The Boxcar Children

Another great book for children: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

This book is available from the National Library. http://www.nlb.gov.sg/ Enter Author or name: Kate Deal, Keywords : Boxcar children. You can place a reservation and collect at any branch near you.

I have been trying to find this book in local bookshops like Kinokuniya, but it is not available. I managed to borrow it from the library.

It was a wonderful book. Here is a review from amazon.com:

This pleasant story opens as four tired and hungry siblings, aged 5 to 15, press their noses against a bakery window, eyeing the lovely goodies inside. They have recently lost their parents and are on the run from their mean grandfather, whom they have never met. They find an abandoned boxcar in the woods, set up housekeeping, and live quite happily on berries, bread, and a little meat bought with the oldest boy’s gardening pay. Life is very good until one of the girls becomes sick and they must tell an adult about where they live.

The book was written in the 1942 by a teacher who cleverly used only the 500 most common words in the English language to create a very easy to read, yet exciting, beginning chapter book for 7 and 8 year olds. Most of the story concerns the children’s sense of fun and boundless resourcefulness, as they take care of themselves, all the while being cheerful and thankful for what they have. Children who are ready for a chapter book will be delighted to find this one is very easy to read. They will enjoy the children’s adventure of living in the woods without adults, and, of course, it has a very happy ending. This book is the first (and I think the best) of a very long series of adventures for the Boxcar Children.

My 6 year old girl finished reading the book within 3 hours one night. The next day, she took out the book and started to read from the beginning again.

As an adult, I was really moved by the book too. It teaches children about poverty, how to survive when parents were gone, independence, and sibling love. This book is excellent.

This book is roughly equivalent to Ladybird Peter and Jane series book 10. It is very easy to read. I highly recommend parents to let their kids read this book, together with My Father’s Dragon: http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2009/09/books-they-love.html

My 5 year old boy has finished reading My Father’s Dragon, and he insists on reading the 2 sequels: "Elmer and the dragon" and "The Dragons of Blueland". It is really a joy listening to him read every day.