In 1942, Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children was published. Featuring the now-iconic black-and-white illustrations by L. Kate Deal, the narrative tells the story of four orphaned youngsters who flee the machinations of a heartless baker, take refuge in an abandoned railway car in the woods, and are eventually reunited with their long-lost grandfather. Both for its portrayal of an interesting story with engaging characters and for its promotion of independent reading, The Boxcar Children became an immediate commercial and critical success. Although Warner’s text pre-dates the official advent of the Early Reader, it is commonly considered a classic of the genre. In 2007, in fact, the National Education Association named The Boxcar Children to its list of “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” (n.p.). Meanwhile, in 2012, the book appeared on a compendium of the “Top 100 Chapter Books” from the School Library Journal. In light of these accolades, Joy Fleishhacker rightly characterized Warner’s text as “a staple in library, classroom and home collections” (par. 1).