The Boxcar Children: Creatures of Legend

I grew up reading The Boxcar Children, right along with Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Happy Hollisters, and so many others.  As I got older, I got away from them, as their mysteries were definitely aimed at younger readers, with stories shorter than those of Nancy Drew or the Bobbseys, and the mysteries were much simpler.  When the animated film, The Boxcar Children, was released, along with the sequel, Surprise Island, I found myself curious about The Boxcar Children and what they were like today.  I picked up the 5-part "series within a series" subtitled as The Boxcar Children's "Great Adventure," and found that I rather enjoyed the stories.  Sure, they were still simple, but they were quick, fun reads.  While I have only picked up a few of the actual regular series' titles, when they offered up yet another mini-series of sorts, titled "Creatures of Legend," I decided to pick them up.  Since they are such quick and easy reads, I figured it would be better to simply review all four in one posting, rather than devote individual posts to each of the books.

The Secret of Bigfoot Valley is the first in the series, and it features the children trying to determine whether - you guessed it! - "bigfoot" is real or not.  When Grandfather takes Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny to Camp Quest to begin their summer, they never expect to find another mystery to solve.  Grandfather's old friend, Dr. Iris Perez, is a paleontologist, and she is there to teach the children at the camp how to search for old fossils.  But one of the campers is determined to prove that bigfoot is real and has been seen in those very woods!  When the children find large footprints outside their tents ... when they hear unexplained noises coming from the woods ... when their food mysteriously disappears ... when there are scratch marks across their tent  - they have to wonder if bigfoot is real or if someone is playing an elaborate prank!  Could it be the camp counselor who is complaining about everything?  Or is it the boy determined to prove bigfoot is real?  Or is it the delivery man who can't seem to keep a proper schedule and is anxious about something?  Or ... what if it's not a prank at all?   

Mystery of the Hidden Elves finds the Alden children traveling with Dr. Perez to Iceland, where they are going to look into the legend involving the elves who are said to be hidden among the rocks within some of the more remote towns.  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are all excited about exploring the countryside of Iceland (where Benny is surprised to see how "green" Iceland is - Benny is right when he comments: "So Greenland is icier, and Iceland is greener?  That's confusing." [p. 2]).  There's a superstition in those parts that anyone who removes one of the elves' rocks will be cursed by the elves and face unfortunate consequences - so when unexpected events start to occur, Violet begins to worry that they are cursed.  A trip to an abandoned town and a strong storm result in another accident that necessitates a daring rescue in an abandoned building- where it's ultimately revealed that someone took a stone upon their arrival in Iceland!  So, if they put the stone back where it belongs, will all the accidents stop happening?

Mermaids of the Deep Blue Sea takes the four Boxcar Children to a small town in Puerto Rico, where they hear stories about the mermaids that have allegedly been sighted around the nearby islands.  Dr. Perez introduces the children to her aunt, Professor Marcela Reyes, who has a mystery of her own to be solved.  Antonio Amador, an ecologist who lives alone on a nearby island, has not been seen for weeks, and Professor Reyes is worried.  The children agree to help in the search, but the professor's assistant, Gina, seems very annoyed that the children are involved.  Reluctantly, she joins them on the trip to the island, where Jessie and Henry begin to suspect that she may be involved with something not exactly on the up-and-up.  The children not only find themselves looking into the legend of the lusca, but also whether mermaids are, indeed, real, and just what it is that Antiono Amador is hiding that he wants to keep everyone away from his island!  Is the lusca more than just a legend, or is it merely a fable?

Myth of the Rain Forest Monster is the fourth and final book in the mini-series, and sees the Alden children traveling to Brazil and the Amazon rain forest for the last leg of their journey with Dr. Perez.  This time, they are there to learn about "megafauna," supposed giant animals that lived within the forest long ago.  They are meeting the famous author, Nigel Livingstone, who is said to be an expert on the creature.  But when they arrive in the jungle, everything seems off - and Dr. Livingstone is not at all who they were expecting!  The young expert does not have the knowledge he is said to have, and he seems more focused on recording blog posts that make it appear he is on the track of the creature than he is on finding any scientific evidence that the creature exists.  Once again, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are on the case, and they ultimately uncover the truth about what is going on in the Amazon rain forest before anyone gets seriously injured.  Along the way, they also discover some evidence that the megafauna may not be the myth that everyone thinks it is!

Each book is only a little over 115 pages in length, making them quick, easy reads.  The stories are fun and the mysteries are fairly simple (the culprits are pretty easy to spot early on).  The writer (I'm going to assume one ghostwriter wrote all four stories) keeps the characterization consistent - Henry is the responsible one, Jessie is the caretaker, Violet is the worry-wart, and Benny is the rambunctious one - and the continuity between the books makes for enjoyable reading, as the stories read as one continuous journey.  

 

Now, I do have to wonder what Grandfather in the real world would allow his four granchildren, all under the age of 15, to go traipsing around the world in search of legendary creatures.  Yes, yes, I know this is a fictional series for children, and so there has to be some suspension of disbelief, but allowing these four children to take numerous flights to various parts of the world all on their own (not really sure why they did not travel with Dr. Perez for each leg of the journey...) is a bit of a stretch.  But, I guess after solving hundreds of mysteries over the years and facing down plenty of wrong-doers, the Aldens' grandfather must feel that these children can pretty much handle themselves in any situation.

 

I will say, there were several typos and grammatical errors throughout all four books, which again leads me to wonder whatever happened to editors in the book world?!  It used to be that a misspelling or misused word was far and few between in published books - now, it seems they are pretty much an every book occurrence.  But those little mishaps did not detract from the enjoyment of the reading, and I honestly think Gertrude Chandler Warner would be proud of what the publisher and authors are doing with her series these days.

RATING:  8 scarlet macaws out of 10 for providing some unique subject matter for children's mysteries and sharing some great histories on the myths behind these creatures of legend!