The boxcar children collection. Volume 40

Summary: The Spy Game: When the Boxcar Children uncover a strange puzzle in a friend's backyard, it's just the beginning of the "spy game" - a search for clues leading to gold! The children must make sense of a mysterious old photo and a riddle. But soon the children begin to suspect that there's a mystery inside the mystery. Just who is behind the spy game, anyway? The Dog-Gone Mystery: When a dog training school opens in Greenfield, the Boxcar Children bring Watch in to learn some new tricks! But at the very first class, a Dalmatian goes missing - did the dog run away, or was he stolen? And when a second dog vanishes at the next class, it's clear that the Aldens have a dog-gone mystery to solve! The Vampire Mystery: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny meet Mr. Hudson, a local author who is best known for his novel about a vampire. But rumors of a real vampire are going around town - a vampire who haunts the graveyard behind Mr. Hudson's house! Since vampires don't exist, the children soon realize that someone must be trying to scare people away! Who brought the old legend back to life - and why? Three complete stories in one collection! Includes The Spy Game, The Dog-Gone Mystery, and The Vampire Mystery. The Boxcar Children Series was created by Gertrude Chandler Warner, a teacher, when she realized that there were few, if any, books for children that were both easy and fun to read. She drew on her own experiences in writing the mysteries. As a child, she had spent hours watching trains near her home, and often dreamed about what it would be like to live in a caboose or freight car. In each story, she chose a special setting and introduced unpredictable, unusual or eccentric characters, to help highlight the Aldens' independence and resourcefulness. Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Massachusetts until her death in 1979.