The Boxcar Children is apparently scarier than we all remember....

I was shopping at Barnes and Noble the other day when I ran across The Boxcar Children series sitting on the shelf. Now I know what you're thinking: "Julia, what could possibly be so strange about seeing the Boxcar Children books?" Well let me tell you I took a double take because these weren't the Boxcar Children books that I remember and loved as a child. Oh no, these looked totally different because their covers have been completely redesigned. The result is HILARIOUS. Awful, but hilarious. The publisher must have decided the original covers were just too bland for todays kids and that the action needed to be kicked up a notch because that is the only explanation for the covers complete change in tone. Just look for yourselves:

Original Covers

New Covers

Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember the Boxcar Children being happy tales about 4 siblings who went on vacation and solved extremely harmless mysteries related to pets and "mysterious strangers" who turned out to be good friends or long lost relatives. I remember none of this "Oh my gosh the kids are gonna get struck by lightning" or "Benny is about to drown" stuff. In fact if you compare these covers one set looks like the wonderfully innocent and whimsical stories I remember and the other resembles something more along the lines of "Nightmares in Babysitting."

I mean the new covers set up all sorts of questions. Why is it always Violet and Benny about to die in some sort of natural disaster? Why the heck did Henry and Jessie run ahead in a lightning storm only to leave their siblings behind to get their brains zapped? And most importantly, why did the artist of the cover art always choose to draw Henry and Jessie in a perpetual state of shock while reaching out towards their younger practically helpless siblings? And why oh why are they doing this pose on the cover for The Yellow House Mystery when all Benny is doing is reaching into a hidden compartment in an old fireplace? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

Honestly I LOVE the Boxcar Children so I'm not poking fun at them at all. I just think these new covers do not reflect the true essence of the books at all. I understand they're trying to keep it hip for todays kids but did they really have to sacrifice the reality of the stories to do so?

How do you guys feel about covers getting redesigned with something that completely distorts the tone of the book? Do you like these new Boxcar Children covers? Or do you find them as perplexing and laughable as me? And most importantly, has my memory failed me and The Boxcar Children actually does have a scene involving a near death experience with a lightning storm? If so, do enlighten me. :P

Julia :)