*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***
I remember loving this series as a child. I even have a specific memory of looking for books in this series on the library shelves - up high on the last shelf before the windows in the children's area.
Somehow, though, I have managed to forget every single detail about the books except that there are four children, and they live in a boxcar. Re-reading this book for the first time since I was a kid, I was surprised to learn that the children were reunited with their grandfather! I honestly didn't remember there being any adult supervision at all. I also remember the books being "mysteries", and was surprised that this book wasn't.
Still, I really enjoyed this book, which I finally picked up because Isabelle found it at the library, checked it out with Ken, and read it herself first! She loved it and is looking forward to reading more in the series.
The sentences are very simple, and they have a kind of wholesomeness that I associate with the 1950's. (Actually, it looks like this book was first published in 1942.) Except for the baker's wife in the beginning, every character is "good", and all the children - even 5-year-old Benny - are well-behaved. Besides being kind and polite, they are also hard-working and resourceful. Their good-naturedness might be a little unrealistic, but since this is a book for children, I rather like that they are good examples for behavior.
I don't know if the characters get fleshed out more in subsequent books, but in this one, none of the children has much of a personality besides what might be expected from each child's age and gender. But honestly, I don't mind when characters in children's books lack personality, because I wonder if that makes them more appealing and relatable to a wider audience of young readers who might like to imagine being one of the characters themselves.
I was a little put off by how matter-of-factly the children stated that their parents "are dead". And though their death must have been recent, the children didn't seem to miss them at all. Moreover, I really didn't understand how the grandfather fit in. He seemed so good and kind, and he lived nearby, so why didn't he ever see his grandchildren before? Did he really dislike their mother, and basically held a grudge against the parents until they died, at which time he realized the error of his ways and sought to make things up with his grandchildren? Well, whatever. I guess it's really not important to the story. It's about the kids, and their adventures with the boxcar, and everything else must be filed away under "suspended disbelief".
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