Gertrude Chandler Warner (1890 –1979) was an author, mainly of children's stories. ‘The Boxcar Children’ is the first book in the series and was published in 1924. It tells the story of four orphaned children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny who create a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar in the forest. Later, they meet their kind and wealthy grandfather and go to live with him. The book was adapted for film in 2014.

Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". In 2012 the book was ranked among the all-time Top 100 children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal.