I can see this return to the Boxcar Children appealing to kids who love the Magic Tree House Books. I'm curious to see how future books explore other cultures.

This is a modern-day continuation of the Boxcar Children series. I loved this series as a child, so of course I picked up these two books, the first in a short series featuring Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny’s travels around the world.

I must say, I forgot how shallow the writing is for these books and how little adult supervision the kids get. Reading as an adult, it seems kind of ridiculous! Still, if I were a kid reading this, I’d enjoy the travel to different countries and the mysteries the children face. Don’t read it for nostalgic reasons, though–some memories should be left in the past.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Boxcar Children, Whitman has put out a new series, not to be confused with the graphic novel series.

Jessie, Benny, Violet and Henry, who are living with their Grandfather and Trudy the housekeeper, are recruited by the Reddimus Society to return an artifact to Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. They have a little help from adults, who do fund train tickets, but are generally left to their own devices, in typical Boxcar Fashion. This is the first of a five book series, and would be excellent for fans of the rather substantial mystery series. The writing is simple, but without the "Oh, Benny. Look, Benny!" tone that dragged down the original series. Solid purchase for elementary schools libraries.

That said, I remember practically nothing about the story, other than it seemed far fetched, and there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for the children to have to be the ones delivering the artifact back to its original owners. Will pass on purchase.

I do always enjoy the original book, and the story of Gertrude Chandler Warner is a fascinating one. I'm glad that the series has stayed with Whitman-- it's just not what I need in the way of a middle school mystery.

Journey on a Runaway Train by Gertrude Chandler Warner is the start of a five book series with the kids known as The Boxcar Children! The four Aldens are now living with their grandfather with the boxcar in the backyard when finding a painted turtle, they are soon recruited into the Reddimus Society. The Reddimus Society is a secret guild who's mission is returning lost or stolen artifacts in which the turtle is one of them. As they learn what the society dos, a trip on a train to return the turtle to New Mexico will test the children in ways they never expected that will ultimately, lead them to their next adventure!

This version of the Boxcar Children is fresh and modern. We're in a world of laptops, WiFi and GPS. The boys and girls are equal players, and since the books are new you don't encounter those awkward bits of old-fashioned nonsense that you sometimes have to overlook when revisiting other older adventure series. The writing is crisp and direct and clearly aimed at younger readers. A nice touch is that the older kids often explain more advanced words, references, and historical bits to the youngest Alden, Benny, and these explanations, of course, are also intended to help younger readers follow what's happening.

I thank NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for a free advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Aw! My favorite childhood mystery series is getting a reboot! How cool is that?!

I was super excited to hear about this new 5-part series about the Boxcar Children. The four Alden kids have received the unique opportunity to set out on a globe-trotting adventure, after being hired by a secret society to locate historical artifacts. (In a way, this can remind you of the 39 Clues series, right?!) I sure an interested to find out what kind of interesting places they're going to visit!

The Alden kids are clearly now in the 21st century. They use cell phones and modern electronics. What I liked best though is they get to ride an old-fashioned train in this story, which brought in some of the "timelessness" I like to see in this series.

Overall, I think this is the start of a fun, fresh adventure. Oh, and Watch the dog is just as cute as ever!

This is a "clean" read. I would best recommend for 7-11 year old readers.

As usual, the Boxcar Children are a great, clean series for young (and old!) readers. This took me down memory lane, since it's been a long while since I've read any of these books, but the basics are all the same. None of the characters' personalities changed to match the 21st century "need" for romance or "being tough." It's a good clean book that draws readers in without needing to rely on modern crassness. The only modern upgrades, was that the kids did some research on the internet, in addition to going to the library. But a laptop and cellphone didn't change the overall tone.

This series seems to be moving in a 39 Clues kind of direction - travel around the world while solving mysteries. At the same time, it is meant for younger readers, so the information and story line is more basic and less violent (if you would call The 39 Clues "violent").

I highly recommend it for all children, especially for beginner chapter book readers.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Boxcar Children 2.0!
The new Great Adventure series is a excellent continuation following the spirit of the original Boxcar stories. The children are the same -thoughtful, courteous, polite and quick thinking - which makes me all the more eager to recommend this reboot.
I think any child between 6-12 can enjoy this series, by either listening or reading independently and find excitement in the mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley and Albert Whitman and Company for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.