Gertrude Chandler Warner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gertrude Chandler Warner
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| Born | April 16, 1890 |
| Died | August 30, 1979 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | The Boxcar Children book series |
Gertrude Chandler Warner (born April 16, 1890 – died August 30, 1979) was an American author who wrote many stories for children. She is best known for creating The Boxcar Children book series. She wrote the first book and eighteen more in the popular series.
Contents
About Gertrude's Life
Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in Connecticut on April 16, 1890. Her parents were Edgar Morris Warner and Jane Elizabeth Carpenter Warner. She had an older sister, Frances, and a younger brother, John. Her family lived across the street from a train station, which might have given her ideas later on!
Becoming an Author
When Gertrude was just five years old, she dreamed of becoming an author. She started writing in small blank books as soon as she could hold a pencil. Her very first book was called Golliwog at the Zoo. She would make a new handmade book for her grandfather every Christmas.
Gertrude loved to read, and her favorite book was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She also loved music and played the cello. Because she was often sick, Gertrude did not finish high school in the usual way. Instead, she studied with a tutor to complete her education.
Teaching and Nature
In 1918, Gertrude began teaching first grade in Putnam, Connecticut. She taught there until 1950. She also took education classes at Yale University during the summers.
Gertrude loved nature very much. She collected butterflies and moths, pressed wildflowers, and learned about all the birds in her backyard. She even kept a garden to watch butterflies. She used her love for nature in her teaching and in her books. For example, in Surprise Island, the second Boxcar Children book, the children create a nature museum from things they find outside.
Besides The Boxcar Children books, Gertrude wrote other stories for kids, like The World in a Barn (1927) and Peter Piper, Missionary Parakeet (1967). She also wrote a book for adults called Life's Minor Collisions.
Gertrude never married. She lived in her parents' home for many years. Later in life, she volunteered for groups like the American Red Cross and the Cancer Society, helping people in need. She passed away at age 89 and is buried in Putnam, Connecticut.
The Boxcar Children Series
Gertrude once shared that she often wrote when she was recovering from being sick or from accidents. She got the idea for The Boxcar Children while she was sick at home.
How the Series Started
The first version of The Boxcar Children was published in 1924. It had four colorful pictures. In 1942, Gertrude rewrote the book using simpler words, so it could be used as a reader in schools. This new version had many black-and-white pictures.
Gertrude did not continue the series right away. She waited until she retired from teaching to write more Boxcar Children books. The second book, Surprise Island, came out in 1949.
Some people thought The Boxcar Children was not good because the children had little adult supervision. They worried it might encourage kids to rebel. But Gertrude said children loved the books for that very reason! She wanted to show how independent and clever the Alden children were.
Today, a company called Albert Whitman & Company publishes Gertrude's original 19 Boxcar Children stories. Many other authors have added to the series, so there are now about 150 books in total! In 2020, Gertrude Chandler Warner’s first Boxcar Children book became part of the public domain.
Boxcar Children Museum
On July 3, 2004, the Gertrude Chandler Warner Boxcar Children Museum opened in Putnam, Connecticut. It is right across the street from where Gertrude grew up. The museum is inside a real 1920s train boxcar!
The museum teaches visitors about Gertrude's life and her work as a teacher and author. You can see original signed books, photos, and items from her life. There is even the desk where a 9-year-old Gertrude wrote her first story, Golliwog at the Zoo. The museum also has a recreated living space like the one the Alden children made in their boxcar.
See also
- List of Boxcar Children novels
