The Detour of the Elephants

The Boxcar Children Great Adventure #3

by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Creator)

In this all-new very special miniseries, the Aldens have been recruited by a secret society to return lost artifacts and treasures to their rightful locations all around the world! The Aldens follow a clue to Beijing, China, where they uncover their next mission to return a mysterious clay artifact to its rightful owner. Their journey leads them to a scenic section of the Great Wall, but a thief threatens to ruin their trip and endanger their precious cargo. The Aldens' next clue brings them to an elephant reserve in Thailand, but when their contact acts suspiciously, they worry someone close to them may be working for the other side. Who can the Aldens trust to help them return the remaining artifacts to their rightful owners?"

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Chapter Books, Childrens

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2017

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

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Aldens continue their big adventure... Solving some new clues, discovering a traitor in their midst, and trying to figure out together how to thwart the traitor and get the mystery person off their trail.

A fun book! Your kids should read this 5-book mini-series this summer.

COYER (Read a book by an author you’ve previously read and given 5 stars): 2

[asiya | アセヤ (free palestine) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was... A BIG IMPROVEMENT. Oh my God. Yes!

Aside from the constant grammatical and spelling errors, and the super weird, way-too-Britsh talk for American children, it was pretty decent!

I actually tried enjoying the book this time and decided that this read would be the best one and, well, with what I've read from this series now, it sort of is!

Again, it was super over due, and super boring at times, and I still couldn't keep all of the characters straight, and the plot was so predictable, but I had to get this read done since I knew that I would never get to it any other day. Or way.

Heyyyy, lookie' here, okay... It's been a while since I've read books with plots as thin as these and I still tried my best (and DID) enjoy it more than enough, so I'm not asking for much, except for maybe, your gratitude as a reader to understand where I am coming from here.

Okay? Thanks!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to try to compare this to other Boxcar Children books, but it’s been over 20 years since I devoured all of those. Unfortunately, all I remember is that they were wealthy, ate delicious sandwiches, and were terribly young. This is a good introductory mystery for those beginning chapter books. The children are fairly resourceful and good problem solvers, so those are pluses too.

[Lara Kasparian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 in my book club with my nephew. (He is reading Half Magic.) These are such wholesome books. The children have traveled so many different places returning artifacts! This book in the series was a little more intense, with the Argents getting more and more desperate trying to trick them. I'm very impressed with how well six year old Benny handles the jet lag and pressure of this lifestyle!🤣

[Ellie Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello fellow readers! This is the second book in the Boxcar Children series!!!!!!!
I liked this book a little, and you will too! The children go to Beijing China where they uncover their next mission to return a mysterious clay artifact to its rightful owner.
Remember,be a awesome book reader!📚🌎😉

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

We get Joe, Alice, and Soo Lee in this one and family bonding.

Question: it is a common occurrence that James peaces out and but also keeps in touch with them when they're doing things like this. Where has he been the last two books? He's been radio silent and it's kinda sus.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie gave it 4 stars. I was not impressed that the details didn’t add up. (They left at 7am, travelled a couple of hours, and then it was time for bed?) looking forward to seeing how the series wraps up, though.

[Cherish Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

(5☆ Would recommend & would read again)
I loved the Boxcar Children books as a kid. I really enjoyed reading this book & I like how it is a part of a mini series. The storyline is great & it has great a great sense of adventure & suspense. Would recommend.

[Crissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Off on their mystery in the new mini series a clue lands them in a very unexpected place. IS this a real clue or have they been sent on a wild goose chase?

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun and exciting.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to see that there are five stories in this collection. We have enjoyed traveling all over the world with the Aldens as they return artifacts for the retimus society.

[Karen Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is definitely one to recommend to kids.

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traveling with the Boxer children all around world, as they try to return valuable artifacts. Learning about each region they visit.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am definitely violet and Jessie's personalities mixed

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

They had a really cool plan and they talked about the different things they saw and what the places looked like.

[V. Arrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the baby elephant.