The Seattle Puzzle

The Boxcar Children #111

by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Robert Papp

The Aldens are on vacation in Seattle! They're ready to explore the city, and one of Grandfather’s friends is going to give them a personal tour. On their first day of sightseeing, they start the day at the Hungry Heart Diner where a mystery falls right into their laps! Benny finds a riddle taped to the bottom of their table. What does the riddle mean, and where will it take them? When the first riddle leads the children to another riddle, the Boxcar Children begin to wonder how this Seattle puzzle came to them. As each riddle brings the children to a new part of Seattle, the children try to piece the clues together. Who is planting the riddles, and what will happen if they can’t crack the next one? Where will the final riddle lead them?

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

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

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

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME book! I loved it! The Aldens are going to Seattle but then they find a riddle tapped down at the table! Follow the Aliens as they find out this riddle!

[Cdelory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if I would have enjoyed this nearly as much if I didn't know Seattle. But it was also fun to see my son starting connecting the clues. A good easy read for the grades 2-3 set, and lots more of them. I was inspired to get the original in which they actually live in a boxcar for awhile.

[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 :)

This one was a favorite. It had riddles again!!

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

No real mystery to solve, just a scavenger hunt with riddles. Illustrations are frustrating -- instead of actually showing the landmarks the kids visit we get super generic sketches of the kids looking out a window. In all other particulars it's standard 1990s Boxcar Children fare. Recommended if the kids are interested in travel or will be visiting Seattle but for mysteries others in the series are stronger.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 111 of Boxcar Children. This should be called, “Best places to visit in Seattle” and should be given out by the tourism board. Aside from that it was a fun scavenger hunt through the city. This one had no bad guys and was just a fun for all ages puzzle. Fun and different and made me want to visit Seattle again. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Momento Elmetwaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this book of course because I love mysteries and all but also I wanted this to be a scary creepy mystery they make it family friendly but I want to get goosebumps from how terrifying it is at least make it a real crime not a surprise and why would they do that like at least it be a real crime or mystery but I loved it so I give it a 4

[Eliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Aldens go to Seattle but they keep finding riddles. What could the riddles mean? Where could the riddles take them? Their friend, Reena, they met is acting very mysterious too. Could she have something to do with the riddles?

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best... But then again we jumped wayyyy into the series before reading the first book. This one was given to us, but I wish we had gone in order.

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

81%

Pretty obvious mystery, no?

[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 lighthearted the ending was. Would recommend.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little nostalgic read :)

[Julie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book with my son he wants to go to Seattle to see the Troll. It was fun to read about beloved characters in a real place.

[Jed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Boxcar Children, a.k.a the Aldens, are in a vacation in Seattle where something mysterious and suspenseful comes their way.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids had fun trying to guess the answers to the clues.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in the standard Boxcar Children style. Fun to see a book taking place in Seattle.

[Tanya Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. I read it as a child but recently read it to my nephew. Fun read for children.

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not at all surprised by the mystery.