Animation studios are desperate to find proven material for their feature films--especially in the wake of disappointments like "Treasure Planet."

That's why I'm surprised nobody has optioned the rights to one of the greatest children's books ever; it has emotion, thrills, an important lesson, and one of the cutest lead characters I've ever seen.

That book is, of course, "Scuffy the Tugboat."

Scuffy is a toy tugboat (hence the title) who dreams of something more than "sailing" in his little bathtub. When he is taken outside and accidentally swept away in a river, his harrowing adventure makes him realize that he should never have taken his old life for granted.

Just imagine Scuffy the Tugboat brought to life by CGI, charging down rivers, dodging logs and old tires...and facing the bustle of a busy shipyard before being miraculously recovered by his owner.

I can practically hear a popular actor like Ed Burns lending his distinctive voice to the little red tugboat, and Sting's nautical motif from "the Soul Cages" leads me to nominate him for the soundtrack.

As long as it's a faithful adaptation of this classic tugboat tale, nobody would ever be able to say: "the book was better!"

It's been years since I've read this, so I really don't remember it much. I just remember Scuffy. But I do remember that this was always one of my favorites. I read other reviews of people growing up in the 1950s and reading this. Well, this has been a favorite since 1982. Scuffy is still going strong.

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"Scuffy the Tugboat" is a classic in childrens literature. It has an almost iconic status with people who grew up in the early Baby Boomer years.

Way back in 1946, toy stores were quiet uncrowded places. In one toy shop there was a rocking horse, a GI Joe Doll and a few cuddly soft toys ........ and one grumpy red painted tugboat called Scuffy.

Scuffy was ambitious. He thought he was meant for bigger things, than just sailing in a bathtub.

The toy shop owner (with his memorable polka dot tie) and his little boy, took Scuffy off to a laughing brook. It was springtime and the brook was running fast. Scuffy was soon off on his adventure.

The pastoral world he passed through seemed placid, but at night the hooting owl gave him a fright.

The river got bigger and busier. Scuffy was proud because he knew it was HIS river. He was nearly squashed between two logs that were on their way to the sawmill. With the spring melt a great flood burst the rivers banks. A lady and her cow had to be rescued off her roof.

Pushed along by the floodwaters Scuffy arrived in the big city. It was a very noisy and busy place. When Scuffy tooted nobody noticed.

Scuffy was just about to be swept out to sea. He wished the man with the polka dot tie and his little boy could rescue him. Miracle of miracles, there they were just as Scuffy was about to pass the last bit off land. He was rescued.

Scuffy realises that sailing in the bathtub is not such a bad thing ...... in fact he said "this is the life for me".

The illustrations by Tibor Gergely are what make this book so appealing. The scenes are full of life and activity, be it the pastoral river scene with its friendly animals and the colourful towns and cities. Look for the details in the city scene. Try to find the horses.

Tibor Gergely was a great children's book illustrator from this period. In addition to his artwork in Scuffy you can enjoy his illustrations in those other "Little Golden Book" classics, "The Little Red Caboose" and "Tootle". These three books are perfect companions in any young person's library.

The Lighthouse Mystery

The Lighthouse Mystery is about a family that rents a lighthouse, and they see a lady on the beach every night. At twelve o'clock they here a person down stairs, and the dog, Watch starts barking and doesn't stop. Oh, I almost for got the charectors were Henry the big brother, Violet little sister, Benny little brother , Jessy big sister,Mr Alden the Grandfather, and Larry cook a scary stranger that becomes a friend. I don't know about you, but I loved reading it. It had so much adventure. And it always got more mysterious in each chapter.So if you don't like mysterious things, than you wouldn't want to read this book. But you never know. Your probably asking why I picked this book? Well ill tell you, I like books that have mysterys. If you dont like mysterys than i wouldnt suggest you read this book but if you do like mystery books than you would love this book so i suggest you read it and i hope you will like reading this book and theres what i think.

The story is an adventure because a family moves to a lighthouse for vacations.They tried to be friends with every body,and they tried to solve a mystery.This is a very exciting book.I liked it because it has a lot of things that are cool.So
I recommend it to people and readers because they are gingto love it.It will take a while,but it is a nice story.It takes place on the beach and it's about friendship.

This book is exciting! It takes my breath away! SO cool!

This book is about four children and a dog who help an elderly woman fix her house which was partly destroyed during a hurricane. While helping her fix her house, they discovery pirate's gold in a gate on the front yard of the house.

The children are brother and sisters. They are Benny Alden who is six years old, Violet Alden who is 10 years old, Jessie Alden who is 12 years old and Henry Alden who is fourteen years old. The dog's name is Watch Alden. He is a terrier. The elderly woman's name is Mrs. Ashleigh.

The children were know as the boxcar children. They were called this because after their parents died, they didn't realize that their grandfather James was looking for them, and they lived in a box car until their grandfather found them. The grandfather took the children back to live with him and brought the boxcar with him so the children would feel comfortable.

While fixing the house, the children hear tales that the island that the house was on contained pirate's buried treasure. The house was located on Sullivan Island which is off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.

The gate to Mrs. Ashleigh's fence was known as the Pirate's Gate. It was called that because her great great great great grandfather who's name was Mr. Fitzhugh was supposed to have been a pirate. During the hurricane, the gate landed in a neighbors yard. When the children looked for the gate, they saw that the neighbor who's name is Jackie James was trying to put the gate in her car. The children quickly told her that the gate belonged to Mrs. Ashleigh and they had the gate brought back to Mrs. Ashleigh's yard.

Because the gate had been broken, Mrs. Ashley arranged for a gate repairman named Mr. Farrier to fix the gate. During the time that this was being done, the children found some papers in Mrs. Ashleigh's home which contained a treasure map. They took the map outside the house to try to follow it and find the treasure. While Benny was holding the map, someone came and stole the map. The theif was wearing a grey jacket.

While the children were looking at more papers in Mrs. Ashleigh's home, they found information about the gate. It turned out that Mr. Fitzhugh ordered the maker of the gate to make it hollow. The children thought that gold was inside the gate.

When Mr. Farrier brought back the gate, the children told him what they thought. Instead of attaching the gate to the fence, he brought it back into Mrs. Ashleigh's house. The children now decided to set a trap to catch the thief who stole the treasure map. They put the gate against the fence and went into Mrs. Ashleigh's house. In the meantime, a hurricane began and Mrs. Ashleigh closed all the windows and doors. The children could not see outside. After the storm passed, they told their grandfather about their plan. When they looked outside, the gate was missing. As they looked around, they saw that someone was taking it. Watch ran and grabbed the person's leg. It turned out to be Mike Carsen. He was the same person in the grey jacket. The other person helping him was Jackie James. They were trying to steal the gate so they could sell it.

Mrs. Ashleigh decided to donate the gate to a museum on the island. The gate was displayed at the museum information about how it was found and how the children solved the mystery.

As you can tell by the title, this is a mystery book.

The setting of the story is in an island called Sullivans Island, and all occurs in a neighborhood.
Sullivan's Island is small and plain. The neighborhood is full of old houses. In the oldest one of these houses is where the mystery occurs.

The main characters in the story are Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. They are the box Car Children. Other characters are Mrs. and Mr. Asheligh, Jackie, Mike and Mr. Farrier.
Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are brothers and they love to solve mysteries. Mrs. Asheling is a nice woman who has a not so nice son called Mr. Asheling. Jackie and Mike seem nice and good, but at the end of the story they are totally the opposite. Mr. Farrier is an expert on things like iron and also about a buried treasure.

At the beggining of the story Mrs. Asheling tells the Box Car Children, about a special gate: The pirate's gate.
Sice that moment on the children wanted to find the treasure.

The problem begins when, in the middle of the treasure hunt, they fall in a mystery. The mystery was that someone was trying to steal the pirate's gate.

The resolution to the problem happened when the Box Car Children made a trap and trapped the thieves. Then they noticed the gate was the treasure because it was made of pure gold.
At the end of the story, to make sure the gate was safe, they donnated it to a museum.
I recommend this book to everyone because it is an exciting story, full of mysterious things and action.
It is an excellent book. Buy it now and read it! I hope you do it. You won't be sorry.
ALEX

The Boxcar Children went to Charleston to help Mrs Ashleigh clean up her house after a recent hurricane had messed it up. But someone had been trying to steal one of Mrs Ashleigh's valuables, the Pirate's Gate. Why? Read this book to find out.

The Aldens are waiting for snow when Grandfather tells them that they are going to an inn with a competition. When they arrive, there are missing keys and 4 flat tires. The Aldens all enter an activity. Jessie does skating, Henry does skiing, Violet does ice sculpting, Benny does everything. Benny tries to put on his skiis but the laces are a little tight. So he decides not to try out for skiing. He builds some does some snow-sculpting with some kids his age, but someone has recked them! And some people have acted strangely. Will the Alden's solve this mystery? Will they be winners? Will they find more clues? Find Out all the answers in The Mystery In The Snow.

I am a 10 year old girl.I have read 2 Boxcar Children books so far (including this one)I think it was a great book!I really like mystery stories.So I am looking forward to reading more of the Boxcar Children books.

The story is very interesting,the culprit turns out to have a very good reason,and the answer to the mystery brings a family close.Fun and exciting story about caring,kindness and families.

With the Founder's Day celebrations quickly approaching, the Aldens begin plans to redecorate their boxcar as a float for the parade, until their boxcar suddenly and mysteriously vanishes. The dog has been stolen with it. Can they solve their most important mystery yet?

Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are fixing up their boxcar for a parade. But then it gets stolen, and worse, their dog Watch disappears! Can they find them both in time for the parade?

When the Alden children decide to enter their boxcar in a parade someone has stolen it with watch their dog. Is it a bratty little kid,a man that collects train(real ones-not models), a person working for Senator Teacher, or Sam,who sells ice-cream and his wagon broke. This is the most important mystery the Boxcar children will ever solve-if they solve it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Like "Mike's Mystery", this is a mystery with a solid foundation and never once drags.

I first read it when I was about eight and learnt several things I didn't know before. I learned what ammunition meant. It also was my first introduction to any information about the Revolutionary War.

The story takes place primarily on a farm in New England that dates back to the 1700's. Grandfather and Aunt Jane grew up there, and he buys it back for her to live in. But everyone seems to think something is wrong with the house, and the children set out to find out what it is and clear the air of all secrets. And they are pretty sure the woodshed holds an important clue.

Read this book to your children - I am sure they will like it.

Would you think that you would find a trap door in the potato pit in your aunt's basement or in the wood shed in her back yard? Well, the Boxcar Children didn't, but they found the trap doors, they had things from the Revolutionary War! They found strange letters about what was going on in the house during the Revolutionary War! Find out what mysterious things they find!

I think this book is so good because you never know what will happen next, like when the children find the trap door in the woodshed and then they find the trap door in the potato pit! The moral of this story is never play with some thing that isn't yours.

I recently read this book and could barely put it down. The Boxcar Car children find another exciting adventure in of all places a wood shed. As the story progresses they find more and more clues and solve the mystery. I would recommend this book to ANYONE who likes adventure, danger, and excitement!

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather, and are going to visit their cousins Joe and Alice. To the children's delight, Joe and Alice live near a wonderful amusment park. The park holds everuthing the Boxcar Children could ask for- a beautiful merry-go-round, lots of rides and games, all the cotton candy they can eat... and a mystery.

I forget pretty much of this book but I remebered it was the first Boxcar Children book I read and it brought me into liking the Boxcar Children.

There were some people think the old firehouse was bad, they want to build the new one. But the Aldens love the firehouse, they try to save it. Can they save the firehouse?

When the Aldens try to save the old Greenfield fire department they get more what they bargained for including damage to the floors and even the puzzling theft of an antique trophy. A blue notebook leads the way to who stole the trophy and will the fire department be saved?

I read The Chocolate Sundae Mystery.
I thought it was a very good book because it was easy to read. It is a "boxcar children mystery" and the ice cream disappears and all the whipping cream has gone sour in Greenfield. I think 8 to 13 ages should read it.

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY is the second best Boxcar Children book besides THE HOME RUN MYSTERY & THE MYSTERY IN THE EMPTY SAFE. I can't decide between those two. I love the excitement and suspense. I was mad when my dad said it was time to go to bed right at the climax. A+

Dear Reader,

The Chocolate Sundae Mystery is a great book! It is the best mystery book ever! My favorite character is Jessie. You will never forget this book! These mysteries are very thrilling! You will love it!

Enjoy,

Natalie

Henry, Jeessie, Violet, and Benny's parn\ents died and they end up living in a box car from an old train. They could have gone to their grandpa, but they thought he was mean. Then finally when Henry was working, he heard that his grandpa was looking for them. So Henry told the news to the lthers and they decided to go and live with their grandfather. One day Benny found a diary and the mystery began. They found out that the diary was a little girl's. They found the diary behind the wall with some coins. How Benny found was by having an idea to put a hole in the wall and a bell to wake Benny or Rory up. That's when Benny found the dairy when he was working on his idea.

okay, if you are looking for the best boxcar children book ever, this is it!!!!!! i LOVED this book! o wish i still had it! (PARENTS: DO NOT CONVINCE YOUR CHILDREN TO GET RID OF THEIR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOKS!!!!!!!!!) this book is wonderful. i still remember the first time i read it: SPOILERS! and they finally figured out that behind the house meant behind the house PICTURE, which was in the little girl's room, if i remember correctly. and there was the whole coin collection! i love those alden kids! they are so self-reliable! yes, i am 19, almost 20, and haven't probabley read this book in seven years, but i still remember it, thats how good this ONE boxcar children book was!

I finished this book in like 30 minutes. It was so good! Benny invites a friend from Canada to come and they try to communicate through cups on a string through the wall.They find a journal with some strange coins. I liked this book and you will, too.