THE BOXCAR CHILDREN GRAPHIC NOVEL

In this comics adaptation of Warner’s beloved novel, siblings make a home in an abandoned train car.

The orphaned Alden children—responsible elders Henry and Jessie and cute, curious Violet and Benny—are worried about their future. They know little about their grandfather (their one living relative), and they’re afraid of meddling grown-ups splitting them up. Deciding to set out on their own, they discover an old red boxcar in the woods and move in, bathing in a stream, eating wild blueberries, and befriending a dog whom Benny dubs Watch. Resilient and resourceful, they seek odd jobs in town, helping an old woman with her vegetable patch, picking cherries, and mowing lawns. But when Violet falls ill, the need to seek medical care from reliable adults in town may disrupt their hardscrabble, happy life. Depicting clothing reminiscent of the 1920s, this refreshingly low-tech tale sees the Alden siblings eking out a spare but satisfying existence through a combination of wits and willpower. That simplicity, aptly, extends to both text and illustrations; Hashimoto imbues the children’s speech with politeness and confidence that evoke the prose in the 1942 edition of Warner’s original book. Abeille’s cheerful artwork distinguishes keenly between town, farm, and forest settings, enlivening familiar corners of this time-tested tale. Characters appear white.

An ideal introduction to a classic kid lit work.