The Boxcar Children are on their way to a fair and get stranded at the titular Bus Station by a storm. Of course, a mystery is brewing (otherwise, why would we be reading this book). Fish are dying, paints are poisoning, and family is fighting.

The bus station itself makes for a pretty interesting setting and the characters are ... mostly fine. On one hand, if people would just talk a bit more, there would be rather less mystery. On the other hand, the Aldens are strangers sticking their noses in the whole mess, so why would everyone want to talk to them in the first place.

And then there's this:

Mr. Pickett [said] ... "I do want to be a good neighbor to Frank and to everyone. But who can show me how to run my factory and keep the river clean?"

... Mr. Alden stood up and smiled. ... "I have had some of the same troubles in my plastics factories that you have had," he explained. "Bad odors. Polluted water. In my plants we have found a way to burn the bad-smelling gases before they go up the chimney. We need a great deal of water. But we use the same water over and over. Not a bit of dirty water empties into any river or sewer."

This is just... bizarre. Is water treatment such a mystery? I fully expect that Mr. Pickett wasn't cleaning the water because it was cheaper and no one was forcing him to, not because he didn't know how... It just feels... weird.

It's fine. But certainly not one of the best books of the series.
( )

My kindergarten daughter loves the Boxcar children and enjoyed this mystery very much. ( )

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are taking a bus trip. They're bound for the Science and Hobby Fair, but when a bad storm hits, they're forced to stay in the bus station.

I liked this chapter book for a few reasons. First, the plot had a great conflict and it was full of suspense. The Boxcar children are on the way to a science fair, but they are forced to stay at the bus station when a storm hits. While waiting at the bus station, the Boxcar children notice strange things about the bus station manager and the two strange boys who seem to linger around outside. Second, the characters in this story were developed very well. Each character introduced in the beginning of the story played important roles throughout the story. The bus station manager and the two strange boys outside ended up having a connection together in the science fair to save a local river. Lastly, the language in this story was very descriptive and keeps readers involved. It helped accurately picture what is going on in the story as well as make connections that keeps you turning the page. "Pickett's Paints-- that was the name on the envelope he had handed Frank. The Oakdale bus driver had given Frank a package for the Pickett factory". ( )

While going to a science and hobby fair, the boxcar children are waylaid for an hour at a bus station. They observe contradictory actions from the station manager and two boys hanging around. At the fair they see some controversy over a paint factory that is polluting the river. Why is everyone behaving this way, and is there a solution for the river that will keep the paint factory? ( )