The Chocolate Sundae Mystery

The Boxcar Children #46

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Aldens are excited to work at Mr. Brown's ice cream parlor. But on their first day, an angry customer storms out, and then each night ice cream disappears from the freezer! With a rival ice cream truck attracting the store's old customers, will the Aldens be able to save Mr. Brown's business?

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

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

Scribd's text and audiobook. I continue learning English on my own and trying to hit my reading challenge goal. An uplifting, easy and light reading. Synopsys: "The Aldens are excited to work at Mr. Brown's ice cream parlor. But on their first day, an angry customer storms out, and then each night ice cream disappears from the freezer! With a rival ice cream truck attracting the store's old customers, will the Aldens be able to save Mr. Brown's business?"

[Jaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute children's mystery. A simple storyline, but still complex enough to have a few "red herrings". I liked the resolution to the mystery. It worked better than the path the main clues were leading you down. However, there were enough clues to lead you down the correct path, even if you were a younger reader. If you paid attention, you could follow them.

[The Lady Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these books so much as a kid. Still an entertaining read as an adult. A perfect little kids mystery.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Join Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny on a yummy mystery! When their favorite ice cream store is about to close, it is up to the four Alden children save it. But someone is trying to make sure the shop closes for good. Don’t miss out on this delicious Benny Special mystery treat!

Recommended for grades 2-4. Lexile level: 440
Reviewed by Christine Hwang, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We were going on a short road trip, so I thought I'd get a couple of audiobooks to listen to along the way. We found this at our local library and it was a very entertaining story. I prefer reading, but I enjoyed listening to Aimee Lilly narrate the tale. We've read several of the books in The Boxcar Children series and we've really liked them. We will certainly look for more at our local library.

[Mrs. Bahns · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book the Aldens find out a icecream shop is being sabatauged. The Aldens help them find out who

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Chocolate Sundae Mystery," part of "The Boxcar Children" series by Gertrude Chandler Warner, is a delightful read for young mystery lovers. In this book, the Alden children find themselves on a new adventure, exploring a hidden beach and uncovering secrets.

The writing style is straightforward, making it easy for young readers to follow along. The Alden children's resourcefulness and teamwork shine as they solve the mystery, highlighting the importance of family and cooperation. The plot is engaging, with enough twists to keep readers interested without being too complex.

Overall, "The Chocolate Sundae Mystery" is a charming addition to "The Boxcar Children" series, perfect for kids who enjoy a classic, gentle mystery.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The children meet a woman who has an ice-cream cart, but she isn't very nice to them because they are going to the local ice cream Shoppe for lunch and ice cream. When they arrive, they find that the Shoppe has a new owner. They end up staying to help at the Shoppe, since the new hires don't seem to know what they are doing. When parfait glasses and ice cream start disappearing, they want to find out what is going on. Interesting, not really a reread. This is not one of the original Warner stories and it does show a little.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 46 of the Boxcar Children series. The old ice cream parlor is the center of this mystery. Between cream missing and stuff being left out it seems that someone has it in for the new owner. Although it has plenty of twists the ending on this one felt too contrived. Another story of there are no bad guys. Not in my personal top ten, but not a bad little book. ​

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. This one kept me guessing until the end. I liked how it wasn't a "bad guy" with bad motives, but someone trying to do good. I also liked how there were still consequences for actions. Would recommend.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I assumed I wasn't going to enjoy this as much as I did when I was a kid. But I did, they're cute and wholesome stories. Not terribly fleshed out but I get that you need to hold children's attention spans. This was a fun reread, not terribly heavy on the mystery or scares like some of the other books in the series but I still loved it.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boxcar Children books are always fun, and I love how throughout the books there is an emphasis on having fun while working hard. Although, it doesn't mention that they got paid, apart from a free tub of ice cream, for multiple days' work. I wish that would have been clarified. There were some loose ends, but the mystery was decent.

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thiefs ended up being hungry kids that were friends of an employee. However, there was still a consequence for the employee and the owner ended up providing the kids weekly meals as well as leftover prep items. Overall, a pleasant conclusion to a situation that could have gone much differently.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why are the Alden kids working for free at this ice cream shop day after day?! No one's going to say anything about child labor laws and paying the kids with occasional ice cream while everyone else gets paid with money? Really?

Still, not a bad mystery that kept us all guessing.

[Eliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would rate this book 6 stars if I could! The Boxcar Children are helping an ice cream shop and horrible things happen! They run out of ice cream, chocolate fudge, cups are stolen, and a window breaks! This is a great book and very fun to read. Try reading it!

[Christine Hwang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Join Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny on a yummy mystery! When their favorite ice cream store is about to close, it is up to the four Alden children save it. But someone is trying to make sure the shop closes for good. Don’t miss out on this delicious Benny Special mystery treat!

[Crissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time for some old fashioned ice cream but what happened to all the familiar faces at the ice cream shop.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Th...#

[Danae · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute as always.

[Keegan Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite Boxcar Children book as a kid. It was so fun to revisit with my 6 year old daughter.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting mystery with a twist.

[Mara K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay. odvios mystery, but intresting adio book. fine

[Ellie (God's Girly) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, I personally don't love the Boxcar Children, but it's definitely my fav from the series. ☺️

[Mikayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently the Aldins live in the most judgemental town ever. All the customers in the shop were very quick to brand the new shop as horrible. Beyond that, I felt like the writer did not do a good job of capturing the characters from the original books, they were just super flat. The mystery was also really boring, and lots of false leads were very sloppily tied up.

The narrorator was also really anoying, but thats not counted against my rating. She reads kids voices in the most anoying way possible. And for a book about kids... it gets anoying fast.

[k2148 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chocolate Sundae Mystery (The Boxcar Children #46). By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Narrator: Aimee Lilly. 2013. Oasis Audio. ISBN-13: 978-1613754054 (Unabridged audiobook, 1 hr, 46 mins).

For a nostalgic read/listen, you can’t go wrong with this entertaining Children’s mystery series.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When you have your heart set on chocolate, it's hard to change your mind."

The ice cream parlor in Greenfield has a new owner: Mr. Brown. Also new to Greenfield is an ice cream truck owned by Mrs. Saunders. When Benny, Violet, Jessie and Henry stop in for an ice cream, they meet the new staff: Brian, a young man with little experience as a waiter, and Simone, who is also new to the ice cream parlor business. The parlor is off to a rocky start. Then, the chocolate ice cream goes missing, as well as the chocolate sauce. And why can't they find the tall parfait glasses? Is someone trying to sabotage the parlor? Could it be Mrs. Saunders, trying to help her own business? Could it be the angry customer that is always yelling about how bad things are? What about Simone? "Why didn't Simone seem more upset?" when she heard about all the missing items? The Aldens are determined to find out what is going on.

It's easy to see why these books still resonate with young students today. A solid mystery with multiple suspects, each with clues to seemingly support their guilt. Benny, Violet, Jessie and Henry are competent, inquisitive characters determined to help others.

[Brandy Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boxcar children have always been a series that I enjoyed reading while growing up. This series is so entertaining and brings a new mystery to solve with every book. In this particular selection, “The Chocolate Sundae Mystery” involved the children investigating when ice cream and other items start disappearing from their favorite ice cream parlor.
After finishing this book I saw many literary devices that added to the story. For example, I enjoyed the mysterious tone and urgency there was to find the animals the whole book. This tone kept me engaged throughout the story. I also loved the descriptive language that was used.The mysterious tone was set from the beginning with descriptive words. Each character was brilliantly developed. Seeing as this is one book out of a series this particular selection had a terrific plot that was easy to follow and yet still made a great read!

[Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the goofy title, one of the better Boxcar Children mysteries.



Though there are a few instances in the book where Benny seems to not like vegetables. Considering the kid always likes ALL food in every other book, including vegetables, this seems...like some misguided attempt to show Benny is like "other young kids"? C'mon, ghostwriter, get your characterization in gear. Besides, it's good to have a vegetable-eating role model for little kids.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one better than most of the newer books. maybe because it was about ice cream! I love that there was no evil intention in this book and that the criminals were acting work good intentions. also, I'm glad Mrs Saunders wasn't a total monster. I don't like that she spoke of moving away. that's not how businesses work. competition is healthy.