Friday, February 5, 2016

Friday Linkups: The Boxcar Children















It's Friday linkup time!  I'm linking up with the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, and the Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice.

This Week's Book Blogger Hop Question:
Does you significant other share your reading passion?

My Answer:
J likes to read quite a bit.  He always has a book going but doesn't have quite the turnover that I do.  I think partly because he reads mostly nonfiction so those always take a bit longer and partly because he only reads at night right before bed and he's one of those that if he sits still for 5 minutes he's asleep.

This week's book is one of my absolute favorites from childhood - The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.  I know I've been featuring a lot of Middle Grade/YA lately on Friday linkups but I did want to read more MG and the Not So Required Reading List over at my favorite podcast Super Serials had several books that had been kind of on my radar and I figured now was the time to read them!

The Beginning:
One warm night four children stood in front a bakery.  No one knew them.

My Thoughts:
The first 2 lines definitely illustrate that these children are completely on their own.  It's been years and years since I've read it so I remember the basic outline but not much more.

The 56:
At last it was dinner time, and the children sat down to see what Henry had in his bundles.

My Thoughts:
Once again I think Warner is showing us that the children are responsible for taking care of themselves.  I do wonder where Henry got the bundles and what the contain.

So what do you think?  Keep reading?  What were some of your favorite childhood books?


28 comments:

  1. I never actually read these but I know they're well regarded by many and I like the idea of them. I think these and a lot of the juvenile mysteries were a great (and wholesome) way for kids to get into reading or to get into it more. And their longevity says a lot too. I read a bio thing on Warner's a while back and it was interesting to read her thoughts on these.

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  2. I've never read these books, but my kids (especially the oldest) loved them!

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  3. WHEW! I'm glad you said you liked it--otherwise we couldn't be friends. LOL It's one of my all time favorites too!! I loved the 3rd in the series--The Yellow House Mystery. I might have to pull those out (yes, I own them) and read then to my grandchildren this summer.

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  4. I think it is awesome that he likes to read with you! I doubt my husband would ever have my turnover rate, but I would be overjoyed if he even read with me! He is so busy reading medical and Army books for work that he doesn't like to read anything else lol.

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  5. These are still popular in my elementary library. One of the teachers reads the first one and then turns her students loose with all the others. I am spotlighting Jockey Girl by Shelley Peterson - a story to win any horse lovers heart. Happy reading!

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  6. I've not read The Boxcar Children, but I think my daughter read a couple of them when she was young. And my husband does read - just not as much as I do. Of course, his time is more limited than mine. We don't overlap much on reading material, but we do have a few authors in common.

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  7. Not ever read these but I have heard of them. I hope you enjoy it.

    Stormi
    Friday Memes

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  8. I LOVED these books in my childhood...and a few years ago, I was meandering through a library and was thrilled to find the books there. I am always glad to see books "live on" past my childhood experiences with them. Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.

    I think I now want to reread these books!

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  9. I must confess that I never read this series, although they are very popular with kids who visit the library.

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  10. Breaking my SSR here, but I've always been curious about this series. Have you read Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight; it's a fabulous book on a group of kids who were abandoned and who journey on their own.

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  11. I've never heard of these books, but I feel sorry for the kids. Poor things, I hope someone comes along to help them out. I hope you're enjoying the book! Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  12. I wish my husband read, but oh well.

    I LOVE The Boxcar Children. That was my favorite childhood book. I used to pretend I lived in a boxcar. :)

    ENJOY your weekend, and Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

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  13. I'm not sure if I've read this one or not, but I do like the sound of it.

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  14. It's GREAT that your romantic partner reads at night! My hubs doesn't read books at all. He does read short articles on the Internet, mostly dealing with tcch topics, but that's it.

    I've seen "The Boxcar Children" on other blogs, but I've never read it. Although it's a bit late now, since I'm an adult, maybe I should!

    My favorite childhood classic is "Alice In Wonderland".

    Thanks for dropping by and commenting on my own BBH post!! Happy Weekend!! :)

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  15. I never read these books, but I know my daughter did and loved them. My hubs loves to read before he goes to sleep - but unfortunately, he drifts off before he gets very far. He loves action and solid, memorable male characters.

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  16. I have most of the series. I purchased many from my library when they still had book sales. I intend to read them since I never did as a child. Thanks for the reviews.
    Marilyn

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  17. Hi Katherine,

    This is not a series of books I can ever remember it making as far as the UK, so I am not familiar with either the stories or their author.

    I read voraciously as a child, in fact our entire family did and the most looked forward to time of the week, was a Saturday afternoon, when we would all walk the three miles to town to do the weekly shop, then spend as much time as we had left, in the library.

    I guess my favourite childhood author would have to be Enid Blyton, although I would read just about anything I could get my hands on and couldn't wait to be allowed into the adult section of the library, where a whole new world of titles and authors were opened up to me!

    Hubbie also enjoys reading, although like your own husband, he tends to prefer non-fiction, which means he will have several books on the go all at the same time. Both of us would much rather spend a day browsing the bookshops, rather than clothes shopping, although even he has come to realise that the bookshops are charging a very high premium for a text book, when they can be purchased at a fraction of the price online. Now, we tend to use bookshops as a browsing point for books which we then purchase online, which we both feel rather guilty and sad about, if the truth be known.

    Thanks for sharing and enjoy your weekend :)

    Yvonne

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  18. I've heard of this book before, it's one mom has but I never read. Happy weekend!

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  19. I haven't read the Boxcar Children in years. I think I still have the first book somewhere.

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  20. It's really funny because I never heard of these books growing. I never heard of them in library school. It wasn't until I actually worked in a public library that I became aware of them. They are evidently a I'm probably going to have to check them out at some point. Great post. Have a good weekend as well.

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  21. Hi - About your Blogger Hop Question, my hubby hardly reads at all. He's a TV-holic. :)
    @dino0726 from 
    FictionZeal - Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews

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  22. Hi,
    Never read this book, but I'll be putting them on my TBR list. Thanks for stopping by my place. Have a great day!

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  23. I always get this one mixed up with The Railway Children; which I have the free Kindle Classics ebook of. I see this one is only $1.99. I just might get it for that price. I also see there are 12 books in the series. :)

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  24. My husband is a reader too. :-) I really need to try the Boxcar Children. I was a huge fan of Beverly Cleary growing up and Judy Blume. My mom introduced me to the Bobbsey Twins, which I loved--even though by today's standards they aren't particularly politically correct. The Chronicles of Narnia also won me over.

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  25. I really wish that my husband would read. I think he would enjoy it if he would give it a chance. I haven't ever read any of this series. I am really not sure how I could have missed it to be honest.

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  26. The Boxcar Children was my top favorite book as a kid!! I read it dozens of times.

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  27. Your husband's reading habits are a lot like my husband's. Mine reads a fair amount of fiction but still when you only read 5-10 mins some days, you don't get far fast!

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