The Boxcar Children by the numbers
Gertrude Chandler Warner · first published 1924 · dataset 2026-10-24
Who it is not for: readers past 6th grade: no school list in our data assigns it later.
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Length and reading time
| Pages (dataset edition) | 160 |
|---|---|
| Estimated words | 44,000 |
| Reading time, 300 wpm (fast) | 2 h 27 min |
| Reading time, 250 wpm (average adult) | 2 h 56 min |
| Reading time, 200 wpm (careful / younger reader) | 3 h 40 min |
| Days at 20 minutes a day | 9 |
| Lexile measure | 490L |
At 160 pages, The Boxcar Children is longer than 42.3% of the 2,330 books on the reading lists we track whose page count we know (2,809 books are tracked in all). It is the same length as the median book listed for grades 3-5 (160 pages).
The Boxcar Children is 160 pages; the median book listed for grades 3-5 is 160 pages and the median of all 2,330 listed books with a page count is 187.
Source: Page counts of 2,330 books on U.S. school reading lists, bookstatistics.com · Dataset snapshot 2026-10-24
Show the numbers
| Book | Pages |
|---|---|
| The Boxcar Children | 160 pages |
| Median book listed for grades 3-5 | 160 pages |
| Median of all listed books | 187 pages |
Word counts and reading times are estimates: pages × 275 words, divided by the reading speed. Your edition's page count and your own pace will differ.
Where The Boxcar Children is on school reading lists
5 appearances (0.0% of all 20,804 listings in the dataset), drawn from 3 published lists, in grades 2nd–6th. 5 of the 5 carry a link to the published source document.
States (1): Alabama.
| Grade | Listings |
|---|---|
| 2nd | 1 |
| 3rd | 1 |
| 4th | 1 |
| 5th | 1 |
| 6th | 1 |
Sources
- Winner, Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award 1984, grades 4-6. Given by the Alabama State Department of Education, Library Media. Winner (not nominee); verified against the award archive 2026-09-04. · checked 2026-09-04
- Portsmouth Christian Academy — Summer Reading Lists for All Grade Levels · checked 2026-06-05
- CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 2-3 exemplar · checked 2026-05-29
Questions
How many pages is The Boxcar Children?
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner is 160 pages in the edition recorded in our dataset. Page counts vary by edition and format; at about 275 words per page that is roughly 44,000 words.
How long does it take to read The Boxcar Children?
About 2 h 56 min at an average adult pace of 250 words per minute (2 h 27 min at 300 wpm, 3 h 40 min at 200 wpm). At 20 minutes a day that is about 9 days.
Is The Boxcar Children on school reading lists?
Yes. It appears 5 times on the U.S. school reading lists, award lists and curricula in our dataset, in 1 state plus 2 national-curriculum listings, most often in grades 3-5. That ranks it #1,477 of 2,809 listed books.
Related
- The Boxcar Children: reading level, grades and similar booksOn ReadingList, our sister site for school reading lists.
- Books of about the same lengthShiloh (160 pp.) · Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (160 pp.) · Crash (162 pp.) · The Lost Library (167 pp.)
- The most assigned books, rankedAll 2,809 listed books start here.
- Book length statisticsHow long assigned books are, by grade.
Cite this page
<a href="https://bookstatistics.com/books/the-boxcar-children/">The Boxcar Children statistics</a>. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [The Boxcar Children statistics](https://bookstatistics.com/books/the-boxcar-children/). Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [url=https://bookstatistics.com/books/the-boxcar-children/]The Boxcar Children statistics[/url]. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site.