One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery. No one knew them. No one knew where they had come from. Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are orphans.They discover an old red boxcar that provides them shelter from the storm.

A summer spent in doing light housekeeping in a lighthouse proves to be a happy and adventurous time for the Boxcar children, as well as for their neighbor, Larry Cook, who does not want any friends.

"The Aldens spend the summer on Grandfather's island! Joe, the island's friendly handyman, helps them with anything they need, but as the children continue to explore their summer home, they realize there is more to the island--and to their new friend--than meets the eye."--Publisher's description.

Henry, Jessie, Benny, and Violet Alden meet Mike Wood and a strange chain of events begins. Mike's house is mysteriously burned down, a man in a blue hat appears, and the Alden's uranium mine is in danger of being sabotaged. The four youngsters solve the mystery.

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 untangle the mystery of the two houses. Relates the exploits of the four Alden children as they locate a missing man. The Boxcar children are determined to solve the mystery that surrounds an old yellow house on their grandfather's property. Strange things have happened...

The Alden family, snowbound in a vacation cabin, discovers adventure in surrounding wild life, three children they find in the snow, and a search for a lost recipe.

Two brothers take summer jobs at a department store where a series of peculiar events brings them under suspicion.

"The winter sports season is here, and the Aldens are excited about all the snow activities--especially snowboarding. But soon they find themselves in the middle of a mystery surrounding a star athlete and a stolen snowboard"--

The Aldens' dog, Watch, comes across a box with a note inside and soon the children are looking all over town for cleverly hidden boxes.