History Literature / TheBoxcarChildren

* AdaptedOut: Many characters from the original books, including Mrs. McGregor's husband, Aunt Jane's farmhands, Benny's friend Mike Wood, and the grandfather's pilot/former spy friend John Carter completely disappear in the post-Warner books.

** Mr. McGregor, who the kids reunite with Mrs. McGregor in the third book, disappears after the original books.

* WealthyEverAfter: The first book ends this way, with the children moving in with their grandfather, who is described as being very rich and living in a huge house with many servants. The rest of the books by Warner downplay his wealth, with the maids being replaced by a single housekeeper, Mrs. [=McGregor=]. In the post-Warner series, the Aldens are an upper middle class family (with a housekeeper and enough room to put a boxcar in their back yard).

* IllGirl: Near the end of the first book, Violet becomes sick with a fever. The other children eventually have no choice but to take her to a hospital, even though they know that giving their names means the likelihood that their grandfather will find them. He does, but it turns out for the better.

* ComicBookTime: Initially set in the depression era, more recent books have included passenger jets, tropical cruises, and the internet. They have a different summer adventure in every book, and they're all still young somehow...

* WealthyEverAfter: The first book ends this way, with the children moving in with their grandfather, who is described as being very rich and living in a huge house with many servants. The rest of the books by Warner downplay his wealth, with the maids being replaced by a single housekeeper, Mrs. [=McGregor=]. In the post-Warner series, the Aldens are an upper middle class family (with a housekeeper).

* DefeatMeansFriendship: If the culprit of whatever mystery they're solving has any decency in him/her at all, he'll be reconciled to the Aldens right away.

* AngstWhatAngst: The first book doesn't show any of the Alden kids grieving the loss of their parents or stressed about how they're going to survive. Mostly averted in the movie when Benny asks if they're going to live in the boxcar forever.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: In the movie, Henry specifically looks a lot like his dad based on an old photograph. It's also easy to tell that the Boxcar are related when all four of them are in a group.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Several plot points are left unaddressed in the first book and the movie based on it:
** It's never explained how Mr. and Mrs. Alden died, leaving their kids orphaned. There's also no mention of whether the Boxcar kids stuck around long enough for the funeral and there aren't many details on the kind of lives they led prior to their parents death.
** We never learn why James Henry Walden had no contact with his son and the Boxcar kids. Henry explains early that he and their mother didn't get along, but this isn't elaborated on.

* ParentalAbandonment
* RaisedByGrandparents

* TwoferTokenMinority: The Boxcar Kids get a female Korean adopted cousin.

* NamesTheSame: Henry James Alden is named after his grandfather, and in the first book uses his first two names as a pseudonym -- it doesn't help them hide from the grandfather.

* OutlivedItsCreator: ''The Boxcar Children'' series had only 19 books by its original creator, Gertrude Chandler Warner. Then, over a decade after her death, Albert Whitman of ''Albert Whitman & Company'' resurrected the series, producing over '''''100''''' more books due to reinterest (including a kid-friendly cookbook). Unsurprisingly, after Warner stopped writing them, [[CanonDiscontinuity continuity went right out the window.]] Notably, a couple pets introduced in her later books suddenly disappear, and sadly the storytelling quality does, too.

* WealthyEverAfter: The first book ends this way, with the children moving in with their grandfather, who is described as being very rich and living in a huge house with many servants. The rest of the books by Warner downplay his wealth, with the maids being replaced by a single housekeeper, Mrs. [=McGregor=]. In the post-Warner series, the Aldens are pretty much normal middle-class people (though still with a housekeeper).

* WealthyEverAfter: The first book ends this way, with the children moving in with their grandfather, who is described as being very rich and living in a huge house with many servants. The rest of the books by Warner downplay his wealth, with the maids being replaced by a single housekeeper, Mrs. McGregor. In the post-Warner series, the Aldens are pretty much normal middle-class people (though still with a housekeeper).

* IllGirl: Near the end of the book, Violet becomes sick with a fever. The other children eventually have no choice but to take her to a hospital, even though they know that giving their names means the likelihood that their grandfather will find them. He does, but it turns out for the better.

* ArtifactTitle: The Boxcar Kids live in the box car in only one book yet the title sticks throughout the series.

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Benny is Sanguine, Violet is Phlegmatic, Jessie is Melancholic, and Henry is Choleric.

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Benny is Sanguine, Violet is Melancholic, Jessie is Phlegmatic, and Henry, is Choleric.

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Benny is Sanguine, Violet is Melancholy, Jessie is Phlegmatic, and Henry, is Choleric.