Ivy seems to have graduated from picture books at the ripe old age of 4.5. As saddened as I am by this, I am thrilled to begin the next phase. I never read the Boxcar Children when I was young, but I wish I had. Both of us just adored the first one in the series. One of the reasons why I think we both like it, is that there is no magic, only the magic the kids make when they have to survive on their own. The children, recently orphaned, only have themselves to rely on. After the death of their parents, they run away, after hearing they might have to live with their estranged grandfather who never accepted their mother. They have no money, and eventually settle in an old boxcar. Henry, the oldest, finds work doing odds and ends for a local doctor. They find an old dump and set up their new home. In the process, the children find they are not as alone as they might think. We read the whole thing in two days. We already checked the second out!
