"This is an old story. It is about a girl named Otilla who runs away. It is also about a house in the woods, and a skull who lives there, and a secret the skull has, and the night that Otilla finds out what that secret is."--

In the year before they become the orphans known as the Boxcar children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden live with their parents at Fair Meadow Farm, where, although times are hard, they take in a family who has been stranded in their car during a blizzard.

What will the Aldens discover on a vacation to a beautiful island in the South Seas? The island is supposed to be deserted, but as the Aldens explore, they start to find signs that they suggest they are not alone.

A young Canadian visitor helps the Alden family solve a mystery involving a lost coin collection.

"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 Jane and Grandfather's relationship?"--Publisher's description

"People say nothing interesting happens in the village of Port Elizabeth but, on a visit there, the Boxcar Children find a big mystery at the schoolhouse. Adapted from Gertrude Chandler Warner's story of the same name, this early reader allows children to start reading by themselves with a Boxcar Children classic."--Amazon.

Orphaned Ivy finds her Christmas wish fulfilled with the help of a lonely couple and a doll named Holly.

At an old library, the Alden children discover a boy who needs their help and a stranger who is after a valuable object they found in the library.

"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.

While helping run Jerry Taylor's general store, the Alden children investigate his mysterious employee Nancy.