...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
The Boxcar Children
- 1350 statements
- 267 feature instances
- 26 referencing feature instances
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The Boxcar Children | |
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The Boxcar Children | comment |
The Boxcar Children was initially written in 1924, but the version that everyone now knows was published in 1942, and was specifically aimed at young readers. The author of both versions is Gertrude Chandler Warner.The book chronicles the adventures of a family of runaway orphans, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, fleeing their grandfather, who they believe to be a cruel man. They eventually find shelter in an abandoned boxcar and make it their home for several months, having various adventures, before eventually being found out and returned to their grandfather's custody. He turns out to be very nice, as well as filthy rich.After many requests, Warner followed up the book with eighteen sequels, mostly mysteries, over which the characters gradually aged. Benny, 5 in the initial book, was 11 and working as a stock boy in a department store in book #19.Then in 1991, the Albert Whitman & Co. publishing company decided to cash in on their continuing popularity. There are now over 100 books in the series, and counting. And a cookbook, that somehow takes recipes mentioned in passing in the books and... turns them over to children.An animated movie adaptation was released in 2014, with a sequel, Surprise Island, released in 2018.As of 2020, the original edition of the first book is in the public domain in the United States.Not to be confused with The Railway Children. | |
The Boxcar Children | fetched |
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The Boxcar Children | parsed |
2023-11-03T08:30:55Z | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_116eeb4a | type |
Non-Residential Residence | |
The Boxcar Children / int_116eeb4a | comment |
Non-Residential Residence: Early on, it's found that someone's living in the old woodshed on the family property. It turns out to be the long-missing Andy Bean, who's come home to see what's happening around the area after finding out the Aldens have bought back their family farm. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_116eeb4a | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_116eeb4a | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_116eeb4a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_15177ded | type |
The Runaway | |
The Boxcar Children / int_15177ded | comment |
The Runaway: Nancy Baldwin, the titular mystery girl, who's revealed to have run away from home so she could live her own life without her parents deciding everything for her. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_15177ded | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_15177ded | |
The Boxcar Children / int_152e7951 | type |
Anonymous Benefactor | |
The Boxcar Children / int_152e7951 | comment |
Anonymous Benefactor: Early on, the Aldens start a helper service to raise money for Greenfield Hospital's new wing. They also learn that an anonymous wealthy donor (whose identity is never revealed in the story) has agreed to match any donations made. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_152e7951 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_152e7951 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1561fbc4 | type |
Mystery Magnet | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1561fbc4 | comment |
Mystery Magnet: The titular group trip over mysteries on all of the vacations that they take during their apparently endless summer vacation. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1561fbc4 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1561fbc4 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1561fbc4 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1605e350 | type |
Secret Room | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1605e350 | comment |
Secret Room: There's one in Snowflake Inn, which dates back to the Revolutionary War and was used to hide people who'd been spying on the British. It's also got a second entrance that opens into the kitchen. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1605e350 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1605e350 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1605e350 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_171b1206 | type |
Men Can't Keep House | |
The Boxcar Children / int_171b1206 | comment |
Men Can't Keep House: For all that he loves his animals and does a good job of running his zoo, Edward Marlowe's a pretty poor housekeeper — the place is covered in dust and cobwebs and the sink is full of dirty dishes. He admits to this lack, stating that "An old bachelor like me doesn't pay much attention to the house", and is very grateful when the Aldens offer to fix things up for him. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_171b1206 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_171b1206 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_182f59f9 | type |
On One Condition | |
The Boxcar Children / int_182f59f9 | comment |
On One Condition: Max Greene, a new friend the Aldens make on their cruise, learns that he'll inherit his great-aunt Edith's property and money, but only if he's physically present at the official will reading. If he isn't, everything will go to his cousin Carla, who's a mean and selfish person who would undoubtedly sell off everything and have the house torn down. Thankfully, despite attempts at delaying the cruise ship he's on, he makes it home in time to meet the condition. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_182f59f9 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_182f59f9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_19769f50 | type |
Defeat Means Friendship | |
The Boxcar Children / int_19769f50 | comment |
Defeat Means Friendship: If the culprit of whatever mystery they're solving has any decency in him/her at all, he'll be reconciled to the Aldens right away. Averted in books where the culprit is arrested. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_19769f50 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_19769f50 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_19769f50 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1989b0c | type |
Comic-Book Time | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1989b0c | comment |
Comic-Book Time: Averted in the initial Warner books, where the children do age in "real-time" over roughly seven or eight years: Henry, who starts the series at 13, ends up going away to college, and Benny, who's six in the first story, eventually becomes old enough to get a job in a department store. Played completely straight in the post-Warner revivial. Initially set in the Great Depression, more recent books have included passenger jets, tropical cruises, and the internet (yet the boxcar remains a wood-sided boxcar that would have been retired by the 1950s). The Alden children have a different summer adventure in every book, and they're all still young somehow... | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1989b0c | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1989b0c | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1aa76d29 | type |
Death by Origin Story | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1aa76d29 | comment |
Death by Origin Story: The Aldens' parents, who die offscreen in a car crash (courtesy of another vehicle running a stop sign) near the end of the book, causing the siblings to run away so they won't be sent to live with their only known relative (whom they believe to be mean, thinking he hates them because his son Ben and Ben's wife Kate went to live on Kate's family farm instead of in his house). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1aa76d29 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1aa76d29 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1aa76d29 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bbb76bc | type |
Abandoned Area | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bbb76bc | comment |
Abandoned Area: The old Alden farm where James and Jane Alden grew up before they moved west with their parents was this for years — people would buy it, but then move away and leave it deserted. It's finally subverted when Grandfather Alden buys back his family's old property and renovates it so Jane can move in. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bbb76bc | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bbb76bc | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bdbbbae | type |
The Klutz | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bdbbbae | comment |
The Klutz: Nancy Baldwin, the titular mystery girl, is always dropping things when she's nervous. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bdbbbae | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1bdbbbae | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1bdbbbae | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c1d243c | type |
Brother–Sister Team | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c1d243c | comment |
Brother–Sister Team: Samuel Jackson Crowe, AKA Sam Jackson for short, and his sister Emily Jackson Crowe, who work at the local inn and as a park ranger in Yellowstone, who turn out to be the closest the books have to villains — they're searching for the supposed treasure in the lost cabin, because they think their ancestor was one of the miners who left it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c1d243c | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1c1d243c | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c1d243c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c445e86 | type |
Poor Communication Kills | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c445e86 | comment |
Poor Communication Kills: Benny does not go to the glass factory with the rest of the family, instead going to see the local talking horse and saying he'll have a nap afterwards. It takes rather a bit of travel before they realize he didn't make it on board. Chi-Chi the tightrope walker left her husband a coded message about where to find her apparently-stolen diamond necklace. Unfortunately, the code was so obtuse that he couldn't figure it out and thought that his friend John Mann was a crook. Had she been more direct, none of the drama would have occurred. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c445e86 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c445e86 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c8e096e | type |
Childhood Friend Romance | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c8e096e | comment |
Childhood Friend Romance: Early on, Joe's childhood school friend Alice Wells, who's been away for a long time, returns to work with him on Surprise Island. Just a few months later, they get married. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c8e096e | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1c8e096e | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1c8e096e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1cc2ea8d | type |
Villain Ball | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1cc2ea8d | comment |
Villain Ball: During the story, two of the villains make the colossal mistake of paying off one of their helpers out in plain sight, where the heroes can see them — confirming their suspicions that the two are behind the mysterious happenings at the amusement park. They even acknowledge this at the end. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1cc2ea8d | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1cc2ea8d | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1cc2ea8d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d4691c4 | type |
Runaway Hideaway | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d4691c4 | comment |
Runaway Hideaway: Type 2 (no place to go) — the Boxcar Children run away with no place in mind and eventually discover their boxcar by chance. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d4691c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d4691c4 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d4691c4 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d9af117 | type |
Gender-Equal Ensemble | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d9af117 | comment |
Gender-Equal Ensemble: The siblings, with Henry and Benny (the oldest and youngest) as the two boys and Jessie and Violet as the two girls. Tilted in the girls' direction when adopted cousin Soo Lee comes along for the ride. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d9af117 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_1d9af117 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1d9af117 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1da5941e | type |
The Quiet One | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1da5941e | comment |
The Quiet One: Willie, the Bean family's hired hand, who rarely says more than one word at a time. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1da5941e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_1da5941e | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_1da5941e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_21cf9301 | type |
Family of Choice | |
The Boxcar Children / int_21cf9301 | comment |
Family of Choice: Over the course of the book, the Alden and Clark (parents Jake and Sarah, children Meg and William, and dog Joe) families become close, and when the Clarks finally have to leave, they promise that no matter how far apart they are, they'll always be family. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_21cf9301 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_21cf9301 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_21cf9301 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_230d64 | type |
Screw the Rules, I Have Money! | |
The Boxcar Children / int_230d64 | comment |
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Mr. Pickett certainly thinks he can buy any land and pollute all he wants because he's rich, and has been plotting to drive away one of the men who's most opposed to him, buying all the land around his house to keep him from getting to it if he feels the need. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_230d64 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_230d64 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_230d64 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_246f70c6 | type |
Identical Twin Mistake | |
The Boxcar Children / int_246f70c6 | comment |
Identical Twin Mistake: Early on, the Alden children make friends with new girl in town, Beth Simon. Later that night, they see her again, and talk to her... except it was actually Beth's twin sister Heather, who goes on to cause trouble for them while pretending to be Beth. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_246f70c6 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_246f70c6 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2565ac2 | type |
Save Our Students | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2565ac2 | comment |
Save Our Students: Played with in that when the book starts, there aren't any students, because there's no teacher to operate the school. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2565ac2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2565ac2 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2565ac2 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_26ac510e | type |
Mythology Gag | |
The Boxcar Children / int_26ac510e | comment |
Mythology Gag: In the first animated movie, the bakery they visit is called "Chandler's". In the sequel, Violet mentions her teacher Miss Warner. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_26ac510e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_26ac510e | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_26ac510e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27af99f1 | type |
Raised by Grandparents | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27af99f1 | comment |
Raised by Grandparents: The Alden siblings move out of the boxcar and in with their grandfather from the end of book #1 on after discovering he's a good man and not mean like they thought. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27af99f1 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_27af99f1 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_27af99f1 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b2bccc | type |
No Flow in CGI | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b2bccc | comment |
No Flow in CGI: Neither animated movie shows a lot of movement in the final results, as evidenced by the lack of movement in longer hair. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b2bccc | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_27b2bccc | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b2bccc | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b9c950 | type |
Road-Sign Reversal | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b9c950 | comment |
Road-Sign Reversal: One of the first things the troublemaker did to try and keep campers away, reversing the sign so it leads to a dead end instead of the ranger station. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b9c950 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_27b9c950 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2978c012 | type |
Stage Mom | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2978c012 | comment |
Stage Mom: Kristie Stephen's mother is always pushing her daughter to win in her art competitions, when all Kristie wants is to just paint for fun. She also goes poking around for excuses to disqualify other competitors. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2978c012 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2978c012 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2978c012 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_29f510be | type |
Auction | |
The Boxcar Children / int_29f510be | comment |
Auction: The Aldens attend one in New Orleans in this book. Benny bids on and wins an old toy boxcar, but one of the biggest attractions is an old bookstore and its contents, which a mystery writer and friend of the Aldens wants to buy (having also been friends with the late former owner), as does another mystery writer, both bidding fiercely until the end... when, with their friend unable to go any higher, a third person suddenly jumps in and makes a Whammy Bid of 100,000 dollars that wins them the bookstore. It's Grandfather Alden, who then arranges to rent the store to their friend until she can pay back what he paid for it, much to the children's delight. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_29f510be | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_29f510be | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b3fa921 | type |
Down on the Farm | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b3fa921 | comment |
Down on the Farm: "Fair Meadow Farm", the titular setting of the book. Kate Alden (the siblings' mother) describes it as "my family's farm", and it's some ways away from the nearest town. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b3fa921 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_2b3fa921 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b3fa921 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b7d29e1 | type |
Artifact Title | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b7d29e1 | comment |
Artifact Title: The Boxcar Kids live in the boxcar in only one book yet the title sticks throughout the series. They do hang onto the boxcar, and use it as a clubhouse. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b7d29e1 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2b7d29e1 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d363f63 | type |
Frame-Up | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d363f63 | comment |
Frame-Up: When the cheating contestant gets spotted, they swipe the prizes from another contest and hide them in the spying person's bag, making it look as if they were the guilty one and casting doubt on any testimony they'd have entered. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d363f63 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_2d363f63 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d363f63 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d3d3e0c | type |
Disqualification-Induced Victory | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d3d3e0c | comment |
Disqualification-Induced Victory: The final contest at the fair is decided when it's revealed that the winning entrant cheated by sabotaging other entrants; the second-place winner becomes the first-place winner as a result. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d3d3e0c | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d3d3e0c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d6c0bce | type |
Talking in Your Sleep | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d6c0bce | comment |
Talking in Your Sleep: Benny does this at one point, yelling "I'll tell you in the morning!" while asleep and waking up Henry and Grandfather, though he himself sleeps right through it. It's never explained just what he meant by that. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d6c0bce | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_2d6c0bce | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2d6c0bce | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2dc3e97c | type |
Ghost Town | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2dc3e97c | comment |
Ghost Town: The titular lost village, which its occupants abandoned because of a drought, and was eventually buried by the earth. The plot of the book revolves around searching for evidence it was there, so the area can be marked for as a site for historical preservation and excavation, rather than letting a developer build houses over it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_2dc3e97c | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_2dc3e97c | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_2dc3e97c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_308ac24f | type |
Fantasy-Forbidding Father | |
The Boxcar Children / int_308ac24f | comment |
Fantasy-Forbidding Father: It turns out the aunt of one of the players doesn't approve of her playing baseball, which is why she's been trying to sabotage the team to make the girl quit. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_308ac24f | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_308ac24f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_30b7cee8 | type |
Post-Injury Desk Job | |
The Boxcar Children / int_30b7cee8 | comment |
Post-Injury Desk Job: Steve, one of the employees at the fire station, is introduced wheeling himself onto the scene in a wheelchair. He explains he was injured on the job and left unable to walk, so he's been handling records, schedules, payroll and such in the office ever since. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_30b7cee8 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_30b7cee8 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_30b7cee8 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_319a6fd7 | type |
Passed in Their Sleep | |
The Boxcar Children / int_319a6fd7 | comment |
Passed in Their Sleep: Long before the events of the book, Edward Marlowe served in a World War II fighter squadron and eventually adopted their wildcat mascot Billy, who became the first animal in Edward's zoo. When asked what happened to him, Edward explains that Billy lived to a ripe old age before dying in his sleep. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_319a6fd7 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_319a6fd7 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_319a6fd7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_319e4a2f | type |
Even Evil Has Standards | |
The Boxcar Children / int_319e4a2f | comment |
Even Evil Has Standards: Late in the book, one of the villains shuts off the Ferris Wheel at the park, leaving the Aldens stranded at the top. For her husband though, this is a step too far, as he fights her off and restarts the wheel to bring them down. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_319e4a2f | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_319e4a2f | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_319e4a2f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_31e2ad94 | type |
Kid Detective | |
The Boxcar Children / int_31e2ad94 | comment |
Kid Detective: The titular children, at least from book #2 (Surprise Island) on. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_31e2ad94 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_31e2ad94 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_31e2ad94 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_327a197a | type |
Publicity Stunt | |
The Boxcar Children / int_327a197a | comment |
Publicity Stunt: The "theft" of the dinosaur bones. Dr. Pettibone, who found them in the first place, swipes and hides some of them to drum up interest for his "Dino World" exhibit at the museum. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_327a197a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_327a197a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_327a197a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33d5b7f2 | type |
Adapted Out | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33d5b7f2 | comment |
Adapted Out: Many characters from the original books, including Mrs. McGregor's husband, Aunt Jane's farmhands, Benny's friend Mike Wood, Grandfather's pilot/former spy friend John Carter and the Beach family next door nearly or completely disappear in the post-Warner books. (Then again, except for the Beaches, they'd pretty much all disappeared during the original series too — Mike, who lives elsewhere, was last seen in book 6 when he joined them for one vacation, the ranchhands/farmhands are last seen in book 7 with it being said that they were going back west, John Carter was last seen in book 10, and Mr. McGregor's only real appearance after his debut was in book 14.) | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33d5b7f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33d5b7f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_33d5b7f2 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33db913f | type |
Open Mouth, Insert Foot | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33db913f | comment |
Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Early on, the Aldens see Mrs. Ashleigh arguing with a man who's been trying to convince her to sell her house and move. After he's gone, Benny asks, "Who was that mean man?" He gets this reaction when Mrs. Ashleigh tells them the "mean man" was her grown son Forrest, and immediately apologizes. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33db913f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_33db913f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_33db913f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3684532f | type |
Never Heard That One Before | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3684532f | comment |
Never Heard That One Before: Mr. Carr, who runs the train, mentions that he hears a lot of jokes about his name. Fortunately, he has a good sense of humor about it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3684532f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3684532f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_3684532f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_369a1bf6 | type |
Death Faked for You | |
The Boxcar Children / int_369a1bf6 | comment |
Death Faked for You: Done not only against the subject's will, they didn't even know about it — while Bill McGregor was away, his brother's "friends" told him his wife had died. He became depressed and went into hiding, while Mrs. McGregor was left to spend forty years completely unaware that her husband thought she was dead until a clue was found that led to the Aldens finding him and telling him he'd been tricked. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_369a1bf6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_369a1bf6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_369a1bf6 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_36c64123 | type |
Gentle Giant | |
The Boxcar Children / int_36c64123 | comment |
Gentle Giant: While out walking some beagles for one contestant, the Aldens meet a massive Great Dane, named Berries, whom Benny's a little nervous around at first from his size. He turns out to be a great big sweetheart though. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_36c64123 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_36c64123 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_36c64123 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_373283c9 | type |
This Cannot Be! | |
The Boxcar Children / int_373283c9 | comment |
This Cannot Be!: This is the villain's reaction when the dog he stole shows up in the final round, and in doing so, he exposes himself and gets disqualified from the competition. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_373283c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_373283c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_373283c9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_380faa43 | type |
Your Tomcat Is Pregnant | |
The Boxcar Children / int_380faa43 | comment |
Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: When Joe, Alice and Soo Lee stop in for dinner early on, they reveal that Soo Lee's pet hamster Squeaky, recently acquired from the Pretty Bird Pet Store, has turned out to be a pregnant female rather than the male they planned on getting; the manager made similar mistakes with other customers as well. End result, Benny gets a pet hamster he names Pipsqueak (and the other babies will be given away to other neighborhood children as well). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_380faa43 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_380faa43 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_380faa43 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3cb1d38d | type |
Bad Boss | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3cb1d38d | comment |
Bad Boss: Well, bad second-in-command, at least, but the Aldens have to answer to him when his boss is away — Mr. Fowler, the grouchy new manager of Mrs. Tweedy's Pretty Bird Pet Shop. He's proven to be incompetent, mixing up orders, claiming the people who made them are the ones who ordered the wrong thing, and not wanting any help from the Aldens when Mrs. Tweedy hires them (claiming he can handle everything on his own). He's also only interested in selling more expensive parrots for the shop to make it more money. Mrs. Tweedy is content with things as they are though, and declines to let him bring in more expensive animals. It turns out he's been running a criminal sideline business, illegally selling imported wild animals in the shop, and purposely mixed up orders to make things difficult for the Aldens. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3cb1d38d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3cb1d38d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_3cb1d38d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3f11ef74 | type |
Parental Substitute | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3f11ef74 | comment |
Parental Substitute: Attempted but averted at the end of the book. After Ben and Kate Alden are killed in a car crash, their elderly neighbors Rubin and Belle offer to take in the Alden siblings. Unfortunately, Sheriff Bowen nixes this, saying they're required to go to a family member, and the only one they know is their estranged grandfather. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3f11ef74 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_3f11ef74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_3f11ef74 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_417c78f5 | type |
Robinsonade | |
The Boxcar Children / int_417c78f5 | comment |
Robinsonade: The Aldens spend part of book #6 (Blue Bay Mystery) staying on a tropical island with their grandfather and one of his friends, who had himself been shipwrecked for a time on the same island. They also rescue a marooned teenage boy from the same situation. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_417c78f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_417c78f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_417c78f5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_41a3e267 | type |
Hidden in Plain Sight | |
The Boxcar Children / int_41a3e267 | comment |
Hidden in Plain Sight: Over the years, there've been plenty of legends about the Ashleigh family having a secret pirate treasure, but the family themselves haven't found it. It turns out the gold he had was melted down and concealed inside the Pirate's Gate, the special gate door that Mr. Ashleigh, who was believed to have been a pirate, had made for the house he built for his wife. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_41a3e267 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_41a3e267 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_41a3e267 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_421a2df5 | type |
Mysterious Note | |
The Boxcar Children / int_421a2df5 | comment |
Mysterious Note: Unusually for the trope, it's one of the suspects who gets one, warning them to stay away from the dig, and she suspects the Aldens did it. The last chapters reveal that it was in fact the village storyteller Kinowok, who knew she was up to no good and was warning her off. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_421a2df5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_421a2df5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_421a2df5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44989f6f | type |
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44989f6f | comment |
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: The lady with the red hat reveals that she's been wanting to learn how to make pizzas and sending the kids on deliveries because her family restaurant is failing, and she is worried about her parents going bankrupt. The Piccolos bluntly ask why she didn't tell them, since they would have been happy to help without the subterfuge. They immediately start her on cooking lessons that she can pass on to her parents, for which she is eternally grateful. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44989f6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44989f6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_44989f6f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44a1dd10 | type |
King Incognito | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44a1dd10 | comment |
King Incognito: One of the recurring and more irritating customers (who's always offering unsolicited advice and asking difficult questions about the merchandise) at Furman's Department Store, Maggie Douglas, turns out to the store's new owner who's deliberately acting this way to check out the employees and their work habits without their realizing it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44a1dd10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44a1dd10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_44a1dd10 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44f6517d | type |
Beach Episode | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44f6517d | comment |
Beach Episode: This book revolves around the Alden siblings spending a week or so at the beach during the summer, relaxing in their great-aunt and uncle's mobile home after the two suddenly take off for another vacation spot, though once again they wind up finding a mystery. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44f6517d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_44f6517d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_44f6517d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_455f6a91 | type |
Long-Lost Relative | |
The Boxcar Children / int_455f6a91 | comment |
Long-Lost Relative: During the events of the story, the Aldens meet an elderly Indian woman, Lovan Dixon, and help her reunite with her grandnephew David, whom she'd thought had died as a baby. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_455f6a91 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_455f6a91 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_455f6a91 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_47393201 | type |
Pet Contest Episode | |
The Boxcar Children / int_47393201 | comment |
Pet Contest Episode: As the title says, the book revolves around a dog show, with a visiting friend of the Aldens entering her prize-winning golden retriever Sunny. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_47393201 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_47393201 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_47393201 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4781adbb | type |
Jerk with a Heart of Gold | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4781adbb | comment |
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Janet Lerner from the Greenfield town council, who seems bound and determined to have the old firehouse torn down. It turns out the idea made her miserable, but she couldn't see any other choice... until her associate Rebecca Wright showed her a design to improve the firehouse by adding a new, larger wing, matching the style of the rest of the building, rather than outright replace it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4781adbb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4781adbb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4781adbb | |
The Boxcar Children / int_479d4e5a | type |
Would Hurt a Child | |
The Boxcar Children / int_479d4e5a | comment |
Would Hurt a Child: During the story, the Aldens are living in a house by themselves for a week or so, with the closest adult being two miles away, but have found out there's a hostile criminal in the town. During their last night in the house, he proves to be an example of this trope when he comes around and physically attacks Jessie while she's outside getting water from the pump; luckily, Henry chases him off in time. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_479d4e5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_479d4e5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_479d4e5a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_48b9731f | type |
Paper-Thin Disguise | |
The Boxcar Children / int_48b9731f | comment |
Paper-Thin Disguise: During the events of the book, the Aldens see a man a few times in a hat, glasses and coat, or a robe and sunglasses the one time he's coming away from the pool. However, he has a distinctive hairstyle and nose. In the final chapter, they see him again and those features allow them to recognize him. It turns out that he's Frederick Astor, identified as one of Broadway's biggest stars — they just weren't familiar enough with him to recognize him. A little while later, a woman in a similar disguise turns up in the hotel, but this time someone else does recognize her as a celebrity in a poor disguise. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_48b9731f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_48b9731f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_48b9731f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_495904cc | type |
Forgetful Jones | |
The Boxcar Children / int_495904cc | comment |
Forgetful Jones: Victor Perrelli, the conductor of the orchestra visiting Greenfield, is rather absent-minded. He claims he can't remember most things because his mind is so full of music. In fact, the initial disappearance of the titular stolen music is because he'd put the score away in his tuxedo and forgotten about it... before it was stolen for real by someone who found it in there. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_495904cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_495904cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_495904cc | |
The Boxcar Children / int_499499e6 | type |
Written-In Absence | |
The Boxcar Children / int_499499e6 | comment |
Written-In Absence: More than a few books, usually involving the four kids being on vacation somewhere, often state that Watch is staying at home with Grandfather or Mrs. McGregor to explain why he's not involved in the adventure. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_499499e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_499499e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_499499e6 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4a0821b4 | type |
Archnemesis Dad | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4a0821b4 | comment |
Archnemesis Dad: Jud and Troy, the two environmentalist boys at the bus station, turn out to be the sons of Mr. Pickett, the man whose paint factory is polluting the river and sky in the town where it's located. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4a0821b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4a0821b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4a0821b4 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b4f6a2f | type |
Mood-Swinger | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b4f6a2f | comment |
Mood-Swinger: Frank Timmons, the bus station manager, who goes from gruff and angry one minute to polite the next, depending on who he's talking to or what he's talking about. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b4f6a2f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b4f6a2f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b4f6a2f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b9a8e96 | type |
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b9a8e96 | comment |
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax: The titular lake monster, which turns out to be made up by a teenage boy who thinks that if he can scare people with signs of a monster being around, it'll make his parents decide to take him home; he used fake feet and a pre-cut paddle that made it look like a monster had bitten it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b9a8e96 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b9a8e96 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4b9a8e96 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c455537 | type |
Plot-Driven Breakdown | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c455537 | comment |
Plot-Driven Breakdown: Early on, the Clark family's car breaks down as they're on their way to Jake Clark's sister's home (he's lost his own home because of financial trouble), causing them to have to stay with the Aldens for several months until the part they need to fix the car arrives. Fortunately, Ben and Kate Alden are very welcoming to the family. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c455537 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c455537 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c455537 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c9d226e | type |
Formerly Fit | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c9d226e | comment |
Formerly Fit: Used for a plot point with Sid Weston. He was once the circus's Thin Man—an extremely skinny performer—but after fleeing the circus to avoid being accused of a crime he didn't commit, he gained a good deal of weight. It helped him disguise himself from his former friends, but it's also implied to be at least partially Post-Stress Overeating (he remarks that "mostly I just sat around and ate" after running away). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c9d226e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c9d226e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4c9d226e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4d8ff0c | type |
Snowed-In | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4d8ff0c | comment |
Snowed-In: Happens to the Aldens while they're staying in the cabin, due to a sudden blizzard that takes them all by surprise. With the help of the Nelsons (who struggle their way through the snow up to help) and a helicopter that was sent by their grandfather with emergency supplies, the Aldens manage just fine until they can be dug out and taken home. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4d8ff0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4d8ff0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4d8ff0c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4e52a624 | type |
Screw the Money, I Have Rules! | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4e52a624 | comment |
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Charles Farley may be rather obsessed with ghosts, but when an artist who's been doing a painting of the Roth house and doesn't want its looks to be changed (which would spoil his hard work) tries to bribe him to watch the Aldens and report their movements to said artist, he refuses. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4e52a624 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4e52a624 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4e52a624 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4ef92d0b | type |
The Atoner | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4ef92d0b | comment |
The Atoner: Lorraine Newton, feeling guilty for her son's crime and her own cover-up of it, ultimately returns the property he stole to its rightful owners years after her son's death. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4ef92d0b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4ef92d0b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4ef92d0b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4372e9 | type |
Early-Installment Weirdness | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4372e9 | comment |
Early-Installment Weirdness: The first book had nothing to do with mysteries, and focused on how the children lived in the titular boxcar. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4372e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4372e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4372e9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4bbeff | type |
Interspecies Friendship | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4bbeff | comment |
Interspecies Friendship: Zonker the dalmatian and a similarly black-and-white cat named Spike are best friends, according to their owner. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4bbeff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4bbeff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_4f4bbeff | |
The Boxcar Children / int_51a3ba7 | type |
We Used to Be Friends | |
The Boxcar Children / int_51a3ba7 | comment |
We Used to Be Friends: This turns out to be the case with John Beach and his older brother Max, who were never as close after their spyglass went missing and each thought the other had taken it. When John and his family move back to the house he grew up in, his sons discover it had been placed in a hole in the tree where their old treehouse used to be (and the man who did so forgot to tell them), allowing the brothers to make up and reconnect again. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_51a3ba7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_51a3ba7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_51a3ba7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_52ae74d | type |
Undercover Cop Reveal | |
The Boxcar Children / int_52ae74d | comment |
Undercover Cop Reveal: Throughout the book, the Aldens have been seeing a man in a baseball cap, taking notes. He's revealed in the climax to be Steven Pearson, whom the fair officials had hired to investigate things around the fair and figure out who was behind the trouble. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_52ae74d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_52ae74d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_52ae74d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5336c902 | type |
Boom Town | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5336c902 | comment |
Boom Town: In book #4, uranium is discovered on Aunt Jane's ranch. By the time of book #5, the small nearby town has become this trope, home to a massive uranium mine and a thriving population. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5336c902 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5336c902 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5336c902 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_537dd8fe | type |
Affably Evil | |
The Boxcar Children / int_537dd8fe | comment |
Affably Evil: The culprit actually befriends the Aldens and his motives have nothing against them personally, but his actions do inconvenience the entire cruise line and are directly connected to Max Greene's situation. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_537dd8fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_537dd8fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_537dd8fe | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5466745d | type |
Clear Their Name | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5466745d | comment |
Clear Their Name: When Chi-Chi the tightrope walker died, her diamond necklace was found to be missing. The last person who was seen with it, John Mann (AKA the Thin Man), is suspected of having stolen it; he insists he gave it back, but nobody believes him, forcing him to run away and hide until the Aldens discover he had indeed given it back and that Chi-Chi had put it in her usual hiding place, which nobody but herself knew, afterward (she'd left a postcard with a riddle about it for her husband Cho-Cho, but he never saw it). When the Aldens announce the discovery over the radio, Mann is able to come out of hiding and reunite with Cho-Cho. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5466745d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5466745d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5466745d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_547b8f44 | type |
Uncatty Resemblance | |
The Boxcar Children / int_547b8f44 | comment |
Uncatty Resemblance: During the dog show, the Aldens notice this to be true of some of the contestants, like "two full-coated collies being walked by a stately man with long, flowing golden hair, and a bulldog being walked by a thickset old man with a mashed-in nose". Invoked by Sunny's owner Caryn Teague, who tends to dress up to match Sunny's coat, and by Zonker the dalmatian's owners, who both also wear white-and-black spotted clothing to match him. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_547b8f44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_547b8f44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_547b8f44 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5501256b | type |
Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5501256b | comment |
Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: The house that Joe and Alice are moving into is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Celia Roth, a young girl who lived there years ago. Turns out she's alive and well, and comes to visit them at the end of the book after the Aldens track her down. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5501256b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5501256b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5501256b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_557dabce | type |
Deserted Island | |
The Boxcar Children / int_557dabce | comment |
Deserted Island: The island where Blue Bay is located, in the south Pacific (some ways from Tahiti). It's indicated that there used to be people there (as evidenced by a giant statue of a human), but other than shipwreck survivors and the Aldens (who are vacationing there for a while), they've all moved on. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_557dabce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_557dabce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_557dabce | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56515a39 | type |
Artistic License – History | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56515a39 | comment |
Artistic License – History: In-Universe. The plot revolves around a statue of Josiah Wade in the town square, which has him dressed up as one of the Minutemen who fought in the American Revolution. In truth, Josiah was just twelve when the war started, and Rick Bass (the town's new historian) reveals that he was actually one of George Washington's secret messengers. The sculptor, however, was a good friend of Josiah's in Josiah's later years, and sculpted the statue to show him as a soldier; Rick figures that either Josiah stretched the truth, or the sculptor made his statue that way deliberately as a prank on the town. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56515a39 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56515a39 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_56515a39 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56b53152 | type |
Green Aesop | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56b53152 | comment |
Green Aesop: The troublemaker in the book has been chasing away campers partly because they're so careless with their trash, leaving mess all over the place. When this is explained, the people running the campgrounds make plans to install extra cans for trash and recycling to help keep the place clean from then on. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56b53152 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_56b53152 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_56b53152 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_58154a14 | type |
Bribe Backfire | |
The Boxcar Children / int_58154a14 | comment |
Bribe Backfire: Variant — the villains bribed a supposed expert to claim the copies of the stolen merry-go-round horses were the real deal. It's not the person being bribed who turns on them, but the fact that they did this in plain sight, where the Aldens could see it, as it makes them realize that of their suspects, these two are the real crooks. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_58154a14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_58154a14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_58154a14 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5973fab5 | type |
Does Not Like Spam | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5973fab5 | comment |
Does Not Like Spam: After a long stretch of living off raw eggs stolen from the chicken coop, Andy tells the kids that he's sick of eggs and doesn't want any in the first meal that's being fixed for him in the farmhouse. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5973fab5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5973fab5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5973fab5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_59d7839f | type |
Animal Lover | |
The Boxcar Children / int_59d7839f | comment |
Animal Lover: Edward Marlowe, owner of the titular zoo. And not just zoo animals, but regular ones too — after the villain is arrested, Edward adopts his dog, who was being neglected. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_59d7839f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_59d7839f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_59d7839f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5a1912af | type |
The Hermit | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5a1912af | comment |
The Hermit: When the Aldens reach the end of Bear Trail, they find there's a hermit living near the town there, who goes by the name of Dave Hunter. He turns out to be Bill McGregor, the man they've been looking for, under an alias. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5a1912af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5a1912af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5a1912af | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5abc8612 | type |
Unholy Matrimony | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5abc8612 | comment |
Unholy Matrimony: The active villains of the book turn out to be husband and wife, who are just interested in the titular lost village as a source of "treasure", and don't care about its historical value. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5abc8612 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5abc8612 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5abc8612 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5bdcc85a | type |
Disney Villain Death | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5bdcc85a | comment |
Disney Villain Death: Non-villain example — it's explained that the tightrope walker Chi-Chi fell to her death when she slipped on a wire one night during a performance. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5bdcc85a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5bdcc85a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5bdcc85a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5ce7dbb9 | type |
Central Theme | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5ce7dbb9 | comment |
Central Theme: Independence, resourcefulness and making do. As the notes at the end of each book stated: | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5ce7dbb9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5ce7dbb9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5ce7dbb9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e13dc69 | type |
Competition Freak | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e13dc69 | comment |
Competition Freak: Susie Martinelli, who's entered three out of four competitions in an effort to finally win something this year (having entered each year during the past eight years but never won). It also leads her to sabotage in a desperate attempt to win something before her family moves away in a few weeks, since this is her last chance. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e13dc69 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e13dc69 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e13dc69 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e8332c | type |
Underground Railroad | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e8332c | comment |
Underground Railroad: The real-life version is discussed in the book, when a secret room that dates back to the Revolutionary War is shown, and it's noted that it was also used as part of the Underground Railroad to help slaves get to safety. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e8332c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e8332c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5e8332c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5f9fbd83 | type |
Not Allowed to Grow Up | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5f9fbd83 | comment |
Not Allowed to Grow Up: In the post-Warner books, the kids' ages are slammed back to and frozen at 14, 12, 10, and 6 — the same ages they were in the first book. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5f9fbd83 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5f9fbd83 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5f9fbd83 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5fcedca | type |
Big Eater | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5fcedca | comment |
Big Eater: Michael, a little boy introduced in this book, turns out to have just as big an appetite as Benny's, which helps inspire their friendship. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5fcedca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_5fcedca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_5fcedca | |
The Boxcar Children / int_60c90bd5 | type |
Orphan's Ordeal | |
The Boxcar Children / int_60c90bd5 | comment |
Orphan's Ordeal: Book #21 (The Deserted Library Mystery) introduces the Aldens to a boy named Miguel, who's terrified that he's become an orphan after his father is lost in a storm (his mother had already died three years before), and will have to deal with this, especially after the news comes in that his father's boat was confirmed wrecked and only two of the three men in it were rescued. Very happily for Miguel, his father turns out to be one of the two. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_60c90bd5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_60c90bd5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_60c90bd5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_616f634b | type |
Ventriloquism | |
The Boxcar Children / int_616f634b | comment |
Ventriloquism: When Cho-Cho the former clown is introduced, it's revealed he had a talking horse, who could answer questions through body language (nodding, shaking his head, pawing the ground or sitting or laying down). Later though, when Cho-Cho and Major are reunited, it turns out Cho-Cho is also a master ventriloquist who can make it look like Major is literally speaking English. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_616f634b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_616f634b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_616f634b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_617f0563 | type |
Heel–Face Turn | |
The Boxcar Children / int_617f0563 | comment |
Heel–Face Turn: During the climax, one of the suspects — who works for a developer who wanted to build houses on what's quickly revealed to be a historical site that needs to be preserved — reveals he's quit his job and comes to work at the dig, since he couldn't hurt his own people. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_617f0563 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_617f0563 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_617f0563 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_63d3ce1a | type |
Dismantled MacGuffin | |
The Boxcar Children / int_63d3ce1a | comment |
Dismantled MacGuffin: Book #21 (The Deserted Library Mystery) has the Aldens working to clean up an old library in the town of Rock Falls so it can become a historical landmark, and in the process discover the hilt of an old Civil War sword, plus a letter explaining its origin. The rest of the book features them hunting for the other two pieces (the middle and point) so it can be reassembled and displayed as a historical treasure. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_63d3ce1a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_63d3ce1a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_63d3ce1a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_658854ee | type |
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder | |
The Boxcar Children / int_658854ee | comment |
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: At one point, Richard, the actor playing the Wizard, has been recruited to work with scenery, but isn't too happy about it until, after letting out a yelp in pain, he finally calls it quits with the following line: | |
The Boxcar Children / int_658854ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_658854ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_658854ee | |
The Boxcar Children / int_65bc92fc | type |
Four-Temperament Ensemble | |
The Boxcar Children / int_65bc92fc | comment |
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Ever-cheerful Benny is Sanguine, shy Violet is Phlegmatic, sensitive and empathic Jessie is Melancholic, and serious leader Henry is Choleric. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_65bc92fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_65bc92fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_65bc92fc | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dbffe8 | type |
Schoolmarm | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dbffe8 | comment |
Schoolmarm: The reclusive Miss Gray takes on this role when it's time for the Aldens to head home when their vacation ends. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dbffe8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dbffe8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dbffe8 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dfe36a | type |
Missing Mom | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dfe36a | comment |
Missing Mom: Miguel's mother died when he was seven, leaving he and his father alone. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dfe36a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dfe36a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_66dfe36a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_672b0bfd | type |
Polly Wants a Microphone | |
The Boxcar Children / int_672b0bfd | comment |
Polly Wants a Microphone: The presence of a mynah bird that can mimic intelligible words and phrases is a significant clue that the island might not be all that deserted. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_672b0bfd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_672b0bfd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_672b0bfd | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6774150c | type |
If I Can't Have You… | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6774150c | comment |
If I Can't Have You…: Non-romantic version. One of the men who tried to buy Mystery Ranch the year before has escaped from jail, and decided that if he and his partners couldn't own the uranium mine, they'd destroy it. Thankfully, the explosives he set are discovered in time. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6774150c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6774150c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6774150c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69681e01 | type |
Big Brother Instinct | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69681e01 | comment |
Big Brother Instinct: In the first book Henry wastes no time looking for work to support his younger siblings. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69681e01 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69681e01 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_69681e01 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69987960 | type |
No Sense of Direction | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69987960 | comment |
No Sense of Direction: Chuck, the assistant coach, admits to being lousy with directions, which nearly makes the Bears late for their first game. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69987960 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_69987960 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_69987960 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6a100f22 | type |
Recognizable by Sound | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6a100f22 | comment |
Recognizable by Sound: Anna, the blind girl who's attending the guide dog school in this book, has learned to recognize people by the sound of their footstep... which is how she's able to identify the thief in the climax. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6a100f22 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6a100f22 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6a100f22 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bccf2ba | type |
Supreme Chef | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bccf2ba | comment |
Supreme Chef: Frank Timmons, the bus station manager, is a very good cook, preparing a big dinner of stuffed fish for the Aldens as a way of thanking them for their help in the matter of the paint factory. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bccf2ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bccf2ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bccf2ba | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
Meaningful Name: One of the animals who turns up at the shop is a South American Macaw named Rainbow, who is indeed a rainbow-colored bird. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bda9a30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bda9a30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6bda9a30 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6c62b1a8 | type |
Covered in Gunge | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6c62b1a8 | comment |
Covered in Gunge: At one point, someone does this to the recently cleaned statue of Josiah Wade, smearing red paint all over it. Fortunately, it washes off easily. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6c62b1a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6c62b1a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6c62b1a8 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6d0a1b85 | type |
The Shut-In | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6d0a1b85 | comment |
The Shut-In: When Jessie and Violet arrive, Aunt Jane barely leaves her bed. She gets better by the book's end. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6d0a1b85 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6d0a1b85 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6d0a1b85 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6da1d9ae | type |
Parental Marriage Veto | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6da1d9ae | comment |
Parental Marriage Veto: Robert Roth tried this with his daughter Celia, saying she was too young to get married (she was seventeen). Ultimately, she ran away and married her beloved George anyway, before he went off to fight in Europe during World War I. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6da1d9ae | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6da1d9ae | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6da1d9ae | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f4ddd0a | type |
Old School Building | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f4ddd0a | comment |
Old School Building: Befitting a New England fishing town, there is a one-room schoolhouse that has gone unused until the Aldens take it upon themselves to teach the local children. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f4ddd0a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f4ddd0a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f4ddd0a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f679180 | type |
Reclusive Artist | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f679180 | comment |
Reclusive Artist: In-Universe, Ruth Lane, a painter who lives in the Tower House with her housekeeper and ten cats, and rarely interacts with people other than her housekeeper. She only goes out at night, for walks on the beach, to the point where hardly anyone knows she lives there. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f679180 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f679180 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_6f679180 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_70376f74 | type |
I Am One of Those, Too | |
The Boxcar Children / int_70376f74 | comment |
I Am One of Those, Too: Early on, one of the suspects poking around claims to be of Navajo descent and to have come to research his roots, but he manages to know nothing about their background, not recognizing key pieces of their culture and claiming his ancestors were from New England when all the Navajo lived in the southwest. Naturally, he's a fraud. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_70376f74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_70376f74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_70376f74 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7286e96d | type |
Idiot Ball | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7286e96d | comment |
Idiot Ball: Someone is sabotaging his zoo — right after he fired a disgruntled employee — but Edward doesn't think to have any locks changed. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7286e96d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7286e96d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_7286e96d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_72d30083 | type |
Cheaters Never Prosper | |
The Boxcar Children / int_72d30083 | comment |
Cheaters Never Prosper: The villain in this book is a competitor in a dog show who stoops to cheating in order to knock out some of the other entrants, up to and including kidnapping one of his chief rivals and dropping her off at the vet's office for a day or so. Naturally, when Sunny shows up at the final round after being rescued, he reacts with disbelief and accidentally exposes himself as having been the one who stole her, which gets him disqualified. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_72d30083 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_72d30083 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_72d30083 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_738d1a0f | type |
Because You Were Nice to Me | |
The Boxcar Children / int_738d1a0f | comment |
Because You Were Nice to Me: Watch the dog stays with the Aldens after Jessie shows kindness by removing a thorn from his foot, and prefers to stay with them even when his former owner, who had given him away to another person, comes to try and retrieve him for her. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_738d1a0f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_738d1a0f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_738d1a0f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_766cf8e3 | type |
Beachcombing | |
The Boxcar Children / int_766cf8e3 | comment |
Beachcombing: Early in the book, the children meet Daniel Lee, an older man who likes walking up and down the beach with his metal detector and finding things that he can return to their owners. When Benny first gives it a try, all he finds is a bottle cap, but the second time he finds an old locket, setting off a quest to find whom it belongs to. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_766cf8e3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_766cf8e3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_766cf8e3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76cbbc0b | type |
George Lucas Altered Version | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76cbbc0b | comment |
George Lucas Altered Version: Warner rewrote the original book in 1942, changing several details from the 1924 version. Among other things: The original version has the father and four children move into town, with one of them stopping at a bakery for bread; during this time, it's established that their mother is already dead and the father a drunk. The next day, he's dead and the two elder children ask the baker's wife to come to their house, which she does, and meets all four children. She later talks to her husband through a window, and they agree the children must go to their grandfather. The siblings wait until the baker is gone, then flee from the house. The 1942 version greatly reduces this to start with the children in front of the bakery, and they stay with the owner and his wife that night until they hear them talking about splitting up the four by sending Benny to a children's home. The family's name is originally "Cordyce", and the eldest daughter goes by "Jess". These were changed to "Alden" and "Jessie" in the revised version. Henry and Benny are thirteen and five, respectively, in the original. The revised version ages them up to fourteen and six. (Jessie and Violet retain their original ages of twelve and ten.) | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76cbbc0b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76cbbc0b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_76cbbc0b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76e24530 | type |
Delicate and Sickly | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76e24530 | comment |
Delicate and Sickly: Violet, the shy and more feminine of the girls, has to deal with this from time to time, most prominently in book #1 when she becomes sick with a fever, and the other children eventually have no choice but to take her to a friend who's a doctor, even though they know that giving their names means the likelihood that their grandfather will find them. He does, but it turns out for the better. Later, book #8 (The Lighthouse Mystery) sees her, alone among the four children, plagued by mosquito bites. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76e24530 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_76e24530 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_76e24530 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_777baed3 | type |
Out-of-Character Alert | |
The Boxcar Children / int_777baed3 | comment |
Out-of-Character Alert: The Aldens are used to their grandfather always being cheerful and happily greeting them when he gets home, so when he comes home one day, bangs the door shut and barely says "Hello" to Benny, Benny immediately knows something's wrong and goes to get his siblings so they can talk to Grandfather and see what's wrong. Grandfather confesses that he's just gotten a letter about his estranged sister, including that she wants to see some of the four, thus kicking off the plot. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_777baed3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_777baed3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_777baed3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_77aedc5c | type |
Horse of a Different Color | |
The Boxcar Children / int_77aedc5c | comment |
Horse of a Different Color: Played for laughs when Meg Clark rides Betty, one of the Alden family cows. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_77aedc5c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_77aedc5c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_77aedc5c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7833ecb3 | type |
Cat Up a Tree | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7833ecb3 | comment |
Cat Up a Tree: Variant — at one point, the fire crew gets called to save a kitten that's fallen down a sewer grate. Benny even lampshades it with "I've heard of firefighters rescuing cats stuck up in trees, but not down sewers!" | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7833ecb3 | featureApplicability |
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December–December Romance | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7886d4d0 | comment |
December–December Romance: Aunt Jane and Andy Bean, who marry in their 70s after decades apart. Also a case of The One That Got Away, as Andy had proposed to her unsuccessfully in their youth. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_7886d4d0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7ae00dcc | type |
Driven by Envy | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7ae00dcc | comment |
Driven by Envy: Dr. Skyler, who runs the planetarium at the Pickering Natural Museum, admits in the climax to being envious of the new dinosaur exhibit and trying to delay the Aldens from doing anything to help it via keeping them busy in her section of the museum, while also trying to get rid of the posters advertising the exhibit. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_7ae00dcc | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7b7f1657 | type |
Canine Companion | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7b7f1657 | comment |
Canine Companion: The Greenfield Guide Dog School is all about training dogs to serve in this role for blind people. One of them, Ginger, is specially trained throughout the book to be a companion for Anna, a blind girl who's getting ready to go off to college. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_7b7f1657 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7c5960bf | type |
Hall of Mirrors | |
The Boxcar Children / int_7c5960bf | comment |
Hall of Mirrors: The amusement park has recently had a House of Mirrors installed, and Karen, the owner's daughter, is always encouraging people to go for it and more modern attractions. The Aldens actually do try it out once, but Jessie nearly gets lost inside, causing a small panic until she finds her way back to her siblings. Later, one of the villains escapes into it to try and evade capture, but fails. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_7c5960bf | |
The Boxcar Children / int_805b13e | type |
Wacky Marriage Proposal | |
The Boxcar Children / int_805b13e | comment |
Wacky Marriage Proposal: Carl, one of the skaters in the Starlight Troupe, surprises his girlfriend Alex by hiding a diamond ring in the hand of his mermaid ice sculpture. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_805b13e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8084141a | type |
Out-of-Context Eavesdropping | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8084141a | comment |
Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: At one point, the Aldens hear architect Rebecca Wright saying something on the phone about making a lot of money. In the final chapter, they mention this, and she explains that she was talking to her husband about how her job, designing the firehouse, would be her big break and make them a lot of money to help pay their bills. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8084141a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_82e40acf | type |
Whammy Bid | |
The Boxcar Children / int_82e40acf | comment |
Whammy Bid: In book #48 (The Mystery Bookstore), bidding on an old bookstore and its contents starts at 50,000 dollars and, in just seven bids, quickly hits 80,000. Then a final bidder outdoes everyone and wins by jumping the price to 100,000 dollars. It's Grandfather Alden, who bought the bookstore as an investment and rents it to one of the earlier bidders, who happens to be a friend of his, allowing her to turn it into a mystery-themed bookstore like she wanted. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_82e40acf | |
The Boxcar Children / int_838270b7 | type |
Slurpasaur | |
The Boxcar Children / int_838270b7 | comment |
Slurpasaur: Played for laughs when the Aldens put on a backyard circus for their neighbors and dress up one of the family cows (and the Clark family's dog) as elephants, using gray blankets on their backs and a pair of stuffed gray socks as trunks. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_838270b7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8391b1c7 | type |
Artistic License – Law | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8391b1c7 | comment |
Artistic License – Law: Pickett's plan below to buy up land around his opponent's house and block entry would not work; by law, since the only access point would be across Pickett's land, he would be obliged to grant an easement. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8391b1c7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_84c5ec0b | type |
Free-Range Children | |
The Boxcar Children / int_84c5ec0b | comment |
Free-Range Children: In the first book they live quite alone in the woods. Though they go to live with their grandfather in later books, they continue to move around extremely independently, if to a slightly lesser extent. The children's independence is not only allowed, but encouraged, by their grandfather — Henry and Jessie, the two oldest, are only 14 and 12, but they usually seem more like high schoolers and act basically as parent figures to Violet and Benny, the two youngest — who are 10 and 6, but also act older. Throughout the series, they've done such varied things as camping out, exploring the Arizona desert, and even caving, all without a lick of supervision. This makes sense, since the premise of the series is that they lived just fine in an abandoned boxcar for several months before learning their grandpa wasn't a jerk. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_84c5ec0b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8510238b | type |
Riddle Me This | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8510238b | comment |
Riddle Me This: Early on in the trip, the Aldens find a riddle written on a stone. It turns out to be a clue leading them to a stolen coin collection. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_8510238b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_855154d5 | type |
Prank Call | |
The Boxcar Children / int_855154d5 | comment |
Prank Call: The villain behind the book, as part of their campaign to drive the Piccolos out of business, makes calls where they don't say anything and hang up, and later to make a "Is your refrigerator running? Well, you'd better go catch it!" joke. They also get orders for empty addresses over the phone. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_855154d5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_85fa1b63 | type |
Surprise Litter of Puppies | |
The Boxcar Children / int_85fa1b63 | comment |
Surprise Litter of Puppies: During the course of the book, Cap Lambert's prize red hen Rhoda goes missing, and is believed to have been taken by a fox. In the last chapter, she returns home with a number of chicks in tow, to Cap's happy surprise. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_85fa1b63 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
The Boxcar Children / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: One plot thread, involving an angry customer who turns out to be a former employee who got let go apparently before the new owner bought the Shoppe, never gets resolved after the Aldens overhear his talking about it with someone else. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_863fa679 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_864009e9 | type |
Pirate Booty | |
The Boxcar Children / int_864009e9 | comment |
Pirate Booty: It's widely believed that there's treasure buried somewhere near Cap Lambert's cabin. The two children who turn out to be behind the mysterious noises and lights at night turn out to be digging for it (along with swiping fruits and vegetables from the garden and orchard and eggs from the henhouses), since their mother's job only pays their mortgage and she can't afford food. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_864009e9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_86f2d483 | type |
Frying Pan of Doom | |
The Boxcar Children / int_86f2d483 | comment |
Frying Pan of Doom: One evening, while Jessie's outside filling a water pitcher, she hears a prowler. Henry promptly goes after them with a cast-iron skillet in hand, though they escape before he can catch them. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_86f2d483 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8797239c | type |
Bait-and-Switch | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8797239c | comment |
Bait-and-Switch: Early on, Benny says that "I'm just not hungry anymore." At his sister's surprised reaction, he replies, "No, now I'm starving!" | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8797239c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8a8b2a87 | type |
And Knowing Is Half the Battle | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8a8b2a87 | comment |
And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Every mystery book contained some minor science lesson, such as about plankton, or Captain Cook's voyages, or similar. A noteworthy one: Henry's sage observation that "Mashed potatoes don't smell." in book #8 (The Lighthouse Mystery). Justified in book #6 (Blue Bay Mystery), since they're being tutored while on a trip to a South Sea island during the school year. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8a8b2a87 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8af2a61f | type |
Camping Episode | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8af2a61f | comment |
Camping Episode: While not the first time the Aldens have gone camping out, this is the first book dedicated to it, with them staying at the campgrounds in Blue Mound State Park. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8af2a61f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8d718b9e | type |
Bears Are Bad News | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8d718b9e | comment |
Bears Are Bad News: Part of the plot involves the Aldens being warned about bears in Yellowstone, and picking up bear bells to ring in order to chase them away if they come near. As it happens, the one time they hear a bear, it turns out to have been another person trying to scare them away with a tape recording. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8d718b9e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8d86bcd3 | type |
Theme Initials | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8d86bcd3 | comment |
Theme Initials: An interesting variation. When the locket with the initials "R. L." is finally returned to its owner, she reveals that three generations of women in her family have all had those initials, but the names themselves never repeated. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8d86bcd3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8ec35181 | type |
Cranky Neighbor | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8ec35181 | comment |
Cranky Neighbor: Mr. Carter, who lives next door to the Roth house with his wife, is pretty darn cranky and upset at the idea of anyone moving into the house, saying he doesn't want any new neighbors. It turns out he and his wife want to buy the house themselves, and he's annoyed at the prospect of anyone getting there first. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8ec35181 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8fb244bd | type |
Replaced with Replica | |
The Boxcar Children / int_8fb244bd | comment |
Replaced with Replica: The villains of the book have been stealing valuable merry-go-round horses from the amusement park (with the intention of selling them and getting rich), and replacing them with copies, each of which had some flaw that led to their being exposed as fakes. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_8fb244bd | |
The Boxcar Children / int_90e31482 | type |
Laser-Guided Karma | |
The Boxcar Children / int_90e31482 | comment |
Laser-Guided Karma: Malcolm, a very competent employee at the Plymouth Hotel, was wrongfully fired at one point for supposed incompetence. When it turns out his boss fired him because he considered Malcolm to be too competent, the manager not only says she'll hire him back, but into the assistant manager position that just got vacated when she fired the man who fired Malcolm. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_90e31482 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9182ea54 | type |
Crazy Cat Lady | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9182ea54 | comment |
Crazy Cat Lady: Miss Mary Smith, who lives in the Tower House in Beachwood, has a reputation for being one; rumor says she has a hundred cats. She's actually the housekeeper and friend of the house's actual owner, who only has ten cats. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9182ea54 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_9182ea54 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_927b2f11 | type |
The Bus Came Back | |
The Boxcar Children / int_927b2f11 | comment |
The Bus Came Back: This book marks the first in-person appearance of Joe and Alice Alden since book 3 (and their first mention since book 9). | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_927b2f11 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_92e1ab6d | type |
Similar Item Confusion | |
The Boxcar Children / int_92e1ab6d | comment |
Similar Item Confusion: Done deliberately by the villain, who switched the contents of the salt shakers with those of the sugar bowls. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_92e1ab6d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_95b875b1 | type |
Not Me This Time | |
The Boxcar Children / int_95b875b1 | comment |
Not Me This Time: When the culprit behind the strange events at Pilgrim Village confesses, they deny being responsible for the mishaps in the kitchen. Pilgrim Village's chef admits that that was entirely his fault, since he hasn't been able to keep up with things lately and made a few mistakes as a result. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_95b875b1 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_973d220f | type |
Never My Fault | |
The Boxcar Children / int_973d220f | comment |
Never My Fault: Throughout the book, Mr. Fowler — the new manager at the Pretty Bird Pet Shop — has been mixing up orders, but always blames the customers and the store's other employees for what's gone wrong. It turns out at least some of these were deliberate mixups on his part, to try and get the Aldens fired by making them look incompetent so they wouldn't catch on to his criminal activities. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_973d220f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_97c57f9f | type |
Mosquito Miscreants | |
The Boxcar Children / int_97c57f9f | comment |
Mosquito Miscreants: The wind direction shifts from the sea to the land one night, prompting mosquitoes to fly in through the unscreened windows — and cover Violet's face in bites. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_97c57f9f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_98ce21fe | type |
Long-Running Book Series | |
The Boxcar Children / int_98ce21fe | comment |
Long-Running Book Series: The first book came out in 1924. A shorter, revised version was released in 1942, and the first eighteen sequels came out from 1949 to 1976. Ghostwriters took over in 1991, and multiple books have been released every year since (the only year to not release a book in the original series was 2017, but that's because the five-book spinoff series The Boxcar Children Great Adventures was being released instead). | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_98ce21fe | |
The Boxcar Children / int_98d866ab | type |
Ageless Birthday Episode | |
The Boxcar Children / int_98d866ab | comment |
Ageless Birthday Episode: As with book #24 (The Mystery of the Hidden Painting), the plot of the book is kicked off when the children decide to prepare for their Grandfather's birthday, but his age is never given. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_98d866ab | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_98d866ab | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9a2aee13 | type |
Heroic Bystander | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9a2aee13 | comment |
Heroic Bystander: In book #34 (The Mystery Horse), the kids learn that the horse the family is boarding is a race star called Wind Dancer. Benny and the kids find thieves trying to steal Wind Dancer, and Benny uses his pouch full of roofing nails to stop them with a flat tire. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_9a2aee13 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9b06e314 | type |
Greater-Scope Villain | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9b06e314 | comment |
Greater-Scope Villain: While the Aldens deal with the physical saboteur, the real mastermind behind the plot is Mr. Warner, the manager of the Great Adventure Hotel chain, who told them what to do to try and shut down the motel so the hotel chain could buy it up and build one of their own hotels in its place. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_9b06e314 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9bb0dcc5 | type |
Saving the Orphanage | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9bb0dcc5 | comment |
Saving the Orphanage: Firehouse, in this case. Greenfield's town council thinks the old firehouse is too old and outdated and needs to be replaced, so the Alden children dedicate themselves to renovating it and proving it can still serve its purpose. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9bb0dcc5 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_9bb0dcc5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9dab0a6e | type |
Continuity Nod | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9dab0a6e | comment |
Continuity Nod: The Alden's trip to Camp Coral in book #41 (The Mystery of the Hidden Beach) gets referenced when they're reminded of how hot it can get in Arizona. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9dab0a6e | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_9dab0a6e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9e622f84 | type |
Stealing from the Till | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9e622f84 | comment |
Stealing from the Till: The culprit in this book is revealed to be an employee who's been letting some close friends come in to eat ice cream after hours. Justified because they can't afford much and this is sometimes the only meal they're getting in a day. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9e622f84 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_9e622f84 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9fb5d589 | type |
Not Now, Kiddo | |
The Boxcar Children / int_9fb5d589 | comment |
Not Now, Kiddo: A short-lived case. Benny's been bored, but his siblings are all busy with their own things. Then he comes into the living room saying something's landing on the lawn. For a moment, they think he's just saying it to get attention, though they don't say so aloud... but then the shadow he saw makes the room get dark, and Watch starts whining, making them realize he's telling the truth and they all get up to see what it is. It turns out to be a hot air balloon that got blown off course and is coming in for a landing in their yard, which is what kicks off the plot. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_9fb5d589 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a10775b7 | type |
Mean Boss | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a10775b7 | comment |
Mean Boss: Maxwell Irons, manager at the Mighty Muffler factory, who's seen yelling at his secretary when the Aldens visit him. He's also mean enough that his secretary's fiancé thinks she'd be fired if Irons knew said fiancé was working for a business he didn't like. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a10775b7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a18d407b | type |
Samus Is a Girl | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a18d407b | comment |
Samus Is a Girl: When Henry and Benny get jobs at Furman's Department Store for the month, they learn the place has recently been sold to a new owner, M. D. Squires. Per the trope, the supposed "Mr." Squires turns out to be a woman — Maggie Douglas Squires. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_a18d407b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a24670a4 | type |
Benevolent Boss | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a24670a4 | comment |
Benevolent Boss: Mr. Brown, the new owner of the Ice Cream Shoppe, who's very understanding with his employees even when they mess things up. When he finds one of them has been letting people in after hours so they can have some food (since their family can't afford much; their late-night visits are sometimes the only meal they're getting in a day), he not only keeps the worker on (though he does dock their pay for a while), he arranges to let the hungry kids have the leftover sandwich fixings from each day. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a24670a4 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a280f130 | type |
Take This Job and Shove It | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a280f130 | comment |
Take This Job and Shove It: Greta, the cook at Snowflake Inn, walks off the job after one too many problems in her kitchen. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_a280f130 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a4e3759e | type |
You Don't Look Like You | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a4e3759e | comment |
You Don't Look Like You: In the animated version of Surprise Island, Henry, Violet, and Benny were redesigned. Jessie is the only one of the four Alden kids to look the same in both movies, though her eye color is changed from brown in the first movie to green in the sequel. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_a4e3759e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a536f3a3 | type |
Gender-Blender Name | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a536f3a3 | comment |
Gender-Blender Name: While the Aldens are out delivering papers, Jessie points out a female golden retriever to Soo Lee. The thing is, the dog's name is Cody — traditionally a male name. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a536f3a3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a54534a0 | type |
Parental Neglect | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a54534a0 | comment |
Parental Neglect: Downplayed. Jimmy's parents are always dropping him off at Snow Haven Lodge and taking off on their own vacation for the winter, because they think he likes being independent and having time without them. However, he admits that he feels abandoned, and tried to sabotage the winter events so they'd have to close up and his parents would have to take him with them. By the end of the book, they learn about this and promise that they'll take their next vacation together. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_a54534a0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a68421bb | type |
Animated Adaptation | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a68421bb | comment |
Animated Adaptation: One was released in 2014, and is a straight up adaptation of the first book. It was reasonably well received, currently having a user-rating of 7.5 on IMDB. A sequel, Surprise Island, was released in May 2018. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a68421bb | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a68421bb | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a6e8221e | type |
Status Quo Is God | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a6e8221e | comment |
Status Quo Is God: Have you picked up what the most memorable feature of this series is yet? You can read any book past #19 in any order you like. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a6e8221e | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a6e8221e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a72d333f | type |
Really Moves Around | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a72d333f | comment |
Really Moves Around: The Simon family, since their parents are consultants and often move around to work for new companies. The story begins when they've just moved to Greenfield. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_a72d333f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a7850fbf | type |
Only Known by Their Nickname | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a7850fbf | comment |
Only Known by Their Nickname: During the story, the Aldens meet a man who's been in the caves too, whom Benny nicknames "Joe Caveman". When he finally reveals his story — that he's a caver who comes down for some peace and quiet so he can read and relax — he never does give them his real name. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a7850fbf | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a8896b94 | type |
Leave No Witnesses | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a8896b94 | comment |
Leave No Witnesses: The villain in the book tries this. When Mike Wood's dog Spotty growled at him and recognized him as a bad man, the man heard Mike saying he'd know the man on sight if he ever saw him again... so, to prevent himself from being recognized (along with one other reason), he burns down Mike's house, intending to kill the entire family. Luckily, everyone survives. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_a8896b94 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a9882ce2 | type |
Extruded Book Product | |
The Boxcar Children / int_a9882ce2 | comment |
Extruded Book Product: While not originally this, the 1991 revival is one of the most notable examples of this trope within modern literature. Originally published at a rate of eight new books per year (six regular books and two specials), this was reduced in 2004 to just four books per year (all regulars, as specials were discontinued) and as of 2021 the series appears to have been again cut to just two books per year. Then there are two spin off series; The Adventures of Benny and Watch (1997-2004), and The Jessie Files (2022-present). | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_a9882ce2 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ac4ac8e5 | type |
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ac4ac8e5 | comment |
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Used for books 20-100 (and the 21 special editions released during the same time). Every single title in that timeframe was either titled "The Mystery (noun or phrase)" or "The (noun/verb) Mystery" (with four of the original nineteen also using the latter pattern). After that, the series began mixing things up a great deal more, starting with The Clue in the Corn Maze, though the old naming styles reappeared from time to time. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_ac4ac8e5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ac8b2810 | type |
Concealing Canvas | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ac8b2810 | comment |
Concealing Canvas: The Aldens and their new friend Rory discover the mystery when they find an old cloth coin case inside the closet wall, along with a related journal and the first clue to where the coins themselves are kept. Later, Stephanie Shaw's long-lost coin collection, the Blue Collection, turns out to be hidden inside a picture of her house, where the Aldens now live. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ac8b2810 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ad6593eb | type |
Cut-and-Paste Note | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ad6593eb | comment |
Cut-and-Paste Note: Jake, the old prospector, wakes up to find one at his campsite one morning. The thing is, it was written in Spanish, so he has to ask the Aldens for a translation. They can't help, but their friend Luis does, and tells him it means "This path is dangerous". | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ad6593eb | |
The Boxcar Children / int_adb9c77a | type |
Arkham's Razor | |
The Boxcar Children / int_adb9c77a | comment |
Arkham's Razor: The real culprit of most of the later installments is invariably whichever suspect is not actually suspected by the title heroes. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_adb9c77a | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_adb9c77a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b016f599 | type |
Person with the Clothing | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b016f599 | comment |
Person with the Clothing: The Piccolo family identifies most of their regular customers by a signature piece of clothing or accessory, such as "The Lady in the Red Hat". Zigzagged when she gives her real name and becomes an employee shortly afterward. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b016f599 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b016f599 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b17f6a27 | type |
I Did What I Had to Do | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b17f6a27 | comment |
I Did What I Had to Do: Lorraine Newton admits that she did what she had to do — taking the stolen Alden necklace and hiding it — to protect the real thief, her son, so he wouldn't go to jail for the crime and his children wouldn't find out he was a thief. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b17f6a27 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b17f6a27 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b2280b66 | type |
Retcon | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b2280b66 | comment |
Retcon: If the original 1924 novel is canon (which is debatable), this book changes the fates of the parents. The mom was already dead prior to the events of the first novel and their father is a drunk that dies in the first few pages. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b2280b66 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b2280b66 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b3fba1b | type |
Tropey, Come Home | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b3fba1b | comment |
Tropey, Come Home: The plot gets kicked off when the Aldens discover a parrot, Grayfallow, who's escaped from the pet store where he lives (as a display only, not for sale). During this same time, they find a local boy, Arthur Byrd, who claims to be out looking for his missing cat (though it eventually comes out he was lying). | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b3fba1b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b4642fb7 | type |
No Animals Allowed | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b4642fb7 | comment |
No Animals Allowed: A motel the Aldens stay at doesn't normally allow pets, which is a problem since they have Shadow, but the manager makes an exception since he's well-behaved (though he tells them they'll have to go if he makes noise and the other guests find out he's there). Shadow's presence proves to be a blessing when he alerts the Aldens and the manager to a fire, letting them catch it before it burns the motel down. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b4642fb7 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b4642fb7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b58c51d8 | type |
My Beloved Smother | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b58c51d8 | comment |
My Beloved Smother: A full family variant. Nancy loves her family, but has gotten tired of them always controlling her life, deciding everything for her, even what college she's going to. It got to the point where she ran away from home to escape it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b58c51d8 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b58c51d8 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5b4b485 | type |
The Bet | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5b4b485 | comment |
The Bet: Benny's friend Max starts an unofficial one with him — there's no actual wager, but he says he's sure that even an Alden, adventure-prone as they all are, can't find a adventure in the sleepy fishing town of Port Elizabeth where Max's father works during the summer. Naturally, he's proven wrong. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5b4b485 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5b4b485 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5f5824e | type |
Linked List Clue Methodology | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5f5824e | comment |
Linked List Clue Methodology: Book #17 (Mystery Behind the Wall) has the children discovering a treasure hunt of this type that was set up decades before by a now-deceased girl, and setting out to solve it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5f5824e | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b5f5824e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b6ec7566 | type |
Twofer Token Minority | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b6ec7566 | comment |
Twofer Token Minority: The Boxcar Kids' new cousin, introduced in special #1 (The Mystery on the Ice), is an adopted Korean girl. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b6ec7566 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b6ec7566 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b9918c48 | type |
Nobody Here but Us Statues | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b9918c48 | comment |
Nobody Here but Us Statues: During one incident, the night watchman discovers a dress dummy in the display window, which he didn't remember being there, and later sees was gone. It turns out to have been their new boss, who was sneaking around after hours on business of her own. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_b9918c48 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_b9918c48 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ba0b808e | type |
Tantrum Throwing | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ba0b808e | comment |
Tantrum Throwing: Benny does this towards the end, which his siblings note is unusual for him, when he's told they can't be on the island when a group of people are going to be blasting the roof off the cave they'd discovered earlier, which will make it easier for them to excavate the Indian artifacts buried in it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ba0b808e | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ba0b808e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bb660963 | type |
Color-Coded Characters | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bb660963 | comment |
Color-Coded Characters: Throughout the series, the four children are almost always associated with green, blue, violet and red (for Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny), which are said to be their favorite colors, when they're each receiving one of the same type of item. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bb660963 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_bb660963 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bc74ef27 | type |
Berserk Button | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bc74ef27 | comment |
Berserk Button: Early on, the Beaver Man reacts angrily at any mention of Caboose 777. It's later revealed that his friend the Thin Man had had to run away from the circus that the caboose belonged to after his coworkers believed he stole the missing diamond necklace from his fellow performer Chi-Chi before her death, and Beaver Man blames the caboose for his friend's troubles. It's never stated if he got over this after the Thin Man's name is finally cleared by the end of the story. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_bc74ef27 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bd6a6886 | type |
Secret Ingredient | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bd6a6886 | comment |
Secret Ingredient: Part of the plot revolves around the Aldens finding a recipe that's been carved into the wooden shelf of the cabin they're staying in, which has a ? for one ingredient. When the Nelson family (who run the general store a few miles away) come up to the cabin and find out, they explain that it's a bun recipe that was used by Tom Nelson's father and grandfather, but neither ever told Tom the ingredient before they died, though his father indicated that the answer was in their old cabin (which had since been sold to the local Sportsman's Club) with his dying breath. Their family's been trying to figure out what the missing ingredient ever since, and finally succeed when a bedroom roof caves in, bringing with it a squirrel nest containing blue cards... each with a recipe, including the bun recipe with its secret ingredient. It's never identified in-story, but according to the tie-in cookbook that was published in the 1990s, it's cinnamon. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bd6a6886 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_bd6a6886 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_bd6a6886 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bddb820f | type |
Must Have Caffeine | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bddb820f | comment |
Must Have Caffeine: Grandfather Alden really likes his coffee, as noted more than once in the early books (including Blue Bay Mystery and The Woodshed Mystery). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bddb820f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bddb820f | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_bddb820f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bf2a09c1 | type |
Five-Finger Discount | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bf2a09c1 | comment |
Five-Finger Discount: Discussed, as Mr. Furman warns the Alden brothers to be on the lookout for shoplifters. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_bf2a09c1 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_bf2a09c1 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c02f148d | type |
Both Sides Have a Point | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c02f148d | comment |
Both Sides Have a Point: In the matter of Pickett's Perfect Paints versus the environmentalists. Pickett is right in that his factory brings work to the area, which is a benefit, but his sons and Frank Timmons are also right in that it's ruining the land by dumping dirty water and releasing chemicals into the air. Fortunately, the disagreement is resolved when Grandfather Alden explains how his own factories used to have the same problems until he found solutions to fix them up without closing down entirely, which can be implemented in Pickett's factory too. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c02f148d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c0d6d1a | type |
Loud of War | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c0d6d1a | comment |
Loud of War: One of the troublemaker's methods of chasing away campers is to go by their campsites with a radio playing loud music. It works on some, but not the Aldens. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c0d6d1a | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c0d6d1a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c1e6f5bd | type |
Don't Split Us Up | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c1e6f5bd | comment |
Don't Split Us Up: This is a concern for the title characters, who assume when their parents die that they'll either be adopted by the grandfather their parents hate and they believe is abusive (which proves not to be the case) or be taken into foster care and split up. The latter proves to be a reasonable concern, as when they stay at a bakery overnight, they hear the owner and his wife (who'd previously agreed to let them stay) talking about how they're going to send Benny to the Children's Home since the baker's wife can't take care of a child who's that young. This prompts the four to run away into the woods, where they find the boxcar that becomes their home. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c1e6f5bd | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c2299d6e | type |
Cutting the Knot | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c2299d6e | comment |
Cutting the Knot: During the events of Surprise Island, the Alden children found a cave full of Indian artifacts, but it was below the tide line, meaning they'd only have had a relatively short time to remove things and get out. The museum people have a quicker and easier solution: blowing the roof off, so as to allow easier access to the artifacts without the risk of drowning. While this event is discussed in Surprise Island, the blast doesn't actually take place until book 3, with the Aldens present and observing after it was decided it was safe for them to attend after all. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c2299d6e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c39846a3 | type |
Pride | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c39846a3 | comment |
Pride: Tom Cook's main flaw in the book. He's too proud to let his son work to help support the family, insisting on doing everything himself (though it later comes out that he's plenty able to afford what they need all on his own), or to let Larry go away to college, since Tom himself had done just fine without it. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c39846a3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c41668cd | type |
Needle in a Stack of Needles | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c41668cd | comment |
Needle in a Stack of Needles: Late in the book, the culprit in the theft of the dinosaur bones reveals they hid each of them in a block of plaster, but there are several in the room and now they can't remember which one the last bone is inside. Fortunately, Violet quickly figures it out. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c41668cd | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4976d7c | type |
Vehicular Sabotage | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4976d7c | comment |
Vehicular Sabotage: One of the methods used by the saboteur to try and close down the lodge — he let the air out of the tires in the owner's personal vehicle. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4976d7c | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_c4976d7c | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4976d7c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4c4004a | type |
Treachery Cover-Up | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4c4004a | comment |
Treachery Cover Up: Inverted. After one character has spent so long trying to paint one long-deceased man as a villain, then discovers evidence that he wasn't, they try to hide the truth. Specifically, Prudence Coffin has long been claiming, based on what evidence they had at the time, that Eli Hull, first mate of the Flying Cloud, had led the crew in a mutiny against her great-grandfather, Captain Jeremiah Coffin, before the ship sank. She even wrote a book about it. During the events of the story, a logbook from the ship turns up that reveals Eli had taken charge of the ship...because Captain Coffin was feverish with malaria, and had to be confined to his cabin because he kept ignoring his illness and trying to order his crew to go back to sea when all they wanted was to get him help. Eventually, they decide to admit they were wrong and publish the truth. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4c4004a | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_c4c4004a | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c4c4004a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c5fe6c81 | type |
Strong Family Resemblance | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c5fe6c81 | comment |
Strong Family Resemblance: In the movie, Henry specifically looks a lot like his dad based on an old photograph. It's also easy to tell that the Boxcar kids are related when all four of them are in a group. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c5fe6c81 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_c5fe6c81 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c5fe6c81 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c87737d9 | type |
Vacation Episode | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c87737d9 | comment |
Vacation Episode: Many, many books revolve around the Aldens vacationing in some exotic locale, starting in book 2. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c87737d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_c87737d9 | featureConfidence |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_c87737d9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca87e3ec | type |
No Name Given | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca87e3ec | comment |
No Name Given: Zonker the dalmatian's owners are never identified by name. Nor is the suspicious man the Aldens see many times, who turns out to be a reporter poking around for a good story. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca87e3ec | featureApplicability |
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1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca87e3ec | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca95473c | type |
Series Continuity Error | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca95473c | comment |
Series Continuity Error: This book claims that the Aldens are going on a train for the first time, ignoring three train trips they took in the Warner books (in books 4, 5 and 11). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca95473c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca95473c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ca95473c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cb70651c | type |
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cb70651c | comment |
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: At the very end, after the mystery is solved and the fake monster is exposed, the Aldens hear the sound of an unfamiliar animal, indicating Lucy the lake monster might really be out there. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cb70651c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cb70651c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_cb70651c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cdd676a3 | type |
Hyper-Competent Sidekick | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cdd676a3 | comment |
Hypercompetent Sidekick: One of the employees at the Plymouth Hotel, a man named Malcolm, proves to be very good and intelligent at his job. His boss, in fact, thinks he's too competent, and might be able to figure out that said boss is behind all the trouble at the hotel, so he fires him. When said boss is himself fired, the actual manager mentions she'll hire him back and now has an opening for an assistant manager. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cdd676a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cdd676a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_cdd676a3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ce389717 | type |
Harassing Phone Call | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ce389717 | comment |
Harassing Phone Call: At one point, the Aldens get a threatening call telling them to "Tell the town council to put the statue in the museum, or else!". When the Aldens identify the culprit, it turns out they did it to throw suspicion on another person. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ce389717 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ce389717 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ce389717 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf61bce5 | type |
New Friend Envy | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf61bce5 | comment |
New Friend Envy: Inverted with Beth Simon. It's not any of the Aldens' friends who get jealous of their friendship with her — it's her own twin sister Heather, who proceeds to try and break up the friendship by playing nasty pranks while disguised as Beth. And apparently she's done this in every town they've lived in, because she's jealous of how easily Beth makes new friends. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf61bce5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf61bce5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf61bce5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf6541ad | type |
Social Services Does Not Exist | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf6541ad | comment |
Social Services Does Not Exist: Truth in Television at the time the first book was released — social services as we know it really didn't exist, with the exception of orphanages that focused on caring for the children they had, not tracking down runaways. The children are figured out and united with their grandfather in a matter of a few months, though. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf6541ad | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf6541ad | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf6541ad | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf92fea8 | type |
Cassandra Truth | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf92fea8 | comment |
Cassandra Truth: Although recorded in a book about Captain Coffin's talking parrot, the phrase "Capsick" was argued by one of Coffin's defenders to be gibberish. It turns out he had been suffering from malaria during his ship's last voyage. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf92fea8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf92fea8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_cf92fea8 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cfc52d52 | type |
Spoiled Brat | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cfc52d52 | comment |
Spoiled Brat: Becky Jennings, a little girl who, on seeing the Alden family's boxcar, immediately starts screaming and throwing a tantrum about how she wants it. More than a few people comment on her bad behavior on seeing this, and again later. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cfc52d52 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_cfc52d52 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_cfc52d52 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d1b35f28 | type |
Stolen Good, Returned Better | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d1b35f28 | comment |
Stolen Good, Returned Better: Benny's lump of fool's gold disappears, only to be "found" by Jake, who the Aldens had helped with a lunch bill earlier. The returned item, however, is instead a lump of pure gold. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d1b35f28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d1b35f28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d1b35f28 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2102da0 | type |
Bad People Abuse Animals | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2102da0 | comment |
Bad People Abuse Animals: The villain of the book. He neglects his dog, did the same thing to the zoo animals, and then went out of his way to cause trouble for them, from stealing their food and medicine to draining the seal pool and tampering with the temperatures in various exhibits, which could have made them very sick if it wasn't caught in time. Happily, no lasting damage is done. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2102da0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2102da0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2102da0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d212847f | type |
Key Under the Doormat | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d212847f | comment |
Key Under the Doormat: When hired to feed the cats of a woman who will be out of town for two days, the Aldens are told the key will be under the mat, but can't find it when they arrive. Fortunately, they find another way into the house; shortly after their friend Beth leaves, they discover the missing key by a flower pot, where they know they'd searched before. It turns out this was one of the times that Heather had impersonated her sister and swiped it to cause trouble for them on purpose. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d212847f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d212847f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d212847f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2c4c6f5 | type |
Hey, That's My Line! | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2c4c6f5 | comment |
Hey, That's My Line!: At one point, it's almost lunchtime, and Henry says "I'm hungry." Benny protests — "Wait a minute! That's what I was going to say!", making the others laugh. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2c4c6f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2c4c6f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d2c4c6f5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3beb0de | type |
Precocious Crush | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3beb0de | comment |
Precocious Crush: Charles Farley admits that as a child, he had a crush on his next door neighbor Celia Roth, who was ten years older than him and disappeared when he was seven and she was seventeen. He actually admits this to her face when they meet again late in the book, and that part of the reason he wanted to believe her ghost was haunting her house was so he could pretend she was still there. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3beb0de | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3beb0de | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3beb0de | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3f9fdb3 | type |
Gamebooks | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3f9fdb3 | comment |
Gamebooks: The spinoff series The Boxcar Children Interactive Mysteries, introduced in 2018 with Midnight at the Haunted Hotel. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3f9fdb3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3f9fdb3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d3f9fdb3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d5d976dd | type |
I Have Many Names | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d5d976dd | comment |
I Have Many Names: In book #12 (Houseboat Mystery), Mr. Rivers tells the family that the houseboat he rents out is set up so renters can give it any name they want, by swapping out letters on a special rack. Past names have included Rock and Roll, Moon Rocket, The All Inn, and The Blue Heron; the Aldens swap out names on it every day, naming it after all the members of the family (including Mrs. McGregor) in turn, ultimately catching the attention of the police who've heard about "the houseboat with many names". (Thankfully, they're understanding when they find out why it keeps changing.) The last name they give the boat is Captain Kidd, for Benny, prompting Mr. Rivers to crack up laughing when he sees it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d5d976dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d5d976dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d5d976dd | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d7fc9fd0 | type |
Vitriolic Best Buds | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d7fc9fd0 | comment |
Vitriolic Best Buds: Benny and Mike Wood (the latter of whom is introduced in this book) are friends, but they spend more of their time arguing than getting along when Mike's visiting the island for a day. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d7fc9fd0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d8573ef9 | type |
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections! | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d8573ef9 | comment |
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Mr. Fogg, one of the store managers, is convinced that the Alden brothers just got their jobs on the strength of their family name. It turns out he's only half right — the new owner does know and is known by James Alden, but the boys are hired because they're good people and hard workers. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d8573ef9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_d8573ef9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_d8573ef9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_da12bcfb | type |
You Can't Go Home Again | |
The Boxcar Children / int_da12bcfb | comment |
You Can't Go Home Again: Subverted — Bill McGregor is led to believe this was the case, due to his brother's friends (who were searching for the money Sam McGregor had hidden away) lying to him and telling him his old home had burned, with his wife dying in the blaze. He doesn't realize they were lying about both these things until the Aldens find him and tell him the truth. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_da12bcfb | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_da12bcfb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_da12bcfb | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dabc7a46 | type |
Sixth Ranger | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dabc7a46 | comment |
Sixth Ranger: Or fifth, in this case. Soo Lee, the Alden's seven-year-old adopted cousin, becomes the fifth member of the group on many of their adventures, starting in book #41 (The Mystery of the Hidden Beach). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dabc7a46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dabc7a46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dabc7a46 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbc33bf5 | type |
Handy Man | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbc33bf5 | comment |
Handy Man: Jake Clark, the father of the family that ends up staying with the Aldens at their farm, proves to be one, as he's able to repair pretty much everything that needs it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbc33bf5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbc33bf5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbc33bf5 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbca2c99 | type |
Red Herring | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbca2c99 | comment |
Red Herring: The Aldens initially suspect Janet Lerner from the Greenfield town council and architect Rebecca Wright of being behind the thefts of some valuable antiques, thinking it'll give them an excuse to have the Greenfield firehouse torn down. It turns out they weren't, and the Aldens catch the real thief with the stolen goods. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbca2c99 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbca2c99 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dbca2c99 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dc3b74bc | type |
Pointy-Haired Boss | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dc3b74bc | comment |
Pointy-Haired Boss: Subverted. The villain of the book turns out to be setting his boss up to look like one of these, pulling all sorts of pranks (such as dumping purple dye in the pool, swiping random hotel things like phones, pillows, shower curtains and the like from the rooms, switching around the salt and sugar in the dining room and cancelling guests' reservations) to make said manager look incompetent and thus get fired so he'd get their job. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dc3b74bc | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dc3b74bc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dc3b74bc | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dca70c44 | type |
Reasonable Authority Figure | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dca70c44 | comment |
Reasonable Authority Figure: Mrs. Tweedy, owner of the Pretty Bird Pet Shop. She's willing to listen to the Aldens when they tell her about all the strange things that have been happening in the shop, stops an illegal sale of wild animals when she catches the culprit in the action, and calls the cops on him to boot. When she also finds out that one of the younger customers who'd been in regularly — and also caused some trouble — just wants to prove he could do the work, she's kind to him and agrees to hire him. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dca70c44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dca70c44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dca70c44 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dcbe8a6e | type |
Chekhov's Gunman | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dcbe8a6e | comment |
Chekhov's Gunman: The day that the Aldens board the caboose to start their trip, they meet a postman, Sid Weston, who wants to have a look at the caboose before it goes, but is told there isn't enough time. Later in the book, he returns, and turns out to be John Mann — the Thin Man, whom the Aldens have just proven innocent of the theft he was accused of. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dcbe8a6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dcbe8a6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dcbe8a6e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dda12cb3 | type |
Cat Scare | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dda12cb3 | comment |
Cat Scare: On the last page of one chapter, Violet bumps into a large, hulking shape and is too afraid to move, thinking it's a monster of some kind. In the opening page of the next chapter, the man she and her siblings had come into the room with turns on the lights, and she's relieved to see that the "monster" is just a cape thrown over a coatrack. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dda12cb3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_dda12cb3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_dda12cb3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df2b3ec | type |
Kindly Housekeeper | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df2b3ec | comment |
Kindly Housekeeper: Mrs. McGregor, the Alden family caretaker. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df2b3ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df2b3ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_df2b3ec | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df968cf | type |
Insurance Fraud | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df968cf | comment |
Insurance Fraud: For a little while, the Aldens wonder if this is the reason behind the theft of the jewels. Grandfather, however, assures them that the Murpheys are very wealthy and had just made a large donation to a cause, so they have no need to pull this trope off. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df968cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_df968cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_df968cf | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e016e53f | type |
Throwing Off the Disability | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e016e53f | comment |
Throwing Off the Disability: Marcia Westerly, the thief, has been faking an injury that requires her to use crutches. When the Aldens see her moving just fine without them, it's the final piece in the puzzle that makes them realize she's the thief. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e016e53f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e016e53f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e016e53f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e064dc5a | type |
Plot Allergy | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e064dc5a | comment |
Plot Allergy: While trying to figure out who stole their boxcar, the Aldens realize that one of their suspects couldn't have done it — he's severely allergic to dogs, and could barely stand to be around the boxcar because Watch has been inside. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e064dc5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e064dc5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e064dc5a | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e0aed924 | type |
No Antagonist | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e0aed924 | comment |
No Antagonist: More than half of the Warner-era books have the characters simply solving a mystery about something they found, with no real villain involved; book 1 has a pair of adults who want to send the kids to their grandfather whether they want to go or not, but they're heard to say that they'll give up on the search if they don't find the kids soon and are completely absent from the story after the Aldens find the boxcar, and book 3 has some crooks in the backstory who aren't around to impede the Aldens during the actual events of the book, but beyond that, books 4, 5, 10, 12, 15 and 19 are the only ones from this time period with any human antagonists present and out to cause trouble. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e0aed924 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e0aed924 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e0aed924 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e16cd24e | type |
Know When to Fold 'Em | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e16cd24e | comment |
Know When to Fold 'Em: Helen Brooks, a member of the town council, has been wanting to shut down the zoo, and plans to bring it up at the next council meeting. However, when she talks to some of the other members and they tell her they'd never support shutting down the zoo, she knows she's beaten and gives up. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e16cd24e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e16cd24e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e16cd24e | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e2a41c3b | type |
Literal-Minded | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e2a41c3b | comment |
Literal-Minded: Willie, the Bean family's hired hand, who takes Jane's frustrated shout of "I'd like to shoot Andy Bean!" as a serious threat and not just hyperbole, and goes to warn Andy. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e2a41c3b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e2a41c3b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e2a41c3b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3048d1b | type |
Amateur Sleuth | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3048d1b | comment |
Amateur Sleuth: Although being a series aimed at young children, the "crimes" they solve are rarely very serious. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3048d1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3048d1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3048d1b | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3cd6ed7 | type |
Rejecting the Inheritance | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3cd6ed7 | comment |
Rejecting the Inheritance: Played with. Jessie does not take her grandmother's necklace home with her, instead letting it remain in the museum it was donated to — with herself listed as the donor instead of Lorraine, and with the understanding that it will be made available if she ever wishes to borrow it. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3cd6ed7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3cd6ed7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e3cd6ed7 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e43b42ea | type |
We Need a Distraction | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e43b42ea | comment |
We Need a Distraction: The other reason Mike's house was burned — while everyone was at the fire, the culprit was able to set explosives at the uranium mine, intending to destroy it. Fortunately, they're discovered before they can be used. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e43b42ea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e43b42ea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e43b42ea | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e7395be2 | type |
Stereo Fibbing | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e7395be2 | comment |
Stereo Fibbing: Two criminals posing as forest rangers simultaneously say different colors when asked what their uniforms look like. They temporarily compensate for the gaffe by claiming that they have different uniforms for different seasons. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e7395be2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e7395be2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e7395be2 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9c022ea | type |
Secretly Wealthy | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9c022ea | comment |
Secretly Wealthy: Nancy, the titular mystery girl, who comes from a rich family but has run away from them so she can live her own life. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9c022ea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9c022ea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9c022ea | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9e35e8f | type |
Exact Words | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9e35e8f | comment |
Exact Words: Chi-Chi's riddling message to her husband Cho-Cho about her diamond necklace reads "If you are a clown / Be on the lookout / For things in a crown." The key is the middle phrase: she wasn't telling him to keep an eye out for the necklace, she was literally telling him to "be on the lookout"—that is, the mattress in the lookout of Caboose 777, where she hid the jewels. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9e35e8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9e35e8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_e9e35e8f | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ea51fa45 | type |
I Never Got Any Letters | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ea51fa45 | comment |
I Never Got Any Letters: In two directions. When she ran away to get married, Celia Roth left a letter in her father's desk, but it ended up behind a drawer and he never found it. Later, he placed an ad in a Boston paper addressed to her; she only sees it years after the fact, learning he had forgiven her. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ea51fa45 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ea51fa45 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ea51fa45 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb002293 | type |
Shrinking Violet | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb002293 | comment |
Shrinking Violet: Violet. Hey... | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb002293 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb002293 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb002293 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb252637 | type |
Wealthy Ever After | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb252637 | comment |
Wealthy Ever After: The first book ends this way, with the children moving in with their grandfather, who is described as being very rich and living in a huge house with many servants. The rest of the books by Warner downplay his wealth, with the maids being replaced by a single housekeeper, Mrs. McGregor. In the post-Warner series, the Aldens are an upper-middle-class family (with a housekeeper), albeit one with enough room in their back yard for a boxcar. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb252637 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb252637 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_eb252637 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ec0609d1 | type |
The Illegible | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ec0609d1 | comment |
The Illegible: Eric, the young man who runs the print shop at Pilgrim Village, has very poor handwriting. Later, the Aldens receive a note supposedly from him, but realize too late that it was a forgery, since they can read it without any problem. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_ec0609d1 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ec8290b6 | type |
Snap Back | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ec8290b6 | comment |
Snap Back: Over the course of the first nineteen books, the children aged at least five years. In this book, they're suddenly back to their original ages of 14, 12, 10, and 6, and haven't aged since. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_ec8290b6 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ed914e98 | type |
Tricked into Signing | |
The Boxcar Children / int_ed914e98 | comment |
Tricked into Signing: Benny finds a perfectly innocent way of narrowing down who could have written notes in green ink: ask everyone for their autographs. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_ed914e98 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_edf841f6 | type |
Worthless Treasure Twist | |
The Boxcar Children / int_edf841f6 | comment |
Worthless Treasure Twist: Played straight in book #70 (The Mystery of the Pirate's Map). The children find the last piece of a famous treasure map and try to get to the treasure before a greedy millionaire, who's spent his whole life trying to find it and stepped on a lot of people in the process. As they're digging for the treasure, they tell him that he can have whatever they find. The treasure chest contains a single coin, and a note from the pirate about "real treasure." | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_edf841f6 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f0c4ce7d | type |
The Lost Lenore | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f0c4ce7d | comment |
The Lost Lenore: Grandmother Alden's portrait is kept in the attic because Grandfather is still in mourning. After the events of the book, her portrait is hung in the house again. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_f0c4ce7d | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f12d9d83 | type |
Promotion to Parent | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f12d9d83 | comment |
Promotion to Parent: Henry and Jessie, the two oldest, take on the role of mother and father for their younger siblings Violet and Benny. This is most noticeable in the first book, when Henry has to be the breadwinner because he's the only one who, at 14, is old enough to work. Even after the Aldens realize their grandfather is kind and go to live with him, he's still a father figure to his siblings when they're out on various adventures without adults to help. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_f12d9d83 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f36c4f98 | type |
Easily Forgiven | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f36c4f98 | comment |
Easily Forgiven: The Aldens all accept Lorraine Newton's apology for her actions in continuing to hide their grandmother's necklace, and Grandfather Alden himself, after his own acceptance, declines to prosecute the family since the actual thief has been dead for years and he can understand Lorraine's reason for hiding his crime. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_f36c4f98 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f44ad3e1 | type |
Twin Switch | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f44ad3e1 | comment |
Twin Switch: Early on, the Alden children make friends with Beth Simon, a new girl in town. When her twin sister Heather finds out about this, she proceeds to pretend to be Beth, allowing her to get close to the Aldens and mess up their work, making them think Beth might be the one responsible. And it's explained during the big reveal that this isn't the first time she's pulled this. | |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_f44ad3e1 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f54f1401 | type |
Passed-Over Inheritance | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f54f1401 | comment |
Passed-Over Inheritance: The true villain of the book turns out to be motivated by this — his parents cut him out of their will, so he's trying to trick his niece out of some valuable items that were left to her parents and that he feels should have been his. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f54f1401 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_f54f1401 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f5dc896c | type |
Fire Alarm Distraction | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f5dc896c | comment |
Fire Alarm Distraction: A variant — someone's been calling in false alarms to the firehouse, reporting fires where there really aren't, as a distraction so they can sneak into the building and steal some valuable items. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f5dc896c | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_f5dc896c | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f6861370 | type |
Living Drawing | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f6861370 | comment |
Living Drawing: In the opening chapter, it's revealed that Benny likes to pretend the animals on his wallpaper are this, who come to life and play when humans aren't around to see them. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f6861370 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_f6861370 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f6ef4ff9 | type |
Break-In Threat | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f6ef4ff9 | comment |
Break-In Threat: Late in the book, the villain breaks into the house while the kids are sleeping and tears up a chair (which Violet actually hears him doing, though she thinks it's just her imagination until they find the chair the next morning). | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f6ef4ff9 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_f6ef4ff9 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f8f40422 | type |
A Plot in Deed | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f8f40422 | comment |
A Plot in Deed: Actually subverted. The book revolves around the Aldens trying to prove that the land where the Greenfield Animal Shelter is located is the rightful property of the shelter's founder, Clara Newcombe. The subversion is that while the deed they found is legitimate, it isn't enough to prove this; they also need to find her father's will, which will confirm that he left the property to her, and get both documents to the state Land Records Office in time. Very fortunately, Ms. Newcombe already has the will in her possession when she's found, and despite the villains' best efforts, she and the Aldens succeed in their goal. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_f8f40422 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children | hasFeature |
The Boxcar Children / int_f8f40422 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_faa20f69 | type |
Barn Raising | |
The Boxcar Children / int_faa20f69 | comment |
Barn Raising: During the siblings' stay on Sunny Oaks Farm, one of the events they take part in is a barn raising at a neighboring farm, which takes all day to assemble the frame and sides before they're actually raised up into place. It's also noted that the farm's owners will put on the roof later. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_faa20f69 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_faa20f69 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fb9e2ffd | type |
Team Pet | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fb9e2ffd | comment |
Team Pet: Watch the dog, who technically belongs to Jessie. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_fb9e2ffd | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fd4f8299 | type |
Well-Intentioned Extremist | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fd4f8299 | comment |
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The troublemaker in this book is one, attempting to chase away campers who can't respect the peace and beauty of the forest, leaving messes and playing loud music. He turns their own methods against them, stealing food and lanterns and playing loud music of his own at night, and ultimately leaving threatening notes. He's ultimately persuaded to turn himself in and is made to perform community service in return, educating campers on what to do and what not to do. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_fd4f8299 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fd9763d3 | type |
Non-Ironic Clown | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fd9763d3 | comment |
Non-Ironic Clown: Ollie, the Starlight Troupe's skating clown. He's always cheerful and goofy on and off the ice, and very friendly to everyone he meets. | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fd9763d3 | featureApplicability |
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The Boxcar Children / int_fd9763d3 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fe26cb03 | type |
Real Name as an Alias | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fe26cb03 | comment |
Real Name as an Alias: One of the customers at Furman's Department Store is Miss Maggie Douglas, who's been getting on the first floor manager's nerves by offering unsolicited advice and asking difficult questions about the merchandise. In the final chapter, she turns out to be Maggie Douglas Squires, or M. D. Squires, the store's new owner. | |
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The Boxcar Children / int_fe26cb03 | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fe64d5a1 | type |
Evil Is Petty | |
The Boxcar Children / int_fe64d5a1 | comment |
Evil Is Petty: It's eventually revealed that the perpetrator behind the sabotage at the pizza place is a middle-management business executive at the company next door. When the kids bring him a free pizza as a peace offering, he eats it while gloating he thinks the Piccolos are old enough to be retired and the restaurant would serve better as a work cafeteria. Fortunately, he left the intercom on long enough for his boss to overhear, and she fires him on the spot while apologizing to the kids. | |
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The Boxcar Children |
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