It's March 1st or as of March 3rd we are pretending it's March 1st. My middle daughter just finished dance class, we dropped off a book at the public library, decided to stop at Jeni's for ice cream while we wait to pick up the oldest daughter from a meeting at work when the flashing red lights are lowering at the train tracks. We stop for trains all the time in my suburban hub but tonight was different. I had a flashback to my reading life growing up. I remembered the Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I then wanted to tell my daughter all about the book, series, and my thoughts as a reader. She quickly said, "Mom, I read the first one. You had us read it as a Girl Scout project." Yes, I did. We were going to see the play and you all know the book is always better. She wasn't as interested in my thoughts as a reader even though I tried to tell her more.
I loved the Boxcar Children! I was so intrigued by the Alden children. The idea of children living on their own was an quite the adventure in my mind. How they solved what would be called now little issues in life with independence was something I was drawn to. They relied on each other and the message of sticking together is an important one for all of us to read about. They met their grandfather when help was needed for Violet and my own grandparents were a huge part of my daily life growing up. Of course, the story had a happy ending and I followed them on more adventures. I left that train stop wondering why I never viewed the trains as boxcars before. Probably because I see them as an interruption and increasing my travel time in my day to day routines. I'm grateful for those few minutes.
Welcome to Slice of Life! Oh my gosh, I LOVED The Boxcar Children. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Kelly, read it aloud to us and like you, I was intrigued by kids living in a boxcar by themselves. Years later, I was delighted to discover others in the series. I have never had that much luck introducing my students to this series, however…
ReplyDeleteI love your literary walk down memory lane even if your daughter wasn't that interested. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're joining the Slice of Life Challenge!
A favorite of mine as a child too. I remember them cooking for themselves over the fire and thinking how brave and grown-up they seemed. I need to find my copies of the books and read them to my children. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI loved loved loved the Boxcar Children. I always wished I could live just like that. Funny, I've been thinking about the books I remember most after our conversation the other evening. I think Nancy Drew was one of the books we all talked about. I also remember reading The Trixie Belden series, Dixie Cline Animal Doctor (I was sure I was going to be a vet for years after that), and thank heavens for Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me back (and welcome to the fun).
Cathy