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zapkode's review
5.0
{my thoughts} – This book is based mostly on two boys named Benny and Henry Alden. It starts our with them and their sisters sitting on the grass flipping through the newspaper trying to find a job for the summer. Benny finds a job he is interested and calls only to find out that the job has already been taken. A short while later he and Henry head into town to see if they can get a job at one of the local stores. They visit a few different places and are continually told no, finally they go to Furman’s Department Store and land themselves a job. Henry becomes a salesperson and Benny a delivery boy.
While they are working there they come into contact with an unusual character named Miss Douglas. She is always hassling the store personnel. She doesn’t do it in a bad way but because she is always trying to get help with her purchases. She orders many things that are the same but different brands and has many deliveries out to her house. One day a bunch of letters show up in the mail on blue paper and written in fancy handwriting. Benny is determined to figure out who had written them. Then there is also the case of a box of lockets that showed up out of no wheres and also a missing customer package. All of these mysteries take place within the short little book.
This book helps to show children that when you have a real job you won’t always get along with those you work with and those you have to serve. Isn’t that the truth. You always have one or two co-workers that like to make things rougher then they need to be and you always have a customer or more each day that can be trying on your nerves, the best thing to do is just be nice and stay calm, that way you still have a job to go back to. Believe me, I know how hard it is to stay nice to people sometimes, but the fact is that if you aren’t you only hurt yourself in the long run.
Eventually the boys, well Benny discovers who is behind all of the mysteries. If you’d like to find out for yourself, please read the book. I know I say that a lot, but I am not the kind of person that will blurt out anything important.
I have never read a boxcar children’s book before and I really enjoyed reading this one. I can understand why these books are so loved by children. I read this book over the course of two days with all three of my children. My youngest was bored out of his ever loving mind, the older two however enjoyed it and paid attention. They answered the questions I asked and seemed to have overall gotten into the book. I am pleased with the result. This was the first older aged book I have read to all three of them and I look forward to reading more to them in the future.
While they are working there they come into contact with an unusual character named Miss Douglas. She is always hassling the store personnel. She doesn’t do it in a bad way but because she is always trying to get help with her purchases. She orders many things that are the same but different brands and has many deliveries out to her house. One day a bunch of letters show up in the mail on blue paper and written in fancy handwriting. Benny is determined to figure out who had written them. Then there is also the case of a box of lockets that showed up out of no wheres and also a missing customer package. All of these mysteries take place within the short little book.
This book helps to show children that when you have a real job you won’t always get along with those you work with and those you have to serve. Isn’t that the truth. You always have one or two co-workers that like to make things rougher then they need to be and you always have a customer or more each day that can be trying on your nerves, the best thing to do is just be nice and stay calm, that way you still have a job to go back to. Believe me, I know how hard it is to stay nice to people sometimes, but the fact is that if you aren’t you only hurt yourself in the long run.
Eventually the boys, well Benny discovers who is behind all of the mysteries. If you’d like to find out for yourself, please read the book. I know I say that a lot, but I am not the kind of person that will blurt out anything important.
I have never read a boxcar children’s book before and I really enjoyed reading this one. I can understand why these books are so loved by children. I read this book over the course of two days with all three of my children. My youngest was bored out of his ever loving mind, the older two however enjoyed it and paid attention. They answered the questions I asked and seemed to have overall gotten into the book. I am pleased with the result. This was the first older aged book I have read to all three of them and I look forward to reading more to them in the future.
annabannana's review
This is the last of the Boxcar Children books actually written by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
jbarr5's review
5.0
Benny uncovers a mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Two brothers take jobs at the local department store. Lots of things go missing and some new things just appear out of nowhere.
Benny goes out of his way with deliveries to please the customers. Boys implemnt ideas on how to catch whoever is doing things at the store.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Two brothers take jobs at the local department store. Lots of things go missing and some new things just appear out of nowhere.
Benny goes out of his way with deliveries to please the customers. Boys implemnt ideas on how to catch whoever is doing things at the store.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
imaclogger23's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zenithharpink's review
3.0
This was a pleasurable read, completed primarily to wrap-up the series. This is the last book that Warner actually wrote-and therefore the last that I will read. There are several more published in the series, but not written by the original author.
I was disappointed that this book featured Benny and Henry-Violet and Jessie barely even spoke. For the last book that Warner wrote, this wasn't much of a send-off on the series, and I found that a bit disappointing.
I would recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of the series, but this isn't a good first read for the series.
I was disappointed that this book featured Benny and Henry-Violet and Jessie barely even spoke. For the last book that Warner wrote, this wasn't much of a send-off on the series, and I found that a bit disappointing.
I would recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of the series, but this isn't a good first read for the series.
ikuo1000's review
4.0
Even though I still have more Boxcar Children books to read (I plan to read all 19 of the original series), I actually feel a bit sad knowing that this is the last book of the series written by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
I haven't read all the books in the series yet, but this book differs from many of the others in that not all of the children are present for the mystery. Some of the earlier books do focus more on Benny, but Henry and the girls were at least always around. In this book, Benny is almost as big as Henry (as depicted in the illustrations), and he and Henry are the main characters. Though it was nice to see Henry in a front-and-center role again, Violet and Jessie basically only showed up in the beginning and end of the book.
The mystery itself was a good one, I thought. Maybe even one of my favorites, though that might be because of the nostalgia I felt for the old-fashioned department store that delivered small items to its customers. Basically, some strange things happen at the store, and everyone wonders who is behind it all.
I also liked that this book included a wider range of emotions than most others in this series. Usually, the family is happy and friendly and everyone likes them. But in this book, Henry and Benny find that other people actually resent them for the advantages they enjoy by being the grandchildren of the wealthy and powerful James Alden. Henry and Benny even find themselves feeling angry and indignant!
Anyway, I do wonder if the author knew this would be her last book of the series... I was hoping to find some kind of closure to wrap up the series - What does Henry do when he graduates from college? Does Jessie marry Mr. Carter? - but was disappointed in that regard.
I haven't read all the books in the series yet, but this book differs from many of the others in that not all of the children are present for the mystery. Some of the earlier books do focus more on Benny, but Henry and the girls were at least always around. In this book, Benny is almost as big as Henry (as depicted in the illustrations), and he and Henry are the main characters. Though it was nice to see Henry in a front-and-center role again, Violet and Jessie basically only showed up in the beginning and end of the book.
The mystery itself was a good one, I thought. Maybe even one of my favorites, though that might be because of the nostalgia I felt for the old-fashioned department store that delivered small items to its customers. Basically, some strange things happen at the store, and everyone wonders who is behind it all.
I also liked that this book included a wider range of emotions than most others in this series. Usually, the family is happy and friendly and everyone likes them. But in this book, Henry and Benny find that other people actually resent them for the advantages they enjoy by being the grandchildren of the wealthy and powerful James Alden. Henry and Benny even find themselves feeling angry and indignant!
Anyway, I do wonder if the author knew this would be her last book of the series... I was hoping to find some kind of closure to wrap up the series - What does Henry do when he graduates from college? Does Jessie marry Mr. Carter? - but was disappointed in that regard.
elevetha's review
2.0
The Boxcar Children = most read series between the ages of 6 and 9 for me. I think of these fondly. Every child should read this series.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
2.0
This is a decent little story, and if a little bit bland is at least not as off-putting as some of the other books in this series. It helps immensely that the solution to the mystery, obvious as it is, does not involve Grandfather Alden hoovering up more resources in his attempts to control every business in the land. Instead, the four grandkids are using the summer to get jobs of their own, and I much prefer stories like this, where they're doing for themselves, rather than being given fancy vacations every other week - the very first Boxcar story was all about self-reliance and making do and I miss that. That being said, it's becoming clearer and clearer that the only Boxcar child Warner has any real interest is Benny, which is a bit of a shame as he's the one I like least. The girls - including my favourite, Violet - barely get a look-in, despite the fact that they were the most proactive, both getting more interesting jobs and getting them first, before the boys even thought of job-hunting.
As I (very vaguely) understand it, very soon the Warner books stop and the rest of the series is written by other authors? I'd be interested to see if that leads to a more equitable division of protagonists...
As I (very vaguely) understand it, very soon the Warner books stop and the rest of the series is written by other authors? I'd be interested to see if that leads to a more equitable division of protagonists...
readingwithrebeccanicole's review
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 :)
storiesforhisglory's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent
I love how these stories are all about how treating people with kindness can create enormous benefits, and that hard work is something to look forward to doing.
I love how these stories are all about how treating people with kindness can create enormous benefits, and that hard work is something to look forward to doing.