Surprise Island

In the second book of "The Boxcar Children" series, the Alden children have reunited with their grandfather and discovered that he's not so bad as they thought. In fact, he is a kind and gentle man who adores them.

Mr. Alden, a wealthy man, owns a small island not far from where they live. He surprises the children by telling them that they will be spending their summer break on the island. He let them buy all the supplies they would need, including dishes! I personally thought this was very cool.

Can you imagine? Spending your summer on an island with only minimal adult supervision - setting up a little house, cooking your own meals and exploring to your heart's content. When I was a child, this sounded glorious! It's possible that I had a small obsession with having a home of my own...

Of course, there is a small mystery that needs solving, but it seems that mysteries are what the Alden children love best.

The Boxcar Children

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?