The Woodshed Mystery
By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Illustrated by
By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Illustrated by
(Mystery/Fiction/Intermediate reader)
In this installment from The
Boxcar Children series, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny visit a New
England farm that their Grandfather buys for their Aunt Jane and discover a
woodshed on the property with disappearing furniture and secret hiding places.
Who is living in the woodshed and how does this mystery connect to old tales of
the farmhouse and a war that took place hundreds of years before?
The Woodshed Mystery fits
into the mystery genre within realistic fiction. Mysteries are suspenseful,
their plots develop around a question that needs to be answered, and include a
solution that follows the gradual presentation of clues (Galda, 2010, p. 240). The Woodshed Mystery fulfills all of
these requirements. Suspense begins to build when the children discover an old
woodshed containing a table set with dishware, several cans of food, and a bed
(Warner, 1990, pp. 74-75); signs of an unknown person living there. But when the
children return with an adult, the furniture has disappeared! Over the course
of the book, the children make discoveries about the history of the farm,
explore the woodshed and uncover hiding places, and learn about their Aunt Jane’s
history as well. All of these plot elements eventually add up and lead to a
conclusion for the mystery.
The Woodshed Mystery is
also characteristic of books in the realistic fiction genre. It is set in a
place that does exist, the New England countryside and is representative of a
world readers will find believable and familiar. There are farms, cars, buses,
and picnics. Characters are also realistic and build on relationships readers
understand. This book features four siblings of varying ages and personalities
(Benny is the youngest and always quick to chime into conversations, Violet is sincere
and trustworthy). The children are orphans but live with their Grandfather and
have a strong relationship with their Aunt Jane. The plot grows from a fairly
straightforward story: Aunt Jane wants to move back to New England where she grew
up, so Grandfather inquires in the town they lived in as children to see if their old
farm is for sale. From there, the story’s mystery begins to unfold, always
growing logically from the backstory of the farm and characters’ histories. Written
for children, the plot is not overly complicated, but does include enough
twists and turns to make it compelling. Many readers will be able to guess the
mystery’s answer by the end of the book. Themes include family relationships,
history, and teamwork.
The book’s style of writing and dialogue are not entirely contemporary. The dialogue is not quite as casual as today’s
language is. Some characters the children meet in the small town speak with a country accent, something that comes up in the following passage:
“Make some egg sandwiches too, Ma,”
said Sim. “These children seem to be half starved. I’ll get the cans of milk.”
“Why do you call her ma?” asked
Benny. “Isn’t she your wife?” (Warner, 1990, pp. 47-48)
This use of accent is intended to make the book feel more authentic.
This is a chapter book, but there are half-page and
page-sized pen or charcoal illustrations every so often that depict a scene or
figure from the story. The illustrations are simple, primarily utilizing line and shape to create images. They will help intermediate readers stay in the story
as they get used to reading books without many illustrations. The cover has the
only color illustration. It shows two of the children peering down into one of
the hidden areas they discover in the woodshed. The cover is mostly green
with just a few accents of different colors for the children’s clothes. The
color scheme lends an air of mystery and eeriness to the cover.
ACTIVITIES:
1. Have students keep notes while reading the book, keeping
track of clues and making guesses as to what might happen next. This will help
them make sense of the plot development and begin to observe how a writer
weaves clues and plot development into a story.
2. If the students have read other Boxcar mysteries, they will be familiar with many of the characters
in this book. Have them create character charts for the children, Grandfather,
and Aunt Jane, making notes of their behaviors and actions and how each person
contributes to the progression of the story. Students can be creative in terms
of style and illustrations for their poster.
3. This book interweaves Revolutionary War history into the
story. Have students research whether the references made to this time period
present an accurate and realistic picture of the time.
READER RESPONSE QUESTIONS:
1. Which characters seemed suspicious to you as you were
reading? Why did you think they might be hiding something? Were any of your
instincts about characters true?
2. Suspense is a key characteristic of mysteries. Provide at
least three examples from the text that illustrate how the author built up
suspense in this story.
3. Which character do you most identify with and why?
Series books can be a great way to get children to read on
their own. These books can facilitate reading comprehension because many
elements of the story remain consistent and familiar (characters, background
story, etc.). Series books also encourage students to continue with the series once they’ve
enjoyed one book (Galda, 2010, p. 237). Most, if not all of The Boxcar Children books are mysteries, so children will come to
recognize many elements of mystery writing after reading just a few of these
books.
References
Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., &
Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworths,
Inc
Warner, G. C., & Cunningham,
D. (1990). The woodshed mystery. Chicago, IL: Albert Whitman
& Company.
Image from https://www.abebooks.com/9780807592069/Woodshed-Mystery-Boxcar-Children-7-0807592064/plp
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