but I definitely remember it.

Spoilers:

These books are so full of impossibilities that they can be funny. Driving home from Aunt Jane's...Oh look, a lighthouse! Can we buy it? No? Well, let's just rent it for the rest of the summer. We can just buy everything we need and stay here for a few weeks.

The Coast Guard storm rescue seemed totally implausible; and they made the idea of feeding the world from the ocean hard to swallow with this dialogue: "...the Japanese use it, but they like it...If we liked it, we could have all we wanted just for sending out boats after it..." "It could be made into food people could eat. It would help feed the world." If they could only "...make seaweed taste good!"

[Jenny Hartfelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a Boxcar Children book, and I read this one with my son in the waiting room for various Dr's appointments after he broke his arm. I am thankful for the Boxcar Children books as they've helped both of my sons gain confidence as readers and transition from easy readers to chapter books. From a literary standpoint, there's not much to them, and this one in particular had a very simple, contrived plotline. However, the children are kind and respectful and consistently look for ways to help others. I certainly wouldn't want my children to stop here permanently, but Boxcar Children books make an excellent stepping stone on the road to a lifelong love of reading.

[Savani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn’t seem to flow as well as other books in the series. It may have seemed obvious to an older audience, but younger children reading may get confused. One that stood out was knowing who the storekeeper was referring to when he said Larry. At first I was confused, was he referring to the father or son? Haha. After re-reading it, I figured it out.

So far in every book the children get what they want. The author tries to play it as them being humble and/or grateful, I guess see them as spoiled privileged children with a very loaded sugar daddy (grandfather).

Why do I even read this series when I feel this way? I’m just trying to appease my young self that happened to come across this series at the library.