Mystery Ranch; [This is Number 4 in the Boxcar Children series]

127, [1] pages. Illustrations. This is book #4 in the series. The cover states "In paperback for the first time!" Four brave siblings were searching for a home - and found a life of adventure! Join the Boxcar Children as they investigate the mystery of an old ranch in the fourth book in this illustrated chapter book series beloved by generations of readers. The Aldens spend the summer on their Aunt's ranch! The ranch is a beautiful place, but it's also the source of trouble between Aunt Jane and Grandfather. As the Boxcar Children explore the land, they make an amazing discovery. Will it help mend Aunt's Jane's and Grandfather's relationship? What started as a single story about the Alden Children has delighted readers for generations and sold more than 80 million books worldwide. Featuring timeless adventures, mystery, and suspense, Richard H. Gringhuis (September 22, 1918 - March 1974) was an American artist and illustrator. He studied from 1939 to 1941 at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He wrote and illustrated 28 books, half of them on Michigan history. He served as Curator of Exhibits at the Museum and associate professor at Michigan State University. He received special awards for his work on Michigan, including the Governor's Award,and a National Educational Television Award. His books include Were-Wolves and Will-o-the-Wisps: French Tales of Mackinac Retold, Lore of the Great Turtle, and The Young Voyageur. He illustrated three Boxcar Children volumes—#4, Mystery Ranch; #5, Mike's Mystery; and #6, Blue Bay Mystery. Warner once said that she did much of her writing while convalescing from illnesses or accidents, and that she conceived the idea of The Boxcar Children while sick at home. Of this, she said - "I had to stay at home from school because of an attack of bronchitis. Having written a series of eight books to order for a religious organization, I decided to write a book just to suit myself. What would I like to do? Well, I would like to live in a freight car, or a caboose. I would hang my wash out on the little back piazza and cook my stew on the little rusty stove found in the caboose." This original version of The Boxcar Children was published by Rand McNally and Company in 1924. It included 4 color illustrations by Dorothy Lake Gregory. In 1942, Warner rewrote the book with a prescribed vocabulary of six hundred words and a text of about 15,000 words, so that it could be used as a children's school reader. This edition featured numerous black-and-white silhouette illustrations by L. Kate Deal. Warner continued writing other things, but did not continue with The Boxcar Children series until her retirement from teaching. The second book in the series, Surprise Island, was published in 1949. Warner once acknowledged that The Boxcar Children was criticized for depicting children with little parental supervision; her critics thought that this would encourage child rebellion. Her response was, however, that the children liked it for that very reason. In her books, Warner "liked to stress the Aldens' independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do." Today, Albert Whitman & Company publishes the extremely popular series of Warner's original 19 stories. Other authors have contributed to the series, adding approximately 150 books to The Boxcar Children series. In 2020, Gertrude Chandler Warner's The Box-Car Children, the first book in the series went into the public domain.…