This is the beginning of a series of books about the four Alden children. Their parents have died and they are afraid to go live with a grandfather that they know almost nothing about. In fact, they think he doesn't like children at all. They run away from home and find an old, abandoned box car which they turn into a home. I remember reading this in elementary school and I loved how resourceful Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny were. They found old dishes and knew how to cook for themselves. They even built their own swimming pool! I'm pretty sure I imagined doing all those things on my own. Not that I wanted to leave my family, but when you're a kid, taking care of yourself seems like a dream come true.
I've been reading this series to Andrew and he really looks forward to them. He says his favorite characters are Henry and Jessie, but for no particular reason.
I'm not quite sure how many books Ms. Warner wrote, but it's going to take awhile to get through this series! Not that we mind; who doesn't love a good mystery?
3 comments:
I LOVED this series when I was a kid... in fact just re-read a few a couple months ago!! I think there is close to a hundred books in this series so have fun reading!!!
lol - yes, it'll definitely take us awhile to get through all of them! I only read the first 2 when I was a kid.
Oh, these books sound like real fun! Thanks for sharing! I haven't read them yet, but I remember other series by Cecil Bodker: Silas And The Black Mare, Silas And Ben Godik... They are similar to those you mention, and really enjoyed them as a kid and even now they still ring a bell... Yet, don't you think that authors that write for kids have to think up new characters, the old, classical like parents, school bullies, even wizards with sharp hats, dragons, princesses, kings, etc are too ordinary? There should be new, unseen characters which could make children use their imagination more often? Like these: weightless korks, glowing, living balls, Brown faces, fiery men, one-eyeds, night fruit, rock pieces, fish-keepers, etc), some of them I use in some of my books, I guess I'm right to do that?
BTW, I have a suggestion I post to every blog I like: I guess you've heard about sites like zazzle.com, cafepress. com, fiverr? They could be a good way to promote your blog/works, etc and to help "remove" stupidity in the streets like headlines on t-shirts, fridge-magnets, cups, etc: My Boyfriend kisses Better Than Yours, FBI - female body inspector, etc. Not everything we see and think of should be about sex, right? It would be much better if there were more nice pictures of mythical creatures, good thoughts, poems from fantasy genre, etc? I'm allanbard there, I use some of my illustrations, thoughts, poems from my books (like: One can fight money only with money, Even in the hottest fire there's a bit of water, etc). Best wishes! Let the wonderful noise of the sea always sounds in your ears! (a greeting of the water dragons'hunters - my Tale Of The Rock Pieces).
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