By: Ayane Jarso

‘The Boxcar Children’ is a wonderful book that I think is a must read for children everywhere. It tells a story about four children who recently became orphans; they create a home for themselves in the forest and live in an abandoned boxcar in secret. They fend for themselves, cook, clean, and their eldest brother goes into town for work so they have money to live off of.

You might be wondering why they didn’t try reaching out to any other family after their parents died, and they became orphans. Well, the only family member they ever heard of was their grandfather but they got the impression that he was a cruel man because he never gave them a visit.

I believe that this is one of the best children books out there because of the descriptive imagery. Reading this book I truly felt like I was there with the characters. I felt their nervousness anytime they were close to getting caught.

The author, Gertrude Chandler Warner, gives such good descriptive detail to every part of the book. The children sit down for dinner every single night and go over their days while eating their supper. It feels as if I’m on the sidelines listening to their conversation. That’s something Gertrude did really well, it doesn’t feel like a story when you read it, and as a child I felt like I was a part of the adventure which was incredible for a very imaginative young child.

Most of the book takes place out in nature, and according to Wikipedia, ‘The Boxcar Children’ was published in 1924, meaning there wasn’t much technology in the story. I think it helps remind kids that there is a whole world outside of screens and that it can be really enjoyable.