The Mystery Girl

The Boxcar Children #28

by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Charles Tang (Illustrator)

The Aldens notice that one of their fellow employees at Jerry Taylor's general store may be a spy for the new shopping center, so they try to stop her before she puts Mr. Taylor out of business.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Juvenile, Young Adult

121 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

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

Project Learning English by myself with children's books. This book was extremely easy to read, but the story isn't interesting. It was an OK read.
The first time, I read it without practically looking up the unknown words and expressions in the dictionary. But the second time I read this The Boxcar Children's book, I looked up several online dictionaries to learn the meaning of the words, phrasal verbs, and idioms that I underlined in the first reading.

[Charlotte]

Our kids loved all the descriptions of working at the hardware store. The mystery is pretty straightforward, but enjoyable -- no spooky or scary bits.

[Simon · Rating 3 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.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that this one was just exceedingly boring. How braindead must the mystery girl be to take weeks to learn how to use a till? No wonder her parents were helicoptering her; they must know exactly how stupid she is.

Also, it's a good thing that child readers don't take part in drinking games, because if they did and took a shot every time the word "nervous" was repeated they'd be having their stomachs pumped. There's a lot of repetition here. For a very short book, it could have been tightened up a lot. It's just not one of the better volumes in this series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read. The boxcar children are visiting Aunt Jane again, and end up helping in the general store. The girl who already works there doesn't seem to know what she's doing, and they get suspicious. But of course they eventually find out why she is being so mysterious. At least Benny wasn't shouting all the time in this one. This is one that was written by someone other than Warner, judging by the number -- Warner only wrote the first 19.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 28 of The Boxcar Children. This was a fun lighthearted mystery. It was a well paced story and the content was very suitable to very young readers. While some of the previous novels have been at least a little dark, this one is not at all and a perfect read for timid readers.

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Phylicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome story. Jessie has become my favorite charter. And I feel the later I get in the series, the less confusing the language is

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

The boxcar children, as sweet and kind as always, try to help a store owner as well as a store clerk.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to this series.

[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.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of of my favorites as a kid, and reading it again as an adult, it was still very enjoyable. I appreciate how in the Boxcar children, the bad/mysterious people are often dishonest and self-seeking, but they are never malicious.

[Pearlynn Pang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: The Mystery Girl
Author: Gertrude Chandler Warner
Illustrator: Charles Tang


While Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are visiting their aunt,Jane, they decided to help her friend Jerry Taylor at his general store. There they meet Nancy, who is friendly enough, but often seems to be a little too nervous. And one day, Benny sees her do something that is dishonest. Is Nancy trying to cheat Jerry? The Aldens also notice a strange woman who keeps coming to the store but never buys anything. Could she be a spy for a new shopping centre that is competing with Jerry's store? The Boxcar Children love to solve mysteries, and they are ready to take on this new one.

[Isaac Owens]

The book, The Boxcar Children: The Mystery Girl, was about a mysterious man that comes after a girl at the children's Aunt Jane's store. They want to know why, because the girl is also very mysterious, so they see what's up. I like how the little boy is portrayed ,because he seems a little more grown up since they had lived inside the boxcar in the first book. In the book, the children have many decisions which could have went in many different ways, which is why I love these books, because they are all mostly mystery. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes a small but not too much of a mystery.

[Amanda Mccusker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite series as a child. I don't know that I would use it as a read-aloud or guiding reading but I would definitely recommend it to my students. I honestly don't like the more poplar guided reading series the Magic Tree House books. So if I have students who are interested in those, I would recommend The Box Car Children. I find the Boxcar Children to be much more interesting and entertaining, maybe because I loved them as a child myself.

[Partridge Public]

Warner, Gertrude C. PB

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this like 8 years ago, and I still remember it well, The Boxcar Children still remain a series close to my heart.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh yeah, The Mystery Girl Boxcar Children book is the best book in the world! True or False? I think it's true!

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good series for the young reader.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 5328 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 3.5 - AR Pts: 2.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, VP

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, but it had me full of suspense all the way through.

[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 :)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

great when ur little

[Vutebaby]

good