Journey on a Runaway Train (The Boxcar Children Great Adventure)

These books are well-written. Our 8 year old gets to read about 10-20 minutes a night (after being read aloud to for 20-30 minutes) and I have noticed this book has taken him longer than any other "old" boxcar children he has read. He loves it, though, and asked if we can get the others in this new series. I think that's a safe "yes." I am thinking it must be around a 3 or 4 for reading level. I can't remember if the older ones were 2 or 3, but this has got to be a level above it. The illustrations are attractive and the story is good. I like the historical tie-ins. I am looking forward to getting the rest of the series for our son. Too bad the box set doesn't come out until November. He will have devoured all of them by then!

I purchased this for a road trip with 2 kids aged 10 and 8. Both boys are normally very active and talkative, and I wasn't sure they would be entertained by the audio book. They were quiet and intent, even to the point that if we needed to stop for lunch or gas, they wanted to hear the end of the chapter! Great story with adventure, fun, and family values. I also purchased the Boxcar Collection, Volume 2, which had 5-6 more stories on it. They were loved by all!

Grandson is in 2nd grade. Loves math, isn’t crazy about reading. He usually reads exactly what is required and no more. But he couldn’t put this book down and finished it pretty quickly. He was even able to give a very good summary to us. He immediately started on book 2 so, these must be pretty good. Thank you!

Love it.

Bought this for my 6year old and she loves it . Spends hours listening to it.

The first 19 Boxcar Children books were actually written by Gertrude Warner, (the first one in 1924, then 18 more between 1949 and 1976). After that, like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and the like, the books were written by other authors, but always identified as "Created by Gertrude Chandler Warner". In total there are about 145 Boxcar Children Mysteries, and over 20 "Specials". The four kids have never aged, although their adventures have been brought up from the 1920's to modern times. Anyway, Albert Whitman & Company, which appears to have been the caretaker of the series since the first book was reissued in 1942, has come up with a brand new five volume "Great Adventure" set, of which this is the first volume.The premise here is that the Boxcar Children, (the four Alden siblings), have been recruited by a secret society to return lost artifacts to their rightful original homes. To do that they'll have to travel all over the world, being guided and supported by the secret society and its global network of agents. The upshot is that the Aldens get to travel, (along with the reader), to exotic foreign locations in the company of a few fun recurring characters and a wide range of one-time guest agents. They also learn a bit about the artifacts they handle. This really opens up the series, and who doesn't like world travel and shady global conspiracies?This first volume is the tamest of the five, because the premise has to be set up. While still at home, the Aldens have to come to grips with a few small mysteries and solve some puzzles in order to earn the trust of the society. Then it's off to Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico to return an item. By the end they are being pointed to their next, more exotic, destination. This is whirlwind plotting and pacing, with lots of lurking and eavesdropping and clue finding and problem solving and bad guys, (there are always bad guys), and some avoiding and escaping.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. That sort of in-book annotating struck me as a nice touch.In any event, though, the bottom line is that the books are fun, fast paced, clever, and entertaining. The whole series feels like a good idea, and this book is a fine start.(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Audio Book Review: I have a confession: I never read any of the original Boxcar Children series books. And I don't think any of my children did either, and I'm not sure why. This year marks 75 years they've been around, so I thought I'd check them out via the new Great Adventure series. Journey on a Runaway Train is the first of 5 titles coming out in 2017.The story is modernized with the four kids having/using their cell phones and computers, but some of it didn't quite click (for example, when they needed a phone number, they tried to find a phone book to use. A real phone book.) I loved that when the internet failed to produce any good information for the kids' research, they turned to the local library to dig deeper. For parents who want their children to not only be reading but to learn a few new things, this is a great book and it may encourage kids to want to find out more.As far as the audio goes, the narrator, Aimee Lilly, did an admirable job of voicing all of the different characters (there are a bunch) and using different accents and pitches. Unfortunately, little Benny's voice affected me like nails on a chalkboard -- and readers hear Benny speaking more than any other character. There is a sprinkling of sound effects that add to the atmosphere, and though I feel they are unnecessary, I imagine kids will enjoy them.Journey on a Runaway Train has secrets, mysteries, and plenty of adventure that will keep elementary school aged listeners/readers engaged -- and sufficient loose ends to get them to come back for the next installment, The Clue in the Papyrus Scroll, now out. Thank you to Oasis Audio for being at the Texas Library Association annual conference and for giving me an audio book copy with no strings attached.

We loved reading the first 19 (original) Boxcar Children. As we're interested in the simple story of the original, we're not too thrilled with the inclusion of laptops, skyping, mobile phones in this new version. Plus, it's simply weird, having read the first 19 books and then coming to these and the setting is modern, yet the four children are still young?! Doesn't make sense. I purchased 1 through 5 of this series with high hopes; however, if the second book doesn't prove a better story I'll be donating the lot to the library.

Can’t wait to read it