The Mystery Cruise

The Boxcar Children #29

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

While on a cruise with their grandfather, the Alden children help discover who is behind the mysterious troubles of the ship--disconnected phone lines, engine trouble, a man overboard--and still have fun sightseeing, eating, and swimming.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Juvenile, Audiobook

118 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

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 3 out of 5]

We continue our journey with the Boxcar Children and this time we embark into ghostwriter territory and the boxcar children jump into the 1990s yet there's a Benjamin Button thing going on because Henry is no longer a robust college student, Jessie and Violet aren't in highschool, and Benny is no longer in the double-digits. The children are now 14, 12, 8 and 6. Guess Henry will no longer be driving the family station wagon and John Carter is probably no longer in the picture. In any case, the narrative style (if it can truly be called "style") remains much the same, with stilted dialogue, lots of eating (since the town grocery store is not an option here we instead spend a lot of time in the ship's kitchen) and the Alden children blurring the line between "helpful" and "nosy" as they begin to take note of some mysterious passengers and potentially nefarious goings on aboard the ship. I find it all quite dull, but my children continue to enjoy the series. At least a few of the depictions of life aboard a cruise ship brought back some happy vacation memories for me, even if I wondered if I'll ever be brave enough to go on a cruise ship again!

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

Read this for the third time, but now along with the audiobook. The best and most fun way to learn a foreign language.

[Jessica Woodring · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars from Austen, but I liked this one too. Lots of expositions on food in this (obviously, since it’s a cruise). My favorite was the paragraph on Baked Alaska. 🍨🔥

[Rose Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's sure a mystery,

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned not to lie and it is about the kids trying to find out who is playing with the ship and holding out on the ocean so it wont dock onto the coast of Florida which is Miami.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could go on a cruise like the boxcar children. I absolutely loooooooooooooooooove all of the boxcar car children books.

[Tonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember loving The Boxcar Children series as a little girl. This book was not one of my favorites. I would recommend the earlier books in the series.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mystery Cruise (1992), created by Gertrude Chandler Warner, is the 29th book in the long-running series. This is one of the books that was published after Warner's death and therefore doesn't have the same magic as the earlier ones did as it's in the hands of a ghostwriter. Something I've come to notice about these books is that the Alden children do nothing but eat, so why aren't they fatter than they are? And Benny Alden is the most annoying child detective. What I do like about the series is that the children are very much independent, with little adult supervision. But this entry, with the Aldens going on a cruise, just doesn't live up to the excitement a cruise should be. I know these are very young reading-level books, but still, there's never any kind of suspense to the mystery. It just all seemed too simple and did not have enough twists and turns. I read a lot of children's books so I know it's possible to do in only 118 pages. But they're still being published so what do I know? My rating - 2/5

[David A Khoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the kids are on a cruise with their grandpa and the ship kept getting delayed over electrical problems or sudden emergencies. The suspects included a waitress that was very quiet, the chef who befriended one of the kids, some of the crew's men, ect. In the end, there was a passenger who was fighting with his sister over an inheritance. He had to be present for the reading of the Will but was stuck on the ship due to the sister's accomplice sabotaging the ship to prevent the passenger from attending the important meeting. I enjoyed this book and was reading it slowly during my breaks. I'm a fan of the Boxcar Children since I was a kid and this was a book I never read until now, as a grown adult. Expect more Boxcar Children reviews in the future.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic and well acclaimed series, recommended as a great series for young readers. The Boxcar Children invoke the enjoyment for mystery-solving and having a close relationship with family.

The mysteries are certainly twinged with a bit more danger now, and you can tell that other authors are penning the stories. They still make for excellent adventures and problem solving. These books keep to the classic focus of the original 19 stories and have heart and family values and helping others as a forefront in every story.

The children are all oh-so-friendly to each other and those they meet. They seem to agree about mostly everything; their world seems to be made of butterflies and rainbows. The times of this book being written to present day are vastly different.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy afternoon read. The family goes on a leisurely cruise only to be greeted by their favorite thing - a mystery! A couple to be exact. All it takes it one suspicious person to flag them. There's plenty of time for eating, swimming, and playing games while they make new friends and help one, Max, arrive safely to Miami in time.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 29 of The Boxcar Children. This was a good mystery that kept you guessing what was going on. Lots of suspects and plenty of intrigue. Still kept to the line that made it fun without being dark at all. Perfect for those young readers in your life. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Heather]

When I was young, my mom always tried to get me to read The Box Car Children series, but I was too busy with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Not sure that I would have loved these as a kid as much as my mom did, but I really enjoyed reading this with my kids and discussing with my mom now.

[Isla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book a lot!

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

77%

I just got paid!
Good for him

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Heather plotline is horribly ill-conceived and executed.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to this series.

[✧Bella✧]

I was obsessed with this series, and this book in particular as a child. The copy we had was the 90's paperback though, with the picture of them in their lifejackets on the front.

[Isabel Sasine · Rating 5 out of 5]

audible

[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. Would recommend.

[Kelli Trusedell · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love mysteries, cruises, and the Boxcar Children, so we loved this book! We give it four cruise ships! 🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: at one point, they think there’s a man overboard. They are looking for the person or “a body”. (No one actually fell into the water).

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids make friends on the ship and help one of them to get back to Miami in time for something he didn't know about before the ship left dock. They meet many others and become friends with them. They also get to explore the ship and many ports of call.

[Partridge Public]

Warner, Gertrude C. PB

[Charank20 · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good series for the young reader.

[WSL Library]

X2

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good story!

[Rebecca]

One of my favorite childhood series. I read over a hundred of them. The first 50 or so were in order; after that I read whatever book I could get my hands on :)

[Jazli Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. I wish I could go on a cruise