Ernest & Ernestine Read!

We are visiting places related to books we’re reading: where the author lives and where the story takes place.

This morning we visited our first author’s town!  We went to the Gertrude Chandler Warner Museum in Putnam, Connecticut.  She wrote The Boxcar Children.

When we arrived, we had to cross the railroad tracks.  We were sure to look both ways and listen for a train first.  Here is Ernestine carefully checking for a train.

From the tracks we could see the museum!  It is in a real railroad boxcar.

We went in and saw that one side of the inside of the museum is set up just the way the children in the book set up their home inside the boxcar.  There are black wooden silhouettes representing the children and a big stuffed animal representing Watch, their dog.  Here is Ernest posing in front of the scene!

The other side of the boxcar is set up the way the author’s home was set up when she wrote the books.  This is her actual desk!

Here is a spot for Miss Warner to have a little tea.

The museum docent explained to us that Gertrude Chandler Warner had been a teacher for many years.  If a student had a birthday, she put a bow on their chair for the day.  This must’ve been a little girl’s birthday.  This could be Ernestine’s chair on her birthday!

As we were leaving the museum, I sat on the bike near the sign for a picture.

We’re going home to read!  Bye for now.