The Day of the Dead Mystery (The Boxcar Children Series #149)

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Overview

The Aldens are visiting friends for a big Dia de los Muertos celebration. The kids love learning about the holiday and helping out—that is until mysterious events threaten to ruin everyone's preparations. Can the Aldens figure out what's going on and help their friends save the celebration?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807507377
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	10/01/2018
Series:	Boxcar Children Series
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,119,141
Product dimensions:	5.88(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.55(d)
Lexile:	720L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Gertrude Chandler Warner grew up in Putnam, Connecticut. She wrote The Boxcar Children because she had always dreamed about what it would be like to live in a caboose or a freight car—just as the Aldens do. When readers asked for more adventures, Warner wrote more books—a total of nineteen in all. After her death, other authors have continued to write stories about Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, and today The Boxcar Children® series has more than one hundred books.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Two Celebrations

"Come on, you two!" Jessie Alden called to Violet and Benny. It was the evening of October 31: Halloween. The streetlights were just starting to come on, and trick-or-treating was about to begin.

Jessie didn't want her younger sister and brother to miss out on the fun. Henry, the oldest of the Alden children, stood with Jessie and Grandfather on the front porch. Their dog, Watch, waited patiently at their feet, his chin resting on his paws. Now that Henry was fourteen and Jessie was twelve, they had decided they were too old to dress up for Halloween, but they were excited to see the costumes Violet and Benny had been working on.

"Almost ready," Violet called from the front hall. "Making a last-minute change to a sesame seed!"

Henry and Jessie looked at each other in confusion, and Grandfather laughed.

"This surprise is going to be well worth the wait," Grandfather said. A moment later, Violet burst onto the porch.

"Voilà!" she cried. Ten-year-old Violet wore a black wig adorned with flowers and a colorful dress with a band of white lace running along the hem. She had long, dark eyebrows and held a paintbrush in her hand.

"Wow, Violet — you're an artist!" Henry said. Watch sat up and barked his approval.

"Not just any artist. Right, Violet?" Grandfather said with a knowing smile.

"That's right," Violet said. "I am dressed as Frida Kahlo, one of Mexico's great painters."

"I remember learning about her in art class," Jessie said. "She was famous for painting self-portraits. You look just like her, Violet! But ... what does this have to do with a sesame seed?"

Violet laughed. "That wasn't for me — it was for Benny. Speaking of which ..." Violet cleared her throat. "Ahem. We're ready for the, uh, the main course!"

Benny stepped outside. He was moving a little more slowly than Violet had. For one thing, he was only six years old. For another, he was wearing a giant, round costume stuffed with newspaper.

"Benny, you're a cheeseburger!" Jessie said.

"A deluxe one too," Henry added, as he noticed all the ingredients Benny's costume included. There was a brown bun strapped to his front and back, then a layer of meat made from brown felt, a slice of yellow paper cheese, a red satin tomato, and a layer of ketchup made from ribbon. Benny, who wore a green hat, appeared to be the pickle. White circles of paper were taped to the front of the bun to look like sesame seeds.

"You know what they say," Benny said. "You are what you eat!"

Grandfather laughed. "Well done, you two!" He asked the children to stand together on the front steps with Watch and snapped a picture of them. "This is going to make a great memory someday. Now, you had better get going before it gets any later!"

The Aldens started down the street to the house of Violet and Benny's new friends, Gloria and Mateo Hidalgo. The children planned to trick-or-treat together. When they arrived at the Hidalgo house, a cozy stone cottage with a heavy oak front door, Benny tried to ring the doorbell. He couldn't quite reach because of his costume, so Jessie gave him a boost.

Mateo, who was seven, answered the door. Normally, Mateo was a quiet boy with straight, dark hair and glasses, but tonight he wore a spiky red wig and glitter around his eyes. A guitar hung over his shoulder.

"You're a rock star!" Benny said.

Mateo smiled shyly and nodded. "And wait until you see Gloria."

The kids stepped into the Hidalgos' living room just as Gloria was coming out of the kitchen. Violet knew from school that Gloria had an energetic personality and a joyful laugh. So it was a surprise to see her wearing a very serious face and a judge's black robe, with her long, straight hair pulled into a tight bun.

"Order in the court!" she said when she saw the Aldens. She held up her gavel. The children all laughed. It was fun that on Halloween you could pretend to be someone so different from yourself.

Mrs. Hidalgo followed her daughter out of the kitchen. She had the same dark eyes as Gloria, but she was taller and had a little gray hair. She wore bright red earrings and an apron with a dusting of flour on the front.

"Kids, you look fantastic!" Mrs. Hidalgo said.

"Are the trick-or-treaters here?" asked a voice coming from the den. Mr. Hidalgo soon emerged and joined them in the living room. The house was full of striking and colorful artwork, and he was making his way around to each painting and whisking it with a feather duster. As soon as he saw Benny, he clapped his hands. "Now that's a great costume," Mr. Hidalgo said to his wife.

Mrs. Hidalgo nodded. "And I love Violet's too," she said. "Frida Kahlo has always been an inspiration to me. I studied her work in art school." She leaned down and kissed each of her children on the head. "Now, I expect you two to bring me lots of chocolate bars."

Mateo smiled. "We will, Mamá."

"Won't you be able to join us for trick-or-treating?" Henry asked.

"We wish we could, Henry," said Mrs. Hidalgo. "But we have a lot to do at home."

"It's only two days until Day of the Dead," Mr. Hidalgo explained.

Benny's eyes got big. "What's that?" he asked.

"Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos in Spanish, isn't anything to be afraid of, Benny," said Gloria. "It's a day of celebration in Mexico — a time to honor our ancestors."

"Wow, that sounds important," Violet said. She loved learning about history and hearing stories of the past. She turned to Mrs. Hidalgo. "Are you baking something for the celebration?"

Mrs. Hidalgo nodded. "Yes, the pan de muerto — the bread of the dead. I'm mixing up the dough today and will bake it tomorrow so that it's ready in time."

"And I am cleaning the house," Mr. Hidalgo said. He pointed to the vacuum cleaner in the corner. "We want everything to be perfect as we welcome the spirits for their visit."

Jessie noticed that Benny was looking a little nervous with all the talk of spirits. She cleared her throat and asked as politely as she could, "Mrs. Hidalgo, why is it called the bread of the dead?"

Mrs. Hidalgo smiled. "It is part of the way we honor the people who have died. It is a sweet bread, and we only make it at this time of year."

"We take some for ourselves," Mateo added, "and we leave some of the offering for the spirits to eat."

"Offering?" Benny asked.

Gloria nodded. "The offering is the most important part of Day of the Dead, and this is the first year that I got to help set it up," she said proudly. "In Spanish, we call it ofrenda. It's a special altar where we place things that help us remember loved ones who have died. Pictures, their favorite foods and drinks, and other things they loved when they were alive."

Henry and Jessie exchanged a glance, each of them remembering how much their lives had changed when their parents died in a car accident. After it happened, the Alden children were supposed to go live with their grandfather, but they thought he was mean and that they wouldn't like living with him. So Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny ran away to the woods where they found an abandoned boxcar. They made it their home and even found their dog, Watch.

Eventually, Grandfather discovered where they were, and they realized he was not mean at all. He took the children home to live with him and his housekeeper, Mrs. McGregor. Even better, Grandfather brought the boxcar home too. He put it in his backyard for the children to use as a clubhouse.

Gloria must have noticed that her friends looked a little sad. "Don't worry," she said. "Offerings are happy things, I promise." She waved her gavel in the direction of the back porch. "Come on — I'll show you."

Mr. and Mrs. Hidalgo went back to their work, and the children tromped through the kitchen and out the sliding door to a screened-in porch. There was a table with two tiers covered in a beautiful cloth. It held framed pictures of family members, some of them from many generations ago. Four brass candlesticks sat in the form of a cross, and orange marigold petals were sprinkled around them.

"Wow," Violet said. "I love how colorful this is. You're right, Gloria — the altar doesn't feel sad at all."

"It's really a celebration of the people we love," Gloria said. "And we have the important job of honoring them. We want to welcome the spirits to visit. Besides the bread my mom is baking, we will also put out a pitcher of water to quench the spirits' thirst after their long journey. And we put out the things they loved in life. That's why we have my great-uncle's baseball cards — he loved baseball. And it's why we have this."

Gloria picked up a delicate ivory jewelry box. She opened the lid and showed it to the Aldens. "This bracelet belonged to my great-grandmother Luisa."

"It's beautiful," Jessie said. The bracelet was a chain of delicate silver flowers with charmshanging off each one. There was a tiny water jug, a marigold, and a sunbonnet. Jessie realized these charms must have marked some of their great-grandmother Luisa's favorite memories.

Gloria shook the box, and the charms on the bracelet made a jingling sound. She smiled. "That sound always makes me think of the few times I was with her. She lived so far away that we didn't get to see her much."

Mateo carefully took the jewelry box from his sister to get a closer look. "I am glad we have this," he said. "Because I was so little when she died, I don't really have a memory of her."

Henry smiled at Mateo and Gloria. "Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Family traditions are very important."

After a moment Jessie said, "You know, we had better get going if we want to celebrate Halloween before it gets too dark."

"Yes," Benny said, "and before the candy runs out!"

"Rock on," Mateo said, back in character.

Gloria laughed and adjusted her bun. "Everybody got their bags? Let's go!"

The kids filed back through the kitchen toward the front door. Just as Gloria was tying on her boots, she noticed someone was missing.

"Mateo, come on!" Gloria called. "He is always running behind," she said to the Aldens.

Mateo ran out to join them, his spiky red wig flopping down into his eyes. "I hope I get a lot of peanut butter cups," he said. "Those are my favorite."

Violet smiled. "I'm hoping for taffy," she said. The children hurried down the front path to the sidewalk. Ghosts and ninjas and lions and witches passed by, running and laughing, the beams of their flashlights bobbing across lawns. The Aldens and Hidalgos were about to join them when Violet stopped for a moment. She thought she heard something strange. It was a jingling sound. But then it was gone.

Violet decided she must have been imagining it. "Let's go!" she said.

CHAPTER 2

Too Much Candy

It was dark when the children finished trick-or-treating. Their noses were red from the chilly wind, and their bags were heavy with candy. They returned to Mateo and Gloria's living room and sat in a circle on the green-striped rug.

"How about some hot apple cider to warm up?" Mr. Hidalgo asked.

"That sounds delicious, thank you," Henry said, and the others nodded in agreement. Mr. Hidalgo went to the kitchen.

"And now it's time for the best part of Halloween," Benny said. "The candy!"

Just as Benny was about to dump out his bag, Violet put her hand on his arm to stop him. While they were trick-or-treating, she had noticed that Gloria was often busy encouraging Mateo, who was a little shy, to ring the doorbell at the houses they visited. In her focus on helping him, Gloria hadn't had the chance to get much candy for herself.

"I have an idea," Violet said. "Let's pour some candy from the bags that have more into the bags that have less so that we can make sure everybody has about the same. That way it will be fair for all."

"That's a great idea, Violet," Jessie said. She was proud to have such a thoughtful sister.

Benny knew this was the right thing to do, but it was a little bit harder for him to offer his bag than it was for the others. Henry gave Benny a nod, and Benny handed his bag to Violet.

"Don't worry, Benny. There is plenty of candy for everyone," Violet said. "In fact, I should just give you all my chocolate now, since you always end up eating it anyway!"

Benny puffed out his cheeks and then laughed. "But I always ask first! Well, at least the first time."

The children giggled and worked together to divide the candy. They lifted the bags one byone until each seemed to weigh about the same. Then Violet, Benny, Gloria, and Mateo dug into their bags to find their favorite kinds of candy — peanut butter cups for Mateo, chocolate bars for Benny and Gloria, and saltwater taffy for Violet. They shared the caramels and chocolate-covered raisins with Henry and Jessie, and soon the only sound that filled the room was the rustling of candy wrappers.

Mr. Hidalgo came back into the living room with a tray of steaming mugs. "Now here is a happy group of children — un grupo de niños felices." He set the mugs on the coffee table near the couch. "Careful, please. These are hot."

"Thank you, Mr. Hidalgo," the Aldens said. When he went back into the kitchen, Mateo stood and stretched. He pulled off his rock star wig to reveal his usual short hair. The glitter around his eyes was starting to wear off.

"I think I ate too much candy," Mateo said, rubbing his stomach and pursing his lips. "I'm going to bed."

Gloria looked concerned. "Don't you want your cider?" she asked her brother.

"No, thank you," Mateo said. He picked up his bag of candy and started toward the stairs. "Good night, everyone. Thank you for coming."

"Good night, Mateo," said Henry. "Feel better soon."

"Poor Mateo," Benny said after he was gone. "Having a stomachache is no fun."

Gloria nodded. "I know. I hope he is okay."

Jessie took the mugs from the coffee table one by one and passed them out. She tried to think of something that might cheer everyone up. Across the room next to a bookshelf was a stack of what looked like art supplies. There was tissue paper and scissors, flowers, and some pastry bags like the kind Mrs. McGregor used to decorate birthday cakes for the Alden children.

"Gloria, are you planning to do a craft project?" Jessie asked.

"Well, sort of," Gloria said. She paused to take a sip of her cider and laughed when a few drops spilled on her judge's robe. "Those are some more decorations for Day of the Dead, but they aren't for our celebration here at home. In two days, we're going to a celebration at Greenfield Park, and we're taking those with us."

"Does something special happen in the park?" Benny asked. He was thinking again about the altar Gloria had shown them earlier and what Mr. Hidalgo had said about inviting the spirits of their ancestors into their home. Benny wondered where the park fit in to the tradition.

"No, the park isn't the important part," Gloria said. "In Mexico, families usually spend the day in the cemeteries, visiting the graves of their loved ones and even spending the night there. But cemeteries in the United States have different rules about that, so people don't spend as much time in cemeteries. We find other ways to celebrate. A beautiful park is the next best thing."

"That sounds fun," Benny said. "Can we come?"

Henry cleared his throat. He hoped Gloria wouldn't think Benny was being rude. "If it's okay with your family, of course," Henry added.

A smile broke open on Gloria's face. "Of course! I think my family would love it. You know, back in Mexico we have so many aunts and uncles and lots of cousins too. But here we have only my parents and Mateo and me — and my uncle Jorge. It gets a little lonely. Of course, there are lots of other Mexican American families who will be coming to the park too. It's going to be a lot of fun!" Gloria said.

Violet's eyes kept drifting back to the colorful tissue paper. She was curious about what they planned to do with it. "Gloria, do you need help with the decorations?"

Gloria nodded. "Oh, yes, we could use it. There is a lot left to do, and if Mateo isn't feeling well, I'm not sure how much he will be able to help. Do you think you could come over tomorrow morning to work on them?"

"Oh, that's right — tomorrow's Saturday," Benny said. "No school!"

Violet looked at Jessie, and the sisters nodded. Henry said, "Yes, let's all come. If we work together, I'm sure we can help you finish the decorations in time."

"Speaking of finishing," Benny said before he took a long last drink of his cider. "That was delicious. I think I'm too full to eat any more candy."

Henry laughed. "Now, there's something I never thought I'd hear you say, Benny. I think that probably means it's time for us to say good night."

Jessie stood up and helped Gloria, Benny, and Violet put their empty mugs back on the tray. Henry carried it to the kitchen and said good night to Mr. and Mrs. Hidalgo.

"We had fun trick-or-treating with you," Violet said as the Aldens walked out the front door. "Please tell Mateo we hope he feels better."

"I will," Gloria said. "He has to get better in time for Day of the Dead!"

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Boxcar Children The Day of the Dead Mystery"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Albert Whitman & Company.
Excerpted by permission of Albert Whitman & Company.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

1. Two Celebrations,
2. Too Much Candy,
3. One Thing Missing,
4. A Surprising Assessment,
5. Little to Go On,
6. Breakfast Breakthrough,
7. Another Theft?,
8. A Sweet Surprise,
9. Family First,
10. Celebrate!,