The Mystery of the Pirate's Map

The Boxcar Children #70

by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Charles Tang (Illustrator)

The Aldens are visiting Cherrystone Harbor Seaside Resort! When Benny finds part of a hidden treasure map, everyone at the resort wants to find the treasure for themselves. Can the Boxcar Children find the loot before someone else does?

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

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

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to help children understand that true riches are not found in things.

#greed
#contentment
#thankfulness
#gratitude

[Jaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good, but the plot was very predictable. The boxcar children find a piece of a famous local pirate's treasure map and go on a treasure hunt. Others try to stop them, but their good nature helps them persevere. I did like the small twist the author added regarding the treasure itself. That added a little interest and bumped it up to a 3 star rating. Otherwise it probably would have been a 2 star because even a child could figure everything out with minimal brain-stretching.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benny finds an old pirate map, the kids hunt for the treasure but so big mean adults. The kids find the treasure, the adults learn a lesson. The only complaint is the metal detector... the kids already seen one in an earlier book but act like they never have. And Benny finds a bottle cap just like in the other book.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

great when ur little

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 70 of the Boxcar Children. What a great lesson and read. Parallels could be drawn from this to A Christmas Carol. Although told much differently, the moral seems similar and he also learns it from a ghost in a manner of speaking. I strongly recommend that this not be one you miss. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.Josephmcknight.com

[Cherish Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

(5☆ Would recommend & would read again)
I loved these books as a kid & I'm really enjoying reading through the series again. I liked how this one was different than most of the books in the series. Instead of having a whodunit, it had a search. I really liked how this book had a moral to it & how much the man's character changed at the end. I really liked this story. Would recommend.

[Kara Kuehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated the last Boxcar book I read a few years ago; but this one was sweet! The 8yo and I both thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

81%

A good book, don't spend your life chasing money

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially liked the ending of this one.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun one, with a nice ending.

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book
Love all the adventures with the boxcar children
Never get tired of reading old favourites

[Laura Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boxcar Children always work together as a family to solve mysteries. This particular mystery was more exciting than others, because it included the timeless excitement of pirates and finding a treasure map in a bottle. Without giving away the end, I will say the story brought back memories of the old song I used to sing at camp as a kid, "One Tin Soldier." Read the story or Google the song to remember the true value of treasure.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be fun to find a treasure map like Benny did! The boxcar children always go on such fun adventures!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good beginning chapter book for young kids. It has good values, although it is definitely not subtle about teaching a lesson. (Greed is bad.)

[Katherine Bates]

So if it wasn't for Liam's book club, I would never make it to 25 books this year. Sad, really. Cute book, too easy of a read for him, but it counts for me!