The Aldens are visiting friends for a big Dia de los Muertos celebration. The kids love learning about the holiday and helping out―that is until mysterious events threaten to ruin everyone's preparations. Can the Aldens figure out what's going on and help their friends save the celebration? Gertrude Chandler Warner grew up in Putnam, Connecticut. She wrote The Boxcar Children because she had always dreamed about what it would be like to live in a caboose or a freight car―just as the Aldens do. When readers asked for more adventures, Warner wrote more books―a total of nineteen in all. After her death, other authors have continued to write stories about Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, and today The Boxcar Children® series has more than one hundred books. The Boxcar Children The Day of the Dead Mystery By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Anthony VanArsdale Albert Whitman & Company Copyright © 2018 Albert Whitman & Company All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8075-0737-7 Contents 1. Two Celebrations, 2. Too Much Candy, 3. One Thing Missing, 4. A Surprising Assessment, 5. Little to Go On, 6. Breakfast Breakthrough, 7. Another Theft?, 8. A Sweet Surprise, 9. Family First, 10. Celebrate!, CHAPTER 1 Two Celebrations "Come on, you two!" Jessie Alden called to Violet and Benny. It was the evening of October 31: Halloween. The streetlights were just starting to come on, and trick-or-treating was about to begin. Jessie didn't want her younger sister and brother to miss out on the fun. Henry, the oldest of the Alden children, stood with Jessie and Grandfather on the front porch. Their dog, Watch, waited patiently at their feet, his chin resting on his paws. Now that Henry was fourteen and Jessie was twelve, they had decided they were too old to dress up for Halloween, but they were excited to see the costumes Violet and Benny had been working on. "Almost ready," Violet called from the front hall. "Making a last-minute change to a sesame seed!" Henry and Jessie looked at each other in confusion, and Grandfather laughed. "This surprise is going to be well worth the wait," Grandfather said. A moment later, Violet burst onto the porch. "Voilà!" she cried. Ten-year-old Violet wore a black wig adorned with flowers and a colorful dress with a band of white lace running along the hem. She had long, dark eyebrows and held a paintbrush in her hand. "Wow, Violet — you're an artist!" Henry said. Watch sat up and barked his approval. "Not just any artist. Right, Violet?" Grandfather said with a knowing smile. "That's right," Violet said. "I am dressed as Frida Kahlo, one of Mexico's great painters." "I remember learning about her in art class," Jessie said. "She was famous for painting self-portraits. You look just like her, Violet! But ... what does this have to do with a sesame seed?" Violet laughed. "That wasn't for me — it was for Benny. Speaking of which ..." Violet cleared her throat. "Ahem. We're ready for the, uh, the main course!" Benny stepped outside. He was moving a little more slowly than Violet had. For one thing, he was only six years old. For another, he was wearing a giant, round costume stuffed with newspaper. "Benny, you're a cheeseburger!" Jessie said. "A deluxe one too," Henry added, as he noticed all the ingredients Benny's costume included. There was a brown bun strapped to his front and back, then a layer of meat made from brown felt, a slice of yellow paper cheese, a red satin tomato, and a layer of ketchup made from ribbon. Benny, who wore a green hat, appeared to be the pickle. White circles of paper were taped to the front of the bun to look like sesame seeds. "You know what they say," Benny said. "You are what you eat!" Grandfather laughed. "Well done, you two!" He asked the children to stand together on the front steps with Watch and snapped a picture of them. "This is going to make a great memory someday. Now, you had better get going before it gets any later!" The Aldens started down the street to the house of Violet and Benny's new friends, Gloria and Mateo Hidalgo. The children planned to trick-or-treat together. When they arrived at the Hidalgo house, a cozy stone cottage with a heavy oak front door, Benny tried to ring the doorbell. He couldn't quite reach because of his costume, so Jessie gave him a boost. Mateo, who was seven, answered the door. Normally, Mateo was a quiet boy with straight, dark hair and glasses, but tonight he wore a spiky red wig and glitter around his eyes. A guitar hung over his shoulder. "You're a rock star!" Benny said. Mateo smiled shyly and nodded. "And wait until you see Gloria." The kids stepped into the Hidalgos' living room just as Gloria was coming out of the kitchen. Violet knew from school that Gloria had an energetic personality and a joyful laugh. So it was a surprise to see her wearing a very serious face and a judge's black robe, with her long, straight hair pulled into a tight bun. "Order in the court!" she said when