SLIS 5420 Module 13 Nov. 23-30

The Boxcar Children
The Finders
Keepers Mystery

created by
Gertrude Chandler Warner


Summary

The Finders Keepers Mystery, #99 in The Boxcar Children Series follows the Alden Children in yet another mystery they must solve. Jessie, Violet, Henry, and Benny once lived as orphans inside a boxcar in the woods, until their grandfather found them and gave them a home. In their new neighborhood is a creepy old house that the children believe to be haunted. One day Jessie and Benny discover a young woman named Lina who has just moved into the house. They discover the house is not haunted and also discover a new friend in Lina. Lina's great, great aunt Hope used to live in the house and many of her things are still in the attic. The Alden children decide to help Lina clean out the attic and in the process find beautiful old quilts, all except the wedding quilt that Lina knew Hope had made when she was engaged. Soon the Alden children are in the middle of two mysteries when they discover that someone is trying to steal the quilts. They use their detective skills to track down the thief and the wedding quilt.

My Thoughts

I remember reading the Boxcar Children Mysteries when I was young and I recall enjoying them. I'm not sure if being an adult or just living in a different time now caused me to feel that the Finders Keepers Mystery was really corny and dated. Although the original creator of the series died in 1979, the series has continued. This book referred to modern things like researching the history of quilts on the computer, but the whole story felt like it was set in the 5o's. Everything was just a little too perfect and the children were way too excited about cleaning out the attic of a neighbor and helping her prepare for a garage sale. I knew where the wedding quilt was about a third of the way into the book, but kids might not know until close to the end and might feel satisfaction in figuring out the mystery. I think only very young readers might enjoy The Finders Keepers Mystery.

Reviews

There are no reviews available other than this short synopsis.

The Aldens help their neighbor Lina search for treasure, which may be hidden in her attic.

Suggested Activities

Since I believe the Finders Keepers Mystery would be best suited for younger readers, a nice idea would be for the librarian to have a treasure hunt set up in the library with each clue leading to the next. Each clue could be on the back of a square of paper with a quilt design. The final clue would lead to lemonade and cookies just like Lina made for the Alden children. The clues with the quilt pattern would then become a puzzle for the children to put together to make a miniature quilt.