Henry, Jessie, Vioet and Benny Alden are brothers and sisters - and tehy're orphans. The only way they can stay together is to make it on their own. One night, during a storm, the children find an old red boxcar that keeps them warm and safe. They decide to make it their home.

Summer vacation on an almost private island gives the Aldens a challenge. Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather and are spending the summer on their own private island. There is a mysterious stranger on the island with a secret--but that's not the only surprise in store for the Boxcar Children.

The Alden family embark on a trip to an uninhabited South Sea Island. Mike Wood joins them for a holiday full of adventures planned by grandfather. On the island someone seems to be with them. Besides solving the mystery, they have a fine time living so far from civilization.

"On a farm, the Aldens find their oldest mystery yet! Adapted from Gertrude Chandler Warner's story of the same name, this early reader allows children to start reading with a Boxcar Children classic."--

Relates the exploits of the four Alden children as they locate a missing man. The Boxcar children travel to Maine, take canoes into the wilderness and live in a house exactly like the one on Surprise Island, except the Maine house is brown, not yellow. They then untangle the mystery of the two houses.

"Siblings Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live in a boxcar. Now they have adventures everywhere they go. What secrets will the children find on their very own island?"--

Four sibling orphans--Henry, Jesse, Violet, and Benny--find shelter inside of an old train boxcar that they call home.