What happened to the parents?...prequel will answer burning Boxcar question.

I was so happy to receive this news in an email.  I've read many of these books and have often wondered what happened to the parents.  The four children are so resourceful, thoughtful and nice to each other that they had to have had AMAZING parents.

Press Release:

Author of Newbery-winner Sarah, Plain and Tall to Write Boxcar Children Prequel

On Tuesday, March 15, Albert Whitman & Company announced that Newbery-winning author Patricia MacLachlan will write the prequel to The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. To be published in September 2012, the prequel brings together two powerhouse brands of children’s literature. The book will be published simultaneously as an e-book by Open Road Integrated Media. The announcement was made at the Gertrude Chandler Warner Boxcar Children Museum in Putnam, Connecticut.

Excited to be writing the prequel to The Boxcar Children, MacLachlan is particularly interested in the children themselves. “Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are kind to one another and embody the true sense of family. They are resourceful and positive. I find them both true children and true heroes at the same time. It occurs to me that perhaps their parents were the same. I’m looking forward to exploring that idea and more.”

Patricia MacLachlan, the author of over 20 books for children, won the Newbery Medal for her book Sarah, Plain and Tall.

The Boxcar Children, an award-winning series with over 150 titles and more than 50 million copies in print, has been continuously in print since the publication of the first book in 1942. Albert Whitman will celebrate the 70th anniversary of this beloved series in 2012.

Albert Whitman & Company President John Quattrocchi notes, “Young readers have long wondered how the Boxcar Children came to be orphans. We are pleased and honored that an author of Patricia MacLachlan’s talent and understanding of children will reveal the answer to the world.”

Making the announcement for Albert Whitman & Company was Senior Editor Wendy McClure. Rubin Pfeffer (East-West Literary Agency), MacLachlan’s agent, was also on hand. Representing the museum at the announcement were Fred Hedenberg (Founder and Curator), Patricia Hedenberg (Founding Boxcar Committee Member), and Barbara Scalise (Director). Also present were Bill Pearsall (President, Aspinock Historical Society), Sandra Ames (former grade school student of Gertrude Chandler Warner), and Julia Duquette (former student of Gertrude Chandler Warner and a relative of Warner).
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I think Patricia MacLachlan is the perfect person to pen this prequel!