Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
When our mail arrived that delivered The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set by Gertrude Chandler Warner, my children were literally thrilled with excitement to have these great books to read, since they have been listening to me reminiscing over the past few weeks about my fond memories of reading these classic storybook adventures.
Albert Whitman & Company has published The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set which is intended for ages 5-7, grades K-2, making these beginner books perfect for the blossoming little reader in your home to transition from picture books to chapter books.
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The Boxcar Early Reader Set
I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the gleam in my kids’ eyes when they saw these shiny new books were high compliments to the illustrator! These hardback books with their beautiful glossy covers portray the cover art that is based on the animated film The Boxcar Children that was released in 2014, so your children may already be familiar with these fun stories of children having adventures and living out of a boxcar in the forest!
We received four Level 2 hardback books in The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set #1, which is part of the Time to Read® program that offers additional sets of books.
The books included in Set #1 are:
- The Boxcar Children – How the Boxcar Children become The Boxcar Children!
- Surprise Island – The children are busy exploring and making memories at Grandpa’s island for the summer with the local handyman, when they discover he’s more than just a handyman!
- The Yellow House Mystery – The Aldens discover clues as they try to find the old man who used to live in the yellow house!
- Mystery Ranch – A mystery is discovered at their aunt’s ranch!
Boxcar Classics
These boxcar classics are delightful wholesome reads involving fun adventures of children exploring, solving mysteries, and showing wonderful character integrity.
Nowadays you must be skeptical of which books children grab off the shelves. It seems like more and more children and youth books are encouraging immoral standards as an acceptable way of living, causing harm and damage to not only the proper use of grammar and spelling but also to their overall moral development.
However, I figured I didn’t have to worry about that with this book set because of my own personal childhood experiences reading these boxcar classics. Sure enough, the 4 books revered story adventures triumphing in clean fun and overall positive messages of doing the right thing.
Here is a page taken from Surprise Island, advocating the importance of family:
Soon summer was over.
It was time to go home.
The children sat on the beach one last time.
Violet said, "This place was full of surprises."
That gave Jessie an idea.
"That's what we should call it," she said. "Surprise Island!"
Benny sighed. "I never did find any treasure."
"No?" asked Joe. "I know I did. My family!"
How We Use The Boxcar Early Reader Set
We enjoyed these books so much that my children read them independently as well as together as a family read-aloud. My daughter, who is 8 years old, read the entire set in a single sitting! Then, she would proceed to tell me all about the stories she read with zest and enthusiasm. This is a direct quote from her:
The kids live out of a boxcar and go on all these cool adventures! I made sure to read them in order, too. I love these stories! Can we get more of The Boxcar Children books?
Zoey, age 8
I can’t count how many times I see my daughter with all four of these books in the car! She takes them with her to grocery store runs and to her brother’s baseball practices. The boxcar classics are her new and official “go to” item to grab and take with her now.
Can you believe that she’s replaced her tablet with books? She has! I’m pretty thrilled at this new turn of events. Thanks, Albert Whitman & Company!
So it’s safe to declare that my children absolutely love these early reader boxcar classics!
When they initially saw the title, they thought the stories involved boxes and didn’t understand yet that boxcar meant train car. After I explained to them what it meant, they were already set up in their own versions of “boxcars!” As you can see, they dove right into reading these shiny covered books.
What I like about having these early reader sets is the fact that when my toddler gets a little older, he will already have his reader set to begin! Of course, he went ahead and joined the reading fun, diving right in to read too, carrying his book everywhere with him.
My toddler has a little reading station set up and I added these books to his book basket. Now he sits on Mommy’s lap and reads these books to me in baby-o-nese! It’s been an amazing way for him to recognize items in the pictures and practice saying words, like water, ball, tree, camping, and so on. I honestly think the bright and cheerful pictures grab his attention and help him formulate words to the pictures.
My oldest son, Daniel, who is 9 years old, is currently doing a specialized reading program curriculum. I assigned one of The Boxcar Children books for each reading lesson as his independent reader.
We also like to do frequent family read-alouds. I would pull one of these books out to read to them during lunchtime or in the afternoon. At one point I read all of the books in the set. They never tire of the beautifully illustrated pictures and stories. Yet, at other times, we would take turns in the dialogue. So for instance, Daniel would be Benny and Zoey would be Violet and so on.
The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set (Albert Whitman & Co.) {Review}
The boxcar beginner books are a huge hit in our household! I love that my kids will now have fond memories of their own from reading The Boxcar Children books during their childhood. It’s a cool feeling to share the love of these stories with my kids, from one generation to the next, and perhaps they will share in the love with the next generation – their own kids one day!
Once they surpass the early beginner sets, we are looking forward to reading more of these boxcar classics in the next transition to chapter books!
Be sure to check out the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews on The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set!
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