Charles Dudley Warner appears to have lived an enviable life. He was educated when most men did not have an opportunity to become educated. He was editor and publisher of the 'Hartford Courant' and lived in Hartford next door to Samuel Clements. Warner was not only a neighbor but a good friend of Mark Twain with whom he co-authored THE GILDED AGE, and with whom he seems to have shared a sense of humor. Warner's writing is insightful and funny, but not always politically correct according to 21st Century U.S. standards. Allen Gurganus introduces the book with an overly long essay.

In MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN Warner shares 19 weeks of life in his garden (one growing season). His garden is located in Hartford at the edge of a game preserve. During the course of the summer, President Grant is in Hartford and stops by for a visit. As the men sit in Warner's yard, Grant says he can hardly wait to retire to his own garden as he is fed up with politics. Warner has been fighting pusley in his garden and he and Grant discuss the advantage of inviting immigrants who eat pusley and would soon rid the country of both problems.

Warner has various encounters with: hunters tracking quail who stray from the game preserve, one of whom claims he is looking for a lost chicken; small boys who eat berries from his vines and gather nuts from his trees; birds who attack his pea pods, the neighbor's hens who range too freely until he is looking for one to fill a pot; and the owner of a cow pastured in his yard. In spite of drought, theft, and green worms, at the end of the summer Warner is able to put aside enough vegetables to feel he has accomplished something and then his wife Polly takes credit for the work.

Of interest to me is that more than 100 years after Warner published his book, U.S. gardeners can still complain about some of the same things Warner complained about--and more. Most gardeners know that the U.S. has been infested with a whole array of pests and diseases that were not around when Warner gardened. For example, three new plagues including the Varroa mite have attacked American honey bees since the 1980s. Partly these attacks are owing to the introduction of containerized shipments that cannot be inspected and may hold verboten materials (plants, animals, insects). Partly these problems are owing to flagrant violations by individuals who believe U.S. laws concerning the transport of "foreign" plants do not apply to them. Warner's worries about green worms in his celery, witch grass in his potato hills, and pulsey seem mild in comparison.

I was intrigued by the title and sold by the exerpt. Charles Dudley Warner is fun. But skip the opening 30 pages or so. It's not that the other gentlemen don't write well, but they're not exactly fun. Besides, I didn't buy it to read a discussion of his more boring, 'professional' work in all those pages numbered with tiny Roman numerals. So go directly to Warner's first essay (which is the exerpt) on page 11.

Nicely written and witty book about the pleasures of gardening and its relationship to other aspects of life.

I love pizza. But anyways on to the review. When someone tries to close down Piccolo's Pizzeria, the Boxcar Children come to the aid of their old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Piccolo, and come up for ideas for mini pizzas, a delivery service, and special coupons. Simultaneous. The boxcar children wonder is someon is deliberately trying to shut down the pizza paler. Are they right?

I agree that this is the best Boxcar Children book. And once again the Alden Children find themselves on another mystery. And this one is not the same from others. As the book begins, the Aldens and Grandfather Alden find out that thier favorite pizza place is in trouble (that nobody can figure out why).

The Aldens has decide to end thier trip that they have been on. But taking a trip to the pizza place. On the way they meet the manger of the nextdoor factory called The Mighty Mufflers. His name is Maxwell Irons. Right before they had off to Piccolo's Pizza (the name of thier favorite pizza place).

But when they arrive they seem to can't find the pizza place because a billboard is in front of the sign and the pizza place. They can't find a place to park, but they do, but they can't park there because it's for truck only. It is the loading parking space.

The Piccolos has had trouble with thier oven. The gasline has been messed up. They had two waiters leave. And sometimes the Piccolos sometimes do not open up at all. The Alden Children decide to stay back and help out the Piccolos. Mr. And Mrs. Piccolos agree to this.

And soon the Aldens and the Piccolos has more trouble. Somebody has caused a blackout and printed up coupons for kids 12 and under to have them buy a slice of pizza and get free pop. But can the Aldends save the pizza place?

This is one I remember from my childhood, and I have to protest I beleive it is the best Boxcar Childrens book made! The plop is VERY grabbing and interesting - and of course the thought of pizza makes you HUNGRY sometimes. The book is so well written, and will keep your attention so much that you can even smell the ingredients that the Piccolo family (the owners of the Pizzeria) are using.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting reading about some basketball stars and a stolen trophy. I would really rate it four and a half stars but I wasn't able to. The reason it "would" be four and a half stars is because every once and a while I got a tiny bit bored. I still love reading it because it has more than that. I loved reading about the basketball clinic. I LOVE this book!

I think this book is a wonderful book for anybody to read. If you like basketball and mystery this is the perfect book for you. You will not have nightmares from this book, and you will not be able to put it down.

The Boxcar children solved many a mystery but can they save their cousins' pineapple farm from becoming bankrupt. Does this also have something to do with the Black Pearl that everybody is afraid to mention?

I have not read many Boxcar Children books but I found this one to be very interesting. The mystery was fairly well thought out and it had a satisfying ending. The characters aren't too complex, but what can you expect from a kids' book. I would recommend it to young readers that enjoy a good mystery.

The Aldens attend Greenfield's first dog show, where some trickster mysteriously shaves a prize-winning poodle and releases a cat in the middle of the show, and the Boxcar Children search for the culprit. Can the children solve the mystery and save the day?

I love this book! I enjoy how the Boxcar Children search for clues, and dont ignore ANY suspects, no matter what! The search for the saboteur is exciting and fun to follow! Solve the case with those kid detectives, the Boxcar Children, in The Mystery at the Dog Show!

Probably the best Boxcar Children book I have read! When theAldens travel to New York City they befriend wealthy Mr. Pound. Heshows them his enormous and expensive diamond, the Elizabeth Star. But no sooner do they see it, it disappears into thin air. Follow them around as they chase their suspects through New York.

This was a great book like all the other boxcar children books. I started to bite my nails reading when I was halfway through. It kept me up all night long. A+!

Camp Coral in Key West, Florida, is a happy vacation site for the Aldens and their new cousin, Soo Lee, but the Boxcar Children must investigate when a precious coral bed is destroyed on a nearby island. Can the Boxcar children come to the rescue?

When Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry go to the Everglade's camp, they find a mystery. A marine biologist does not know about any fish! Is he a real biologist. Then, someone steals Violet's conch shell. And there are two people who don't talk much, but that is only the beginning of the mystery.

While staying with the Lightfeather family on a Navajo reservation, the Aldens uncover some fascinating artifacts that may be evidence of a legendary ancient village, artifacts that soon turn up missing. Seems like someone doesnt want the village to be uncovered.

In this episode, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are on an indian plantation. They hear a legend about an old village that got swallowed up by the land. They start digging and soon uncover what they think is remains of the village. But a housing company wants the land too. Can they stop them from ruining the forest?

The Boxcar Children are on their way to San Francisco when they discover that a young woman's porfolio filled with old movie posters has been stolen, and with limited time, they have to find the culprit before the train reaches its destination. Can they solve the mystery before the train come to the last stop.

I love the book. I like the part where Violet draws a piture of that one man. I didn't get the guy right. I still think that it is a good book.I like Benny, he's funny.I think there lucky, because they have a maid.

While exploring Dragon's Mouth Cavern, the Boxcar children encounter a group of suspicious, unfriendly people, including a man who refuses to identify himself, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Lyme who try to scare the young sleuths away, and Crystal Hollowell, who lies about where she works.Can the Boxcar Children solve this underground mystery?

This is my favirote Boxcar Children book. But if you compare it with other books it,s just o.k.

Hello, I'm going to do a book review on Mystery in the Cave by Gertrude Chandler Warner! Would you ever want to be trapped in a cave for a long time in the dark? Here are two important things that happened in this story. First, they found a rock in the way so they could not get inside the tunnel. Also, they found an underground stream below the cave and there the Boxcar Children found a missing boat and Benny's headlamp! I like this story because there was a lot of an action. Also, the mystery was hard and I like hard mysteries! The pictures helped me understand the story a little bit better. The message the author shared was Caves are not just for fun there also are treasures! Why doesn't anybody want them down there? This is the best story!