The Boxcar Children
Recommended. Age: 7+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Four brothers and sisters have no parents, so they make a home in an old train car in the woods. They work hard, share everything and take care of each other. They hide from their grandfather because they think he is mean, but he is really kind. There is nothing scary or bad in it. It is an easy chapter book for the whole family. Clean, cheerful and easy to read, with siblings who work hard and look after each other. The writing is plain and the story is simple. One thing to talk through: the children run from their grandfather without ever meeting him.
For parents
Read aloud from five. Independent reading from seven, a good first chapter book for a third grader. Nothing in the content needs screening. Do talk about the running away. The children judge their grandfather before they know him, and they are wrong. Ask: what should they have done first? Who could they have trusted? Point out that the story ends well because they return to a family, which is where God means children to be cared for (CCC 2207 to 2208). Notice with your child that they rest on Sunday.