on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4/5
Pages: 160 (1 hr 47 mins)
Started: 20 May 2024
Finished: 21 May 2024
Summary:
Recently orphaned, four young siblings decide that they would much rather run away than be sent to live with their distant grandfather who must certainly be unkind. When they stumble upon an old boxcar in the woods, the children build their own life there, with pine-needle beds and dishes and their very own swimming pool. But not everything can be found in a boxcar, and thanks to a kind doctor living in town, the children eventually find themselves spending time with a kind old man--who turns out to be their grandfather, who is not so mean after all!
Thoughts:
This is such a cute book. The fantasy of a boxcar-home, furnished with everything a family might need, is so cozy, and it's satisfying to read about how the children assemble their whole set-up. Their simplicity and joy, and their happy ending, are all so perfect that I think this is a great book despite its being quite old. The most interesting thing about this book from a literary perspective, though, is its existence as the next book in a long line of intensely moral survivalist novels. From Robinson Crusoe to The Swiss Family Robinson, this book follows a group of people recently alienated from society who build a system for their own survival, while also acting as a clear display of proper Christian morals--like their forebears, the children are hardworking, cheerful, collaborative, and practically pious (they stop hard work on Sundays, but working together to build a pool for bathing is acceptable). Not only is this a super fun and cute book for kids and adults alike to read, but it is a clear demonstration of the evolution (and stasis) of Christian morals and the coziness and satisfaction of the survivalist novel.