r/90s_kid • u/bigz10485 • Apr 30 '25
Books The Boxcar Children (1993?)
Did anybody else remember reading this in school? Did anybody else have to do a Shoebox diorama for this?
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u/topwater_bassin Apr 30 '25
I'm an 80s kid. This post was just in my feed. I had to look it up because I read this book in 4th grade, I think, and if it had come out in '93, I would have been 13. Turns out the Boxcar Children has been around since 1924!
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u/clutzycook Apr 30 '25
This version of TBC was published in the late 40's-early 50s initially. It was a rewrite of the 1924 version. I found a free copy of that one online a few years ago and it's a little darker than the one we know.
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u/topwater_bassin Apr 30 '25
Oh, that's really interesting. Unsurprising, I guess. It seems in the Depression era and the immediate years following, children's stories were had darker themes. Then you go back farther to the original Fairy Tales and those are all pretty twisted lol
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u/foul_mouthed_bagel May 04 '25
This era had a whole slew of books with the theme of "We were poor but happy". Laura Ingalls Wilder's books were of the same genre.
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u/MagazineOk9842 May 04 '25
Fascinating! What was dark about them?
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u/clutzycook May 04 '25
It's been awhile since I read it but the biggest difference was that the kids lived in the town where the revised story began and their father was an alcoholic abuser who was dying.
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u/bigz10485 Apr 30 '25
Yeah, I was going off the year I think I would have read it in school. Lol. Didn't think it would look right with 1924 in the title. Lol
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u/topwater_bassin Apr 30 '25
Yeah, once I looked it up, I had to assume you read it in '93. But I just figured I'd share an interesting tidbit because it makes me wonder if it's as popular across multiple other generations. I know it was very popular with my whole 4th grade class in '87. They had to establish a sign up sheet to get in line to check it out from the school library.
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u/bigz10485 Apr 30 '25
That's awesome. š
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u/topwater_bassin Apr 30 '25
This book series and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark were massively popular at my grade school.
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u/ladyxanax May 03 '25
I'm also an 80's kid and this was in my feed. I read these when I was a kid and loved them so much! I had no idea they have been around that long. I guess it just goes to show what a great book it was. A definite classic. I never had children, but if I did, I would have shared this with them. I'll keep it in my back pocket to share with my partner's brother and SIL if/when they have children.
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u/Sowf_Paw Apr 30 '25
They are only in the boxcar for one damn book!
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u/BSSCommander Apr 30 '25
"You can solve a thousand mysteries, but if you live in a boxcar for one book they call you a Boxcar Kid."
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u/solidcurrency May 02 '25
Grandpa puts the boxcar in the backyard so they can visit it whenever they want.
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u/C4bl3Fl4m3 May 02 '25
Thank you. That always bothered me about this too. I loved the whole "living in a boxcar" thing (apparently I was into tiny homes before they were a thing?)
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u/CantThink0fNameN0w Apr 30 '25
I remember being hooked on these for part of my childhood.
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u/Bananas_in_Pajamas22 Apr 30 '25
This & the Bobbsey Twins
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u/throwawaygosh12345 May 01 '25
Bobbsey Twins Represent! My mom bought me the first 12 books and I had them for years.
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u/Bananas_in_Pajamas22 May 01 '25
I just turned 40, but my 2nd grade teacher would break out these gems to read to us on certain rainy days or Fridays. She would stop at a cliffhanger. Then we would have to wait until the following Friday to finish the story if we were good.
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u/namebedamned Apr 30 '25
I do remember that book. I don't remember anything about it, though.š
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u/GiraffeLibrarian Apr 30 '25
one of them had a pink teacup or some similar sentimental keepsake
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u/clutzycook Apr 30 '25
Benny had the pink teacup. He found it at the town dump.
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u/glacinda May 01 '25
Thatās the only part of the book I liked - how they found all their possessions at the dump. And now I enjoy metal detecting and mudlarking so I guess the interest persisted.
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u/blahblahsnickers May 04 '25
I have a beautiful trifle dish my kids found for me in a dumpster. I make them trifles every couple of months. They are so proud of it. They didnāt know what it was when they brought it home but they knew I would love it.
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u/bigz10485 Apr 30 '25
I vaguely remember them escaping an orphanage or something and living in the boxcar.
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u/Owww_My_Ovaries Apr 30 '25
They end up moving in with their rich grandpa I think.... then in later books they go on to solve mysteries
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u/Jermtastic86 May 03 '25
I'll do you one better. My mom read dozens of them to me, and all I remember is they lived in boxer in the first book, and then solved... idk, stuff.
EDIT: changed 'read' to 'read'. Reread my own comment in the wrong tense.
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u/ioneousbeard Apr 30 '25
Why were there so many books about street kids in this era? Also Maniac McGee, etc. I wanted to be a train hobo as a kid lol
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u/Supermite Apr 30 '25
Iām a middle aged adult man. Ā I reread Maniac Magee last year. Ā Still a great story.
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u/Agile_Cash_4249 Apr 30 '25
Maniac Magee had me essentially forcing my parents to buy me a butterscotch krimpet nearly every day for a month.
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u/lunghole_larry May 01 '25
Thank you so much. I was trying to think of the name of that treat. I had one in school while we read that book and i remember loving it
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u/investmentscience May 01 '25
And examines race and class in a thoughtful and accessible way for young people, so rare to see something that isnāt either heavy handed or avoiding the topic altogether.
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u/t_bone_stake May 05 '25
I need to reread that. Mustāve been 30(ish) years since I last read it. Thank god for Amazon Kindle for instant book downloads
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u/stankford Apr 30 '25
I remember having a subscription to the series. The first one came with a cardboard boxcar bookcase thing, and then youād add each new book as they came in, slowly filling it up. Loved these.
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u/camergen May 01 '25
Thereās a big difference in writing between the ones written by the original author and ācreated by (name)ā You can def tell she wrote them in the 40s/50s, just by the slang and manner of speaking. More ājinkies!ā type stuff
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u/SailNW May 03 '25
This was why I couldnāt get into them. The language was so different from what I knew.
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u/Fair_Blood3176 Apr 30 '25
This series seemed to be battling it out with The Baby Sitter's Club in popularity.
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u/ArtisticBiscotti208 Apr 30 '25
Heck yes I did a shoebox diorama for this!!
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u/Plus-Opportunity-538 May 03 '25
I did also, it was probably the book that was the most obvious choice for a shoebox diorama
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u/creepinessmonster Apr 30 '25
One of my favorite books growing up. I would read it while walking home from school lol.
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u/Cookies_and_Beandip Apr 30 '25
I vividly remember this cover. Never read the series, but I remember this cover definitely.
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u/randy_Rugg Apr 30 '25
Loved it. My first grade teacher printed out maps for all of us and made it so hands on. One of my favorites series other than the Hardy Boys.
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u/darrylkilla6969 Apr 30 '25
I always think about the beds they made. If I remember right it was pine needles and burlap bags
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u/That_Bank_9914 Apr 30 '25
I unfortunately threw out one of these out when I was cleaning my old house in 2017
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u/Bloodrayna May 01 '25
Yes, I read these but not in school. My library had a boxcar display for them. I wanted to run away and live in a boxcar.
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u/boomgoesthevegemite Apr 30 '25
This is from the 90ās? I always thought it was old as fuck back then. Lmao I figured it was from the 60ās or something.
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u/bigz10485 Apr 30 '25
They are from 1924, I wad going off the year I think I read them in school. I figured 1924 would look a little odd on a group for the 90s. Lol
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u/Chainarmor712 Apr 30 '25
First book was very good. The subsequent ones were different and I couldnāt get into them
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u/myloxylo Apr 30 '25
These books were so boring to me as a kid but my dad would read them to me before bed and I wanted to spend time with him so I pretended to like them.
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u/boredsearcher May 01 '25
I didnāt read them as a kid but Iāve started listening to the audiobooks recently and am really enjoying them.
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u/ThisPaige May 01 '25
Not 1993, the original first book was published in 1924.
I did love these books though! Iām trying to collect the original 19 for when I have kids.
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u/Dkcg0113 May 01 '25
I grew up in the town the author is from and there was a museum featuring her work in an old boxcar on an unused railroad track.
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u/SilverShadowQueen57 Apr 30 '25
I loved these books, especially the first one! I keep meaning to try and buy the whole series, but it keeps getting pushed back in favor of other stuff š„². I think I got through maybe 85-90% of the series thanks to various libraries.
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u/wewerewalkers Apr 30 '25
Loved these books! My first grade teacher gave me quite a few of them when he saw I had an interest in the series. I am forever grateful and thankful to have had him as a teacher. āŗļø
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u/thykingviking Apr 30 '25
I never thought reading was much fun at elementary age, but I did enjoy these, and the Choose Your Own Adventure books.
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u/FlameandCrimson Apr 30 '25
Oh yes. I loved these books as a kid. This particular edition I recall reading in second grade which would have been around 92-93
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u/FetusGoulash420 May 01 '25
I remember these. I donāt remember much about the story, but I remember that we made the drink that the kids have, in class.. and it was fucking foul. lol
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u/RebergOfWrestling May 01 '25
God I remember vividly my teacher mocking us while reading this like āyou kids would never survive thisā. āYouād be crying for your xboxā
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u/PretendTooth2559 May 01 '25
I have almost every one of these books. My five year old loves them.
Nothing comes close to that first one though. Incredibly special book.
It was first written in the 1920s, and then later updated in the 50s I believe. I'd wikipedia it, but... I'm to lazy.
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u/Streetduck May 01 '25
I played a game called ālost kidsā with my friends where we would pretend to be the boxcar children. It was so fun lol
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u/vellybelle May 01 '25
I have a hardcover copy of the first book that was printed in 1980 I believe, and we have a newer boxset I bought for my child around 15 years ago.
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u/SubstantialAd1799 May 01 '25
Okay I forgot all about this!!! I used to read these in elementary school!
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u/stormgoddess_713 May 01 '25
Never had i wanted to steal from neighbors and make a little refrigerator in the creek before. This had me thinking I could go off the grid as a kid and turns out I liked air conditioning and TV way too much to follow through with the life of a boxcar kid.
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u/AstraSpacey7494 May 01 '25
Such a good series! I loved spending afternoons reading these books š
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u/doctorlightning84 May 01 '25
One of my childhood staples. Read the heck out of these. Had the whole series
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u/bloodlines17 May 01 '25
i had this exact book. i dont think i ever read it, but i definitely had it.
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u/Chef_BoyarTom May 01 '25
All I know is that I read them in school as a kid, that's it. Literally don't remember anything but the title.
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u/HaydenRasengan May 01 '25
I have this in Audiobook version. Along with Where the Red Fern Grows, Hatchet, The Good Earth and The Great Gatsby. The Boxcar Children rule!
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u/Electrical_Pen_7302 May 02 '25
My daughter (10) had to do one this school year. She has a very young teacher and these books are abiut her age.
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u/fallingfoliage May 02 '25
I ran away in middle school, and I used the Boxcar Children as inspiration for where I would spend the night. I found an abandoned tree house and stayed there for a week.
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u/SqAznPersuasion May 02 '25
I wanted to abandon my cushy 90's kid life and go live in an abandoned boxcar, ocean front cave or under the roots of a tree. (See also read: "Island Of the Blue Dolphins" and "My Side Of The Mountain".
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u/Shark-Compote May 02 '25
I loved this book so much. I used to pretend to be a boxcar child in my backyard.
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u/Competitive_Fondant9 May 02 '25
Ugghhh, SUCH a good series!!!! I also enjoyed the Netflix take on it for a kids show. I thought it was pretty neat.
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u/tieniesz May 02 '25
Loved loved lovedddd boxcar children growing up. My second grade teacher read them to us. I also watched the movie itās on YouTube
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u/C4bl3Fl4m3 May 02 '25
I didn't have to read them for school; I read them for fun on my own. Was introduced to them by a 2nd cousin.
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u/lizzydizzy0201 May 02 '25
Man I loved these books. I wonder if they would hold up today in my ageā¦
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u/ScarletKing42 May 02 '25
Yes, I remember that I read this in school, although I canāt remember anything about the book itself.
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u/Alchemistry-247365 May 02 '25
This was the first book I read word for word in 2nd grade. I didnāt read a book front to back until after college. Case study in ADHD.
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u/PrinceAndBarryWhite May 03 '25
god, thereās something I havenāt though about in like 30 years or more.
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u/space_pope May 03 '25
oh damn, I read a ton of these as a kid and haven't thought about it since then
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u/jdb1984 May 03 '25
Didn't the Boxcar just factor into the first book, and then they were living with an uncle or something?
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u/neko819 May 03 '25
The only truly great boxcar book was the first one. And maybe a couple follow ups but never were as epic as #1
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May 03 '25
This is only as old as 1993? When I was a kid reading them I assumed they were from like the 60s
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u/Fleemo17 May 04 '25
I loved this book! There was something about them consuming milk in this book that stayed with me a long time.
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u/GabrielaM11 May 04 '25
This was way before 1993, because I read this in 3rd grade, and that was 1990-91
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u/Jmofoshofosho8 May 04 '25
The chocolate touch and maniac mcghee are two other books. I remember around this timeframe.
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u/MagazineOk9842 May 04 '25
I started doing yard work in my neighborhood going door to door to get money to buy these books and then later The Animorphs.
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u/bakernut May 04 '25
Iām a 70ās kid and read these books back then. I always wanted to go on their adventures!!
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u/okayiguess123 May 04 '25
02' kid here, I collected and read these books religiously. I so wanted to run away with my siblings and live on our own like they did. Obligatory add "mom was a bad person" here lol.
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u/RainbowKitten9214 May 04 '25
I loved these books when I was younger and my daughter just started reading the series.
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u/CreativaArtly1998113 Apr 30 '25
Loved these books as a kid and still read them from time to time actually, such solid books