About the Boxcar ChildrEN®
The Boxcar Children tells the story of four orphaned children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. They create a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar in the forest. They eventually meet their grandfather, who is a wealthy and kind man (although the children had believed him to be cruel). The children decide to live with the grandfather, who moves the beloved boxcar to his backyard so the children can use it as a playhouse.
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.
The Boxcar Children® Series
Through the Years
1890
Gertrude Chandler Warner, author of The Boxcar Children®, is born in Putnam, Connecticut
1918
Gertrude Chandler Warner steps in to teach first grade when many male teachers are called to service during World War I
1942
Gertrude Chandler Warner publishes The Boxcar Children with Scott Foresman; it is illustrated by L. Kate Deal
1949
The second Boxcar title, Surprise Island, is published; Gertrude Chandler Warner would go on to write a total of nineteen titles
1950s
Publisher Scott Foresman continues to use The Boxcar Children® as part of his educational curriculum
1960s
Albert Whitman & Company becomes the sole publisher of all editions of The Boxcar Children®
1976
Benny Uncovers a Mystery, the last title Gertrude Chandler Warner wrote, is published
1979
Gertrude Chandler Warner dies
1980s
The Boxcar Children® series remains in print in hardcover
1989
Partnership with Scholastic brings The Boxcar Children® series into paperback
1993
The first Boxcar Children® Special published; there are a total of twenty-one
1997
A biography, Gertrude Chandler Warner and The Boxcar Children by Mary Ellen Ellsworth and illustrated by Marie DeJohn, is published
2004
The Mystery of the Haunted Boxcar, the one hundredth book, is published
2004
The Gertrude Chandler Warner Boxcar Children Museum opens in Putnam, Connecticut
2012
A prequel, The Boxcar Children Beginning: The Aldens of Fair Meadow Farm by Newbery Award-winning author Patricia MacLachlan, is published
2014
The Boxcar Children, an animated movie, is released into select theaters and available for purchase and download nationwide
2016
The first five Boxcar Children® books are available in Spanish for the first time, starting with Los chicos del vagón de carga
2023
Penguin Random House acquires full rights to the beloved Boxcar Children® series
2024
Penguin Random House celebrates the 100th anniversary of Boxcar Children® publishing with a deluxe 100th Anniversary Edition
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