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The Boxcar Children #77
The Mystery of the Wild Ponies
On a vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Aldens visit a horse sanctuary, make friends with a fisherman―and promise Grandfather not to go searching for mysteries. But when Benny sees a mysterious stallion galloping down the beach, the children have to investigate. Could the local legend of a ghost horse be true?
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
21 people are currently reading
546 people want to read
About the author
Gertrude Chandler Warner
565 books748 followersGertrude Chandler Warner was born in Putnam, Connecticut, on April 16, 1890, to Edgar and Jane Warner. Her family included a sister, Frances, and a brother, John. From the age of five, she dreamed of becoming an author. She wrote stories for her Grandfather Carpenter, and each Christmas she gave him one of these stories as a gift. Today, Ms. Warner is best remembered as the author of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES.
As a child, Gertrude enjoyed many of the things that girls enjoy today. She loved furnishing a dollhouse with handmade furniture and she liked to read. Her favorite book was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Often on Sundays after church, Gertrude enjoyed trips to visit her grandparents' farm. Along the way, she and Frances would stop to pick the wildflowers they both loved. Gertrude's favorite flower was the violet.
Her family was a very musical one. They were able to have a family orchestra, and Gertrude enjoyed playing the cello. Her father had brought her one from New York ---a cello, a bow, a case and an instruction book. All together, he paid $14. Later, as an adult, she began playing the pipe organ and sometimes substituted for the church organist.
Due to ill health, Ms. Warner never finished high school. She left in the middle of her second year and studied with a tutor. Then, in 1918, when teachers were called to serve in World War I, the school board asked her to teach first grade. She had forty children in the morning and forty more in the afternoon. Ms. Warner wrote, "I was asked or begged to take this job because I taught Sunday School. But believe me, day school is nothing like Sunday School, and I sure learned by doing --- I taught in that same room for 32 years, retiring at 60 to have more time to write." Eventually, Ms. Warner attended Yale, where she took several teacher training courses.
Once when she was sick and had to stay home from teaching, she thought up the story about the Boxcar Children. It was inspired by her childhood dreams. As a child, she had spent hours watching the trains go by near her family's home. Sometimes she could look through the window of a caboose and see a small stove, a little table, cracked cups with no saucers, and a tin coffee pot boiling away on the stove. The sight had fascinated her and made her dream about how much fun it would be to live and keep house in a boxcar or caboose. She read the story to her classes and rewrote it many times so the words were easy to understand. Some of her pupils spoke other languages at home and were just learning English. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN gave them a fun story that was easy to read.
Ms. Warner once wrote for her fans, "Perhaps you know that the original BOXCAR CHILDREN. . . raised a storm of protest from librarians who thought the children were having too good a time without any parental control! That is exactly why children like it! Most of my own childhood exploits, such as living in a freight car, received very little cooperation from my parents."
Though the story of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN went through some changes after it was first written, the version that we are familiar with today was originally published in 1942 by Scott Foresman. Today, Albert Whitman & Company publishes this first classic story as well as the next eighteen Alden children adventures that were written by Ms. Warner.
Gertrude Chandler Warner died in 1979 at the age of 89 after a full life as a teacher, author, and volunteer for the American Red Cross and other charitable organizations. After her death, Albert Whitman & Company continued to receive mail from children across the country asking for more adventures about Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny Alden. In 1991, Albert Whitman added to THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES so that today's children can enjoy many more adventures about this independent and caring group of children.
Books about Gertrude: https://www.goodreads.com/characters/...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 30, 2023
Synopsis: "The Aldens have promised Grandfather a vacation from mysteries during their island visit. But the promise proves hard to keep when things start to go missing. Then an old fisherman tells Benny of the island's ghost horse, and late that very night Benny sees a mysterious stallion galloping down the beach. Could the ghost horse have something to do with the disappearances?"
June 8, 2021
Our whole family LOVES the Boxcar Children, but this one was pretty stupid. The kids still enjoyed it.
October 16, 2020
Cute children story but great for any age.
August 22, 2009
great when ur little
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July 5, 2019The mystery of the wild ponies.
this story is about Benny,Henry,Violet, and Jessie Alden going to vacation to Outer Banks.Then,one of the horses went missing!Third,they solve the mystery and find that Austin has the horse!The book makes me feel sad because the horse went missing and they also got lost.I learned that if you make one friend,You can do great things.What I liked most about this book is they solve the mystery and found that Austin found the horse the kept it.
this story is about Benny,Henry,Violet, and Jessie Alden going to vacation to Outer Banks.Then,one of the horses went missing!Third,they solve the mystery and find that Austin has the horse!The book makes me feel sad because the horse went missing and they also got lost.I learned that if you make one friend,You can do great things.What I liked most about this book is they solve the mystery and found that Austin found the horse the kept it.
May 26, 2023
Book 77 of the Boxcar Children series. A missing horse and a strange boy. When things start going missing. The mystery deepens. Lots of secrets everywhere and who all could be involved. This one is a lot deeper than you would think.
Joseph McKnight
http://www.Josephmcknight.com
Joseph McKnight
http://www.Josephmcknight.com
October 14, 2024
(4☆ Would recommend)
I loved these books as a kid & I'm really enjoying reading through the series again. I liked the mystery & the suspense. I like how there is more than one possible suspect, who each have reasonable motive. Would recommend.
I loved these books as a kid & I'm really enjoying reading through the series again. I liked the mystery & the suspense. I like how there is more than one possible suspect, who each have reasonable motive. Would recommend.
May 9, 2022
This book was pretty good. The ending was not as predictable as some of the others.
I didn't like the "ghost horse" though.
I didn't like the "ghost horse" though.
June 13, 2023
81%
Another missing child mystery haha
Another missing child mystery haha
January 3, 2024
These kids basically talked to every stranger on the island and totally disregarded their safety lol
October 9, 2024
A particularly fun mystery.
October 2, 2013
When grandfather and the children vacation off the coast of North Carolina, an old fisherman tells them of the island's ghost horse. That very night Benny sees a mysterious stallion galloping down the beach. Could it be the horse who is thieving from the cottages, or is there someone wandering the misty dunes at night?
March 19, 2011
Nice children's mystery. I did want to learn about the mystery horse. Might be a nice series. She sure wrote a lot of books!
July 23, 2013
I really liked it, because I like reading about places I've been.
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March 9, 2015One of my favorite childhood series. I read over a hundred of them. The first 50 or so were in order; after that I read whatever book I could get my hands on :)
December 20, 2015
Doesn't actually deal all that much with ponies/horses.
December 3, 2016
Missing horse and boy.... kids figure out this trippy mystery.
June 23, 2023
First boxcar children book I ever read when I was younger. Always a pleasure to revisit it
April 11, 2013
I love the mystery books like the boxcar children
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews