The Boxcar Children Beginning by Patricia MacLachlan

I remember reading the Boxcar Children series in grade school.  Gertrude Chandler Warner knew how children felt.  I really related to living in a boxcar because I was allowed to use an old chicken house as my own "home".  I swept it out a million times, added curtains, had a small table and chair set and some dishes and it was my place.  The Boxcar Children did much the same thing.

Albert Whitman & Company shared a copy of this book with me for review (thank you).  This is a prequel to the series and explains what happened before the children found themselves alone.  This book will be published tomorrow, so check for a copy at your local bookstore.

Ms. MacLachlan is the perfect author to write this prequel.  She picks up Chandler Warren's style and weaves a new tale of "before".  It's set in the depression, the family doesn't have a lot but they have enough.  Enough to even take in another family who had nothing.

These were times when folks worked together.  The family staying with them temporarily chips in and works on the farm with them.  When they move on to their destination, everyone is sad.

This is heartrending tale in more than one way, but it is an excellent beginning to a wonderful series that I got a lot of enjoyment out of when I was younger.  I'll still pick one up and read it occasionally.  Why not introduce your young ones to the Boxcar Children and then ask them where they would live and how they would survive.  I bet they have a better idea than a chicken house...

Happy reading.