Gertrude Chandler Warner was a school teacher. She wanted fun books for her students that were easy to read. Unable to find quite what she wanted she wrote her own. The Alden Family Mysteries were created by Gertrude Chandler Warner, they have been enjoyed by many!

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, No. 1) (Boxcar Children Mysteries) was the first chapter book by Gertrude Chandler Warner and it was a success. The Alden Family children consist of Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. The four are adventurous, active and independent children, just like the students in her class. Interestingly enough, they always seem to stumble upon a mystery or otherwise each book seems to have mysterious character. Young readers then and now love the stories. One of my daughters devoured the entire series when she was in elementary school!

Gertrude Chandler Warner wrote the first nineteen early reader chapter books in the series. After her death, the franchise continued with different writers authoring the continued The Alden Family Mysteries series. The original books may be dated to today’s young readers, but they are still a joy to read.

The chapter books are for children eight-years-old and older. The books have less than two hundred pages. There are sketches or drawings included may be used by the children for visual clues. Gertrude Chandler Warner’s goal was books are fun and easy to read, and these books hit the mark.

Gertrude Chandler Warner originally titled the series The Alden Family Mysteries, however the series is typically known as The Boxcar Children. The titles are used interchangeably by people depending on when they read the series..

List of The Boxcar Children Mystery Books 1-19 by Gertrude Chandler Warner


1. The Boxcar Children

2. Surprise Island

3. The Yellow House Mystery

4. Mystery Ranch

5. Mike’s Mystery

6. Blue Bay Mystery

7. The Woodshed Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #7)


8. The Lighthouse Mystery

9. Mountain Top Mystery

10. Schoolhouse Mystery

11. Caboose Mystery

12. Houseboat Mystery

13. Snowbound Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #13)


14. Tree House Mystery

15. Bicycle Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #15)
/I>

16. Mystery in the Sand

17. Mystery Behind the Wall

18. Bus Station Mystery

19. Benny Uncovers a Mystery



Sign up to receive the free Children Books Reviews newsletter.

Children's Books

Magic Tree House Books
Chronicles of Narnia Books
A Series of Unfortunate Events Books

Note: The Boxcar books review titles are from my book shelf.