Rating: Needs Parent Supervision (Superstition, Sexism)

Possible concerns:

  • Luck. Benny has borderline obsession with luck. When his teddy, the team mascot is stolen, everything bad that happens thereafter he attributes to bad luck.
  • Sexism. One of the older characters, the equipment manager, lets it slip that he doesn’t think girls should play baseball. In the end, he comes around to the idea, but it would be good to have parent supervision on this one in the form a discussion to make sure that your kid understands that this way of thinking is not really appropriate. You could emphasize how the man rightfully changed his mind by the end of the story to make sure that paradigm shift hits home with your little one.

I bought this one but I actually think I might try and sell it back because I have enough other Boxcar books that are suitable for my bookshelf, and this is not. I don’t want my younger daughter to find this one and read it; I don’t want her to be affected by the heavy themes in this book played by luck or by sexism.

A classic book that involves baseball and addresses discrimination is Maniac Magee, but admittedly the discrimination is heavier there and I’d offer that book for an older audience than Boxcar readers.

Here are links to my reviews of other Boxcar Children books:

The Boxcar Children (Book 1)https://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2022/11/06/the-boxcar-children-books-12-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 2) Surprise Islandhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2022/11/06/the-boxcar-children-books-12-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/Needs Parent Supervision
The Boxcar Children (Book 3) Yellow House Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2022/11/12/the-boxcar-children-book-3-yellow-house-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 4) Mystery Ranchhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/01/09/the-boxcar-children-books-04-and-05-mystery-ranch-and-mikes-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 5) Mike’s Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/01/09/the-boxcar-children-books-04-and-05-mystery-ranch-and-mikes-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 6) Blue Bay Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/02/04/the-boxcar-children-book-6-blue-bay-mystery/Needs Parent Supervision (Other Religious Practices)
The Boxcar Children (Book 7) The Woodshed Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/04/12/the-boxcar-children-book-7-the-woodshed-mystery/Needs Parent Supervision
The Boxcar Children (Book 8) Lighthouse Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/04/17/the-boxcar-children-book-8-lighthouse-mystery/Not for me
The Boxcar Children (Book 9) Mountain Top Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/04/19/the-boxcar-children-book-9-mountain-top-mystery/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 10) Schoolhouse Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/04/23/the-boxcar-children-book-10-schoolhouse-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 11) Caboose Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/04/23/the-boxcar-children-book-11-caboose-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 12) Houseboat Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/05/10/the-boxcar-children-book-12-houseboat-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 13) Snowbound Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/05/10/the-boxcar-children-book-13-snowbound-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 14) Treehouse Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/05/14/the-boxcar-children-book-14-treehouse-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 15) Bicycle Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/06/05/the-boxcar-children-book-15-bicycle-mystery-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children (Book 16) Mystery in the Sandhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/06/05/the-boxcar-children-book-16-mystery-in-the-sand-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/Needs Parent Supervision (stranger danger)
The Boxcar Children Book 156: The Skeleton Key Mysteryhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/12/13/the-boxcar-children-book-156-the-skeleton-key-mystery-created-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/Not for me
The Boxcar Children Endangered Animals Book 1: The Big Spill Rescuehttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/11/01/the-boxcar-children-endangered-animals-series-book-1-the-big-spill-rescue-created-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children Special Series Book 1: Mystery on the Icehttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2024/01/03/the-boxcar-children-special-series-book-1-mystery-on-the-ice-created-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children Special Series Book 2: Mystery in Washington, D.C.https://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2024/01/29/the-boxcar-children-special-2-the-mystery-in-washington-d-c-created-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children Special Series Book 3: Mystery at the Snowflake Inn.https://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2024/02/23/the-boxcar-children-special-3-the-mystery-at-snowflake-inn-created-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/My Bookshelf
The Boxcar Children Special Series Book 4: Mystery at the Ballparkhttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2024/03/08/the-boxcar-children-special-series-book-4-mystery-at-the-ballpark-created-by-gertrude-chandler-warner/Needs Parent Supervision (Superstition, sexism)

Discover more from Jesus loves bookworms

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.