Posted on by TracyC

Lauren’s Treasure

Sleepover Friends

#8 Lauren’s Treasure by Susan Saunders, 1988.

The Sleepover Friends have volunteered to take part in an archaeological dig on the site of an old mansion, which is also on land where a Native American tribe once lived.  Other students from their school and a school in a nearby town will also be taking part.  Stephanie isn’t sure that she’s going to like being part of the dig because she doesn’t really like getting her hands dirty and she thinks it would be gross if they uncovered the bones of dead people during the dig.  The others are more excited about the dig, but at first, it doesn’t turn out as well as expected for Lauren.

First, Lauren’s hair is weird on the day of the dig because the other girls tried to give her a perm at a sleepover and it didn’t go well.  Then, she attracts some unexpected attention from Walter, a new neighbor of Stephanie’s.  Walter is in the fourth grade, but only because he skipped a couple of grades to get there.  He’s only eight years old, but he’s something of a child genius.  He’s not really a bad kid, but when he starts following Lauren around and acts like he’s got a crush on her, Lauren is embarrassed because he’s so much younger than she is.

Then Lauren makes an exciting discovery on the dig: a carved rabbit charm.  The archaeologist in charge of the dig is excited because its presence, along with some yellow paint, means that they’ve found a Native American burial spot.  She takes the younger children off the dig and has her grad students continue searching for the grave itself.  Lauren is pleased at being the one to make an exciting find, but the charm mysteriously disappears at the dig.

The archaeologist thinks that, most likely, the charm fell out of the tray Lauren was using to collect things on the dig when everyone started pushing to get a look at the spot where it was found.  She says that she and the grad students will keep an eye out for it as they continue the dig.  For Lauren, it just seems like another piece of bad luck in her bad luck streak.

Walter continues paying too much attention to Lauren at school, and later, writes an anonymous note, asking her to meet him at a local pizza place.  At first, Lauren thinks that the note was writing by Jenny Carlin, a rival at school, because of a series of pranks they were playing on each other earlier.  When Jenny denies being responsible for the note, Lauren goes to the pizza place and sees Walter.  Unfortunately, Jenny and her friend Angela show up there, too, curious to see who was meeting Lauren, and they tease her and Walter.  Lauren is embarrassed at having a kid so much younger than she is (genius or not) chasing after her, and she hates the teasing that she gets at school about it, but she’s not quite sure what to do about it, other than ignoring Walter as best she can.  However, Walter is actually the key to solving the mystery of what happened to the rabbit charm.

You might guess at this point that Walter was the one who took the charm in the first place.  I thought it was pretty obvious myself.  Walter wasn’t trying to cause trouble.  He explains to Lauren that he was trying to get her attention, and his first plan was to pretend that he found the missing charm after a search so that he could look like a hero to her.  He just never got the chance to give it back because he got interrupted, and then Lauren started avoiding him because of the teasing.  It all works out for the best because Lauren gives the charm back to the archaeologist, who doesn’t press her too closely about where she found it, and Walter gets a crush on a different girl who is a little closer to his age. 

Getting a crush on someone who either doesn’t feel the same way or just isn’t available is a normal part of life (if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t appear so often in tv shows, movies, and books – people find this type of situation relatable), and so is being the subject of a crush from someone you don’t love or find unsuitable (again, that’s why this situation comes up often in fiction – it happens often enough in real life that people understand the feeling).  When it comes to getting boyfriends or girlfriends, one of the people involved has to be the first to stick their neck out and say that they’re interested, and there’s no guarantee that the feelings will be returned.  It’s not easy, but this is a part of how relationships start.  When the feelings aren’t returned, which is bound to happen from time to time, there’s always some awkwardness.  The first person is usually disappointed, and there might be a struggle for the other person as they try to find a way to turn the other person down without hurting their feelings.  The situation in this book is especially awkward because precocious young Walter is so young, and it’s likely a first crush for him.  Lauren has also never had to deal with a situation like this before and isn’t quite sure how do handle it. 

In a way, having Walter simply lose interest in Lauren feels a little like a cop-out for the situation so neither of them really has to confront the situation directly, but there are a couple of things that Walter has come to realize by the end of the story that may be useful.  One good point is that there are limits on the things people should be allowed to do to get someone’s attention and start a relationship with him.  When Walter was just trying to strike up a conversation with Lauren or be helpful to her at the dig, it wasn’t bad.  It didn’t get Lauren’s approval for him, but it wasn’t because his behavior was bad (more about this later because it’s important).  The bad part came when he stole the charm to get her attention.  When Walter’s mother later finds out about his theft of the charm, she grounds him and makes him give the charm back and confess to Lauren what he did.  Learning that life has limits and that some behaviors don’t get you the kind of attention you’re really looking for is a good life lesson.  Some people do come on too strongly when they’re seeking attention, and I’m not just talking about kids who aren’t experienced enough to know how to behave; even adults don’t always know the best way to approach romantic relationships or understand others’ limits and boundaries regarding them.  I’m no relationship expert, but I think that the solution is partly developing a kind of situational awareness and an ability to empathize with other people and read their reactions.

Before the story is over, Walter learns more about reading other people’s reactions and understanding how his actions fit into the larger situation from someone else’s viewpoint.  At first, Walter doesn’t seem to sense Lauren’s discomfort, and her friends criticize him for not taking a hint.  Lauren felt a little awkward about his helpfulness at the dig not because it was a bad thing (he was really trying to be nice and there was nothing objectionable about what he said or did until he took the charm – I want you to understand that she wasn’t rejecting him for being a nice guy or anything like that) but because she had reservations about getting too involved with someone so much younger than herself, and she felt like his attention put her in an awkward position.  Walter is a genius, but he is still physically and socially about three years behind the other kids in the story, and at first, he can’t see why that would create awkwardness in a romantic relationship, especially for kids who are only just starting to get old enough to be interested in romance.  The difficulty for Lauren and the reason why she was so irritable with the situation was that she found it difficult to tell a younger kid who was being so nice to her that she didn’t welcome his attentions when he wasn’t doing anything really wrong and didn’t want to hurt his feelings.  As I said, an awkward situation.  Sometimes, even a person who is trying to be nice can unintentionally create awkwardness if they don’t understand the other person’s circumstances, and that’s something that adults do as well as children.  This is basically what’s at the heart of a situation where “nice guys” get rejected or “friend-zoned.” It’s not about the “nice guy” doing anything wrong so much as a case of the wrong relationship at the wrong time with someone who isn’t quite as compatible with them as they thought.  

In a romantic relationship, both of the people involved have to agree to it equally, one isn’t enough.  When Jenny and her friend start teasing Lauren and Walter after the incident at the pizza place, Walter comes to see why a relationship with him would make things awkward for Lauren because of their age difference and the reactions of the other kids.  If they were in their 20s or 30s, an age difference of two or three years wouldn’t mean anything, but for where they are in their lives now, as kids in elementary school, it means a lot.  At the end of the story, Walter’s new love interest is a little closer to his age, making less of a problem, and he has developed enough social awareness to use his age difference to get a little revenge on Jenny for her teasing by publicly asking her about meeting him at the pizza place later, as if she were interested in dating him.  Walter could have been hurt and insulted about being rejected and teased because of his age (and it would have been understandable), but he has realized that, under the circumstances, it would be better to move on and find someone who is more suitable for him and who might be more open to a relationship with him.  In the end, he feels good enough about the situation to use his age for the joke on Jenny, and his other classmates approve of his humor and the well-deserved jab at Jenny’s teasing.

The one thing that I really wish they had added to the story would be for Lauren to learn how to gracefully turn down an offer of a relationship when she isn’t interested because I think that would be an important life lesson for her and for young readers. Socially awkward situations occur in life, but there are ways of handling them to minimize the embarrassment for everyone involved. In the story, Lauren’s main tactic is trying to ignore Walter and hope that he’ll take it as a hint until he finds someone else, and in real life, that’s not good enough. I’m not sure what she would have said if Jenny and her friend hadn’t interrupted her and Walter at the pizza place, but I would hope that it would have been something like, “I appreciate the help you gave me at the dig, Walter, and you seem pretty nice, but I just don’t think that we have enough in common. I think that there is too much of an age difference between us, and I’m not interested in that kind of relationship.” The rejection still might sting, but some simple honesty would at least be more respectful than ignoring him and hoping that he’ll take that as a hint.

I read this book years ago when I was a kid, although there was only one part that really stayed with me, and for a long time, I thought that I was remembering the incident from one of the Baby-Sitters’ Club books.  The scene that stuck in my memory was from the sleepover at the beginning of the book.  The girls were angry at Jenny for some mean comments that she made, so they requested a song on the radio called “You’re a Jerk” by the Lurkers and dedicated it to her.  When they made the request, they told the radio station that they were “well-meaning friends” instead of giving their names, and the radio DJ made a joke about it when he played the song.  It was this incident that started off the series of pranks that Jenny and the girls play on each other throughout the book.  I think part of the reason this scene stuck with me was the “well-meaning friends” phrase and part of it was because I had always wondered if the song they requested was a real song.  I don’t think it is because I can’t find it on the Internet. The Lurkers are a real band, but I can’t find anything about that song. If that song actually exists and someone can find a video of it, let me know, and I’ll link to it!

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Kate’s Camp-Out

Sleepover Friends

#6 Kate’s Camp-Out by Susan Saunders, 1988.

Kate’s family is spending the weekend at a cabin at Spirit Lake, and Kate is allowed to bring her Sleepover Friends with her.  However, what promised to be a fun and exciting weekend soon comes with complications.  First, Kate discovers that the Norwood family will be in a cabin nearby.  Dr. Norwood is a colleague of her father’s, but his two sons, Sam and Dave, are pests who like to play practical jokes.  When they arrive at the cabin, there is also no electricity (a problem that they fix the next day), and they learn that the reason the lake is called Spirit Lake is because there are some scary stories about the place.  Kate’s father tells the girls a story before bed about an old fur trapper who murdered another fur trapper for his money.  The ghost story is interrupted by Dr. Norwood, who comes over to see if everything is all right because there have been some break-ins in the area recently.

The girls are spooked by the ghost story, but the next day, they also encounter the Norwood boys and realize that they’re every bit as awful as Kate remembers them.  First, Sam and Dave trick a couple of the girls into wading out into a deeper area of the lake so that they’ll fall in and get wet.  Then, when the families meet for a barbecue, the boys give a couple of the girls worms in a bun instead of sausages.

Because of their bad experiences with the boys, the girls are allowed to go back to their cabin while the others finish the barbecue.  While the girls are at the cabin, they accidentally find a secret hiding place in the fireplace with a pouch of old coins inside!  The girls wonder if that could be the stolen money from the ghost story, but Stephanie, who has been reading a book about ghost stories from the area, says that the dates on the old coins are later than the story took place.  According to the book, a ghost child was once seen around their cabin, but the girls can’t figure out why a child would have hidden so much money.

While the girls wait for the adults to return from the barbecue, they fix dinner for themselves and decide to hold a séance to contact the spirits.  They don’t really believe that the séance will work when they try it, but without any tv or radio, they don’t have anything else to do, and they can’t get their minds off the ghost stories. 

To the girls’ surprise, they actually hear strange knocks in reply to the questions that they ask the spirits.  Then, a child’s giggle convinces them that it’s just the Norwood boys, spying on them and trying to scare them again.  It’s the last straw, and the girl plot how to get even with the Norwood boys!

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction and Spoilers

This is one of those stories that has a somewhat ambiguous ending. When the girls try to catch the Norwood boys playing ghost, they instead discover the identities of the people behind the recent break-ins at the cabins. Later, they learn that Sam and Dave actually have alibis for the time that they heard the ghost noises, leaving them wondering if the knocking and giggling could have actually been a ghost. The girls do manage to play a prank on the boys before the end of the story, but they never learn the story behind the old coins.

I liked the part where they never firmly establish whether or not there was a ghost because it’s fun to leave people wondering. People who like ghost stories can imagine that the girls did hear a ghost, but if you don’t like the scary explanation, you can imagine that there’s another explanation for the noises. However, I found the lack of resolution behind the presence of the coins a little disappointing. The owner of the cabin they were using lets each of the girls keep a single coin as a souvenir (and the coins really are valuable collectors’ items) and gives the others to a local museum. I think I would have liked the story better if the girls found an explanation for the presence of the coins at the museum, so at least part of the story would be resolved.

There are two main theories that I have behind the events in the story. One is that the thieves in the area hid some stolen coins in the cabin for some reason and they were the ones trying to scare the girls during their seance. The other is that the mystery of the coins ties in with the child ghost in some way, hinting at dark unknown deeds from the past. Alas, there is no confirmation about which of these theories, if any, is true.

Posted on by TracyC

The Camp-Out Mystery

The Boxcar Children

#27 The Camp-Out Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 1992.

The Alden family has decided to go on a camping trip to a campground at a state park.  From the moment that they arrive, though, strange things seem to be happening.  When they stop for supplies, a woman Mr. Alden knows, Doris, seems oddly evasive when he tries to ask her about her sister, Hildy, and she makes the odd comment that she hopes nothing will spoil their trip.  As they pull into the state park, they discover that the arrow on the sign pointing to the rangers’ station has been reversed to point the wrong way.  Mr. Alden shrugs the incident off as a prank, but it’s only the beginning of the strange happenings.

The Aldens get to their camp site and notice that the place is a mess.  Either the previous campers were pretty messy, or they left in a hurry.  The Aldens clean up the site and set up their tents.  (The description of how they set up camp is actually somewhat educational because they talk about things to look for when choosing a campsite, how they have to check the ground for rocks and tree roots before setting up their tents and why they should avoid places where it looks like rain water might pool and why it can be dangerous to set up a tent under a tree if there is a lightning storm.)  Later that night, Violet is woken by the sound of music.  At first, she thinks that it must be some nearby campers, but it sounds too loud and too close.  When she and Jessie get up to investigate, the sound stops.

Later, the kids see strange lights in the woods, and things disappear or are moved around at their campsite.  When Mr. Alden realizes that someone has been sneaking into their camp and taking things, he suggests that they might want to leave the park, but the kids say that they’d rather stay because they’re still enjoying themselves.  Then, Mr. Alden injures his ankle when he’s startled by another blast of loud music and part of the path he’s on gives way because the dirt was loosened by rain.  The children are prepared to leave when their grandfather is injured, but to their surprise, Mr. Alden says that he’d rather stay, too.

Who is doing all of these things and why?  Is it the unfriendly Hildy, who lives alone in a cabin and wants everyone to leave her alone?  Or maybe her seemingly-helpful neighbor, Andy, for reasons of his own?  Could Doris be responsible?  What about the Changs, a family camping nearby who seemed disappointed that they didn’t have the campground to themselves?

There are some environmental themes and lessons in the story.  The Aldens frequently pick up litter that other campers and hikers leave behind.  There is also an explanation that the reason why part of the path Mr. Alden was on collapsed due to erosion because there are no trees along that section of path; tree roots help secure the soil so that it doesn’t wash away.  After the mystery is solved, Mr. Alden decides to donate some trees to the park, and the kids talk about adding more trash cans and a recycling center to help solve the litter problem.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

The Yellow House Mystery

The Yellow House Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 1953, 1981.

This story in the Boxcar Children series picks up the following spring after the previous book.  The children’s cousin, Joe, is arranging for the excavation of the cave where the children found their Native American artifacts.  They’ve decided to use dynamite to blast open the roof of the cave to make excavation easier (I’m not sure if this is really the best way to get at artifacts that were sheltered safely for years in their cacve and were easily being dug up by children in their current situation, but okay), and although he had told the children that they couldn’t be there for the blasting, he’s changed his mind.  He’s even going to let seven-year-old Benny be the one to push down the handle that will set off the blast.  (Because this is one of the early books in the series, the children are aging from the first book in the series – Henry is sixteen years old, Jessie is now fourteen, and Violet is twelve.)

One of the people who will be working on the excavation is Alice, an old school friend of Joe’s.  Everyone can tell that Joe is in love with her, and soon, he proposes to her.  They get married and decide to spend their honeymoon camping out in the barn on the island, just like the children did the previous summer.

However, the children have started to wonder what the story is about the old yellow house on the island.  For some reason, it makes their grandfather sad, and he doesn’t like to talk about it.  Eventually, their grandfather tells them that their housekeeper, Mrs. McGregor, used to live in that house with her husband, Bill.  Bill used to take care of Mr. Alden’s father’s race horses.  He was a nice man, but weak-willed.  His brother, Sam, and his brother’s disreputable friends were often able to persuade Bill to do things that would get him into trouble, and Bill was never able to stand up to them.  One day, he vanished mysteriously from that house, and neither his wife nor the Aldens have any idea what happened to him.  There are only two clues about the reason for Bill’s disappearance.  One is money that Bill was supposed to give to Mr. Alden’s father for the sale of two horses that he managed on his behalf.  Mr. Alden assumes that Bill’s brother did something with the money and that Bill probably left because he was afraid to face Mr. Alden without the it.  Sam died soon after Bill disappeared, so they were unable to ask him about what he knew.  The other odd thing that happened before Bill disappeared was that Mrs. McGregor heard strange sounds in the night.  When she went to investigate, her husband was apparently just reading a newspaper, and he claimed that the noise was nothing unusual.  But, what was Bill really doing?

The kids want to investigate Bill McGregor’s mysterious disappearance, and their grandfather and Joe and Alice enter the house with them to have a look for more clues.  In a hiding place behind one of the fireplace bricks, they find a letter from Sam to Bill about the money from the horse sale.  Sam promised Bill that he would be able to pay him back more than the money he owed and tells Bill to meet him at a house in Maine near Bear Trail.  The kids persuade their grandfather to let them to go Maine with Joe and Alice over the summer to try to find the house on Bear Trail so they can find out what happened to Bill.  The trip will involve camping, hiking, and canoeing, but they’re up to the challenge!

Joe is familiar with Bear Trail because he used to work as a trail guide when he was in his teens.  They are also joined by another trail guide, Mr. Hill, and have adventures that include a storm and a real bear.  However, the real answers to the mystery lie at the Old Village at the end of the trail.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive. There are multiple copies of the book. In order to check out a book through Internet Archive, you need to sign up for an account. The account is free, and you read the books in your browser.

My Reaction

In a number of ways, this book is more adventure than mystery.  It doesn’t take long for the kids to realize discover Bill McGregor’s new identity.  However, what happened to the money is more of a puzzle.  Even Bill has been unable to find where his brother hid it years ago.  Benny discovers it by accident while watching a toad. 

One thing that had made me uncomfortable was how long Bill had stayed away from his wife.  When the kids confront him about his real identity, it turns out that Sam’s disreputable friends had lied to him, telling him that his wife had died shortly after he disappeared.  He is overjoyed to discover that she is still alive, and she is glad to see him when he finally returns home.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Surprise Island

The Boxcar Children

Surprise Island by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 1949.

Mr. Alden has promised his grandchildren a special surprise for their summer vacation. He tells them that, years ago, his father bought a small island because he kept horses and wanted a quiet place for them.  The island has only one little yellow house, a barn, and a fisherman’s hut where Captain Daniel lives.  Captain Daniel operates the motorboat that can take people to the island.  Mr. Alden plans to take his grandchildren to the island to look over the house, and if they like, they can spend the summer there.  The children think that it sounds like fun.

When they get to the island, the children decide that they want to stay in the barn instead of the house.  Captain Daniel also tells them that he has a young man staying with him, a friend who hasn’t been feeling well.  The Aldens’ old friend, Dr. Moore, has come to see the island with them, so he looks in on the young man.  It turns out that the young man was in an accident and had lost his memory for a time, although he has been gaining it back.  He says that he used to live with an uncle but that he didn’t want to go home again until he was sure that he was completely well.  He is going by the name of “Joe”, which is short for his middle name, Joseph.  Captain Daniel says that he’s known the young man all his life, and Dr. Moore also seems to know him, but Joe doesn’t seem to want to talk about himself to Mr. Alden.

The kids enjoy setting up housekeeping in the barn.  It reminds them of when they used to live in an old boxcar.  They use old boxes for furniture, dig for clams, and eat vegetables from the garden that Joe and Captain Daniel have tended for them.  Their grandfather allows the children to stay on the island in Captain Daniel’s charge, but they are mostly allowed to take care of themselves.  Joe sometimes brings them supplies that they ask for from the mainland.  (One of the themes of the Boxcar Children Series is self-sufficiency.  At one point, Jessie comments about how much better things seem “when we have to work to get it.”)  For fun, they go swimming, and Joe spends time with them, telling them about different types of seaweed.  They are surprised at how knowledgeable Joe is.

Henry gets the idea that they can set up a kind of museum of interesting things that they find on the island, like samples of different types of seaweed, shells, flowers, pictures of birds that they’ve seen, etc.  The other children think that it sounds like fun, and they begin thinking about the different types of things that they can collect.While they’re searching for things to collect and add to their museum, the children find a cave and an old arrowhead and ax-head.  They are authentic Indian (Native American) relics!  When they show Joe what they’ve found, he gets very excited, especially when they tell him that they saw a pile of clam shells, too.  Joe explains to the children how Native Americans used to use shells as money called wampum.  He thinks that what they saw was wampum, which the people who used to live there might have made after drying the clams to eat later.  Joe explains to the kids some of the process they would have used to turn the shells into wampum.  He’s eager to go to the cave and look for more Native American artifacts with them, but he urges them not to say anything to anyone else about it because other treasure hunters will probably show up if they do.  The children agree to keep their find a secret until their grandfather returns.

When they return to the cave with Joe, they make an even more incredible find: a human skeleton with an arrowhead inside.  It looks like they’ve found the bones of someone killed by an arrow!

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

As with some other vintage children’s mystery series, the early books in the series were more adventure than mystery.  The most mysterious part of this book concerns the real identity of the young man they call “Joe.”  The truth begins to come out when a strange man who calls himself Browning comes to the island in search of a young man who disappeared the year before while doing some exploring for him.  The young man he’s looking for worked for a museum.

This is the book where Violet first learns to play the violin.  This is a character trait that stays with her for the rest of the series.

Posted on by TracyC · 5 Comments

The Boxcar Children

The Boxcar Children

BoxcarChildren#1 The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 1924, 1942.

“One warm night, four children stood in front of a bakery.  No one knew them.  No one knew where they had come from.”

These are the words that begin not only this story but a series that has been loved by generations and continued well beyond the death of the original author.

The four Alden children are on the run following the deaths of their parents.  Their nearest remaining relative is a grandfather they have never met, and although he should have custody of the children now, none of the children want to go live with him.  All that they know about him is that he is apparently a mean old man who opposed their parents’ marriage.  Henry, the eldest at fourteen, and Jessie, who is twelve, have taken charge of the two younger children, ten-year-old Violet and seven-year-old Benny.  They have a little money, and they’re now traveling on foot in search of a new home.

The first place they stop is a bakery in a nearby town where no one knows who they are.  They don’t have much money, but they know they are going to need supplies for their journey.  The stingy baker and his wife agree to give the children some food and a place to sleep for the night in exchange for some help in their shop.  The children are willing to work and accept the offer.  However, Henry and Jessie overhear the couple talking about them.  They like having the children to help in the shop, but Benny is too young to be of much help.  They are considering taking Benny to an orphanage and keeping the others.  Not wanting to be separated, Henry and Jessie wake Violet and pick up Benny, moving on.  Now, they have a second set of people they’re avoiding, besides their grandfather.

Seeking a place where they can stay while not being noticed by people around them, the children eventually find an old, abandoned boxcar on a disused piece of train track on the edge of some woods.  They take shelter there from the rain and decide that they can turn it into their new home.  There are blackberries growing nearby that they can eat and a stream where they can keep milk cold.  Henry finds odd jobs in a nearby town to earn more money, and the others discover an old dump where they retrieve some old, cracked dishes and other useful items.

It seems like an idyllic life at first.  The children are free of adult control, although they do have to work to create a household for themselves and find food.  They adopt a stray dog they call Watch (he’s their new watchdog), and Henry makes friends who appreciate what a hard worker he is.  However, some of these new friends start to wonder about Henry, where he comes from, and where his parents are.

The children soon realize that someone is spying on them.  Is it someone from the town?  Could the baker and his wife still be looking for them?  Or is it someone sent by their grandfather?  When Violet is suddenly taken ill, the others realize that they need help and someone to trust.

Getting help for Violet does mean that the children’s secret is revealed to everyone, although they learn some important things in the process.  They discover who was spying on them and why and also discover that their grandfather is a nicer person than they thought and truly cares for them.

Although this series is very popular, most people don’t know that the story they read as children was actually a shortened version of the original story that was written in 1924.

The newer, popular version of the book is available online through Internet Archive.  The older version is now public domain and available online through Project Gutenberg.

Comparisons to the Older Version and My Reaction

Along with shortening and simplifying the story from original the 1924 version, the newer version from 1942 changed some of the characters’ names (the children had the same first names, but their family name was originally Cordyce, not Alden) and removed some parts that might be objectionable for young children.

Although the original story doesn’t completely clear up some questions that were left unresolved in the current version, like what the children’s parents were like, precisely how they died, and why they quarreled with the children’s grandfather in the first place, it did supply a few more details in the first chapter.  The original story begins when the children move to a new town with their father.  No one knew exactly where they came from, and the children pointedly refuse to say.  However, they do tell their neighbor, a baker, that their mother is already dead.  Their father is drunk, and the baker thinks that he looks like he’s in such bad condition that he isn’t likely to last much longer.  That turns out to be true when he dies (apparently from alcohol-related causes) soon after.  When they question the children about whether or not they have other relatives, young Benny blurts out that they have a grandfather before the others silence him.  The adults press the children for answers, and they reluctantly admit that there is a grandfather, but they say that he did not like their mother and would treat them cruelly if they were sent to him (or so, apparently, their parents had led them to believe).  The only one of the children who has even seen the grandfather is Jessie (actually called Jess in this version of the story), and it was only from a distance because her father happened to see him passing by and pointed him out.  Later, the children hear the baker and his wife talking, saying that they have no choice but to try to find the grandfather, and the children decide to run away to avoid going to live with him.  The questions of how their mother died and why the grandfather didn’t like her in the first place are never answered.

James Cordyce (the children’s grandfather in the original book, their grandmother is also apparently dead) is a wealthy man who owns steel mills, and he is impressed by the children’s ingenuity and resourcefulness at managing their own affairs while living on their own.  He tells Henry that he wants him to take over the steel mills one day, and the book says that Henry does so when he grows up and does a wonderful job of managing them.  Mr. Cordyce tells the other children that he wants them all to go to college, and then they can do whatever they like when they grow up, which the book says also happens.

Although the books never actually say so, my theory is that Mr. Cordyce/Alden was a hard-headed businessman, particularly when he was younger, driven to succeed and not emotionally demonstrative, and that this attitude caused a rift between him and his son, who may not have shared his father’s business skills and interests.  The grandfather may have wanted his son to follow in his footsteps when the son had other ambitions.  The son may have seen his father as a cold and ruthless businessman and conveyed that impression to his own children after marrying a woman his father disapproved of (Because her family was poor? Because they were unambitious?  Because she had some objectionable personal habit?  There’s no telling), but because he may not have told the children the whole reason why he thought that the grandfather was cruel, the children imagined that he was worse than he really was.

We don’t know what the children’s father did for a living after his feud with his father or exactly where they lived (perhaps in Greenfield or close by so that Jessie was able to catch sight of her grandfather one day).  Why the father took to drinking is also never explained, but I think it may be implied that he did so out of grief for his dead wife.  I think that Henry and Jessie probably had to manage the household for their parents following their mother’s death (and maybe before that if she suffered from ill health), which is part of the reason why the children are so self-sufficient and seem more tied to each other than to any adult.  In any case, the original book says that Mr. Cordyce is interested when the doctor who befriends the children says that Henry and Jessie have business management skills, so I think it sounds like he was thrilled to find out that he might have more in common with his grandchildren than he did with his son and hopeful that Henry would make a better successor in the family business.  But, that’s just the way I read it.

One other point that the original book covered was Watch’s origins.  The later version just has Watch as a stray who the children adopt, but the original story explained that he had just been purchased from a kennel by a wealthy woman when he was lost.  The kennel owner tries to reclaim the dog (kennel name Rough No. 3) on behalf of the woman, but the grandfather offers to buy the dog for much more than the original price.  The kennel owner says that it’s up to the woman who bought him, and they invite the woman to the house.  After hearing how attached the children have become to Watch, the woman allows them to keep him.

Posted on by TracyC · 4 Comments

The Bear That Was Chicken

The Land of Pleasant Dreams

The Bear That Was Chicken by Ane Weber, Ron Krueger, Tony Salerno, 1986.

In her dream, Mary meets Threads the Bear.  When she meets him, he’s trying to sleep under a tree.  He’s sad and tells Mary that he thinks he’s a chicken and that all of his friends say so.  (It’s not a nice thing for friends to say, and I wish the story had said so.  There’s a song about it on the tape that accompanies the book with the words given in the book, but it bothers me because calling people “chicken” is something that I associate with people who are trying to goad people into doing things that they really shouldn’t do. I don’t think that it’s good to teach children to react to being called “chicken” or any other insulting names.)

Mary thinks that Threads’ imagination is getting the better of him and that’s why he’s so afraid of so many things.  However, Threads tells Mary something that isn’t imaginary: there are some strange eggs in his cave that appeared there suddenly and mysteriously.  That’s why he’s sleeping in the forest, because he doesn’t know where the eggs came from or what they are.  Mary bravely offers to go with him to have a look at the eggs.

When they go to look at the eggs, Mary thinks that they look pretty harmless.  They’re kind of cute and colored like Easter eggs.  Threads is still worried about them and what they might hatch into.  Mary says again that Threads is imagining the worst and volunteers to sit with Threads while he takes his nap and keep an eye on the eggs to see what happens.

The eggs do hatch, and it turns out that they contain tiny teddy bears, very much like Threads.  When Threads sees the little bears, he loves them and thinks that they’re adorable.  The little bears seem worried when Threads wants to take them outside to play, but Threads encourages them, telling them that there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Moral: Your Greatest Fears Are Often Those You Imagine.

The main message of the story is that it’s better to face your fears than imagine the worst. However, I found some of this story a little confusing as a kid, and some of the implications are a little alarming when you begin to analyze it.  Where did those little bear eggs come from?  Did Threads lay them himself in his sleep? Are those little bears his children?  Did Threads lay eggs because he was a “chicken”?  But, Threads is a boy bear!  Then again, this is supposed to be a dream, so I guess it doesn’t really have to make sense.

I still don’t like that the story uses “chicken” as an insult and in a way that implies that people who are called “chicken” should try to prove that they’re not. This just seems like a recipe for disaster, encouraging children to accept dares.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive. This book is currently available online through Internet Archive. It was made into an episode for the tv show version of this series with puppets.

Posted on by TracyC

A Fence Too High

The Land of Pleasant Dreams

A Fence Too High by Jeanine Bartelt, Jeff Parker, and Tony Salerno, 1986.

Peter falls asleep while counting sheet jumping over the fence and meets Lacey the Lamb in his dream. Lacey the Lamb is sad and worried because, even though she’s growing up to be a fence-jumping sheep, there is one fence that she just can’t get over. Peter offers to take a look at the fence with her and see if he can help. When he does, it turns out to be a giant rainbow.

It’s important that Lacey make it over this fence because she is taking part in a fence-jumping contest in less than an hour. Lacey doesn’t think that she can learn to jump this fence in so little time. However, Peter encourages Lacey to try again.

After a few more tries in which she hits the blue stripe on the rainbow and then the yellow stripe and then the orange stripe, Lacey is ready to give up. She thinks that it’s hopeless. Peter points out that it isn’t hopeless because each time that Lacey has tried, she has improved, gradually hitting higher and higher marks on the rainbow. He doesn’t think that Lacey should give up so easily.

Even though she’s still feeling very unsure of herself, she decides to participate in the contest. This time, Lacey does make it over the fence, and she feels much better about herself because of her success. She thanks Peter for giving her the encouragement to try one more time.

Moral: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again.

It’s a nice story about the importance of making an effort, trying again, and not giving up just because there are obstacles and challenges. Life has many challenges, and just because something is difficult doesn’t mean that it’s impossible or not worth doing. People don’t need to be perfect; it’s enough to be willing to improve.

This book was made into an episode for the tv show version of the series with puppets.

Posted on by TracyC

Is It Soup Yet?

The Land of Pleasant Dreams

Is It Soup Yet? By Ane Weber, Ron Krueger, and Tony Salerno, 1986.

When Benny enters the Land of Pleasant Dreams, he meets Ricrac Rabbit.  Ricrac is trying to cook something for his friends, but he’s worried because the only thing he knows how to make is broccoli soup, and he doesn’t know if his friends will like it because they all have different tastes.

Because Benny’s father is a chef, he suggests that Ricrac try his recipe for black bean broth because everyone loves that when his father makes it.  Ricrac decides to give it a try, adding the black beans to his broccoli soup. 

However, as each of Ricrac’s friends arrive, they also decide to bring their favorite ingredients with them.  Bobbin the Horse brings barley, and Threads the Bear brings blueberries.  Then, Snips the Dog brings a bone, and Lacey the Lamb brings buttercups.  In an effort to please everyone, Ricrac adds each ingredient to the soup.

When they finally try it, the soup is horrible.  At first, everyone argues about which ingredient ruined the soup, but Benny realizes that their real mistake wasn’t trying the soup according to Ricrac’s original recipe.  When they try the broccoli soup as it was supposed to be made, without the extra ingredients, it’s really good.

Moral: Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth.

The point of the story is that trying to please everyone often means pleasing no one.  When planning a project, if you try to stretch it in too many different directions, it’s difficult to accomplish anything because you’re not focusing on anything in particular. In the end, you have to pick one way and stick with it, focusing on what you can do best.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive. This book was made into an episode for the tv series with puppets. Sometimes, you can find it or clips of it on YouTube.

Posted on by TracyC

Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?

Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? By Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth, 1988.

Big Bear and Little Bear live in their Bear Cave.  (Big Bear is apparently the father of Little Bear, but they don’t call him that.)  After Big Bear puts Little Bear to bed at night, Little Bear has trouble sleeping.  Little Bear says that he can’t sleep because he’s afraid of the dark.

Big Bear gives Little Bear a lantern, but that doesn’t work.  Little Bear says that the lantern isn’t big enough.  Big Bear tries to bring two larger lanterns, but neither of those helps, either.

Little Bear says that the dark beyond the cave bothers him.  To prove to Little Bear that the darkness outside isn’t scary, Big Bear takes him outside.

Outside, he shows Little Bear the moon and the stars, so he’ll know that it’s not completely dark.  Little Bear falls asleep in Big Bear’s arms.

This is one of those cute bedtime stories that can help to reassure young children at bedtime. Sometimes, it is a big, scary, dark world out there, but it’s not always as dark as it seems when you take a second look, especially if you’re with someone you can really trust. Because the bears appear to be father and son, it also makes a nice father/son story.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive. There is also an animated version of this story. I haven’t seen it for sale (if anyone knows where to get it, let me know), but it sometimes appears on YouTube (link repaired July 18, 2024).