The Alden kids investigate a series of break-ins and vandalization at the local recycling center, where Mrs. MacGregor has recently shown them they can find a lot of great things.
The Boxcar children investigate the disappearance of a student's research paper from an observatory and the subsequent disappearance of another student.
The Alden children discover another mystery when the agree to help injured Mr. Yee tend to his plot in the community garden and find out that vegetables are going missing and plots are being vandalized.
When their favorite pizza restaurant almost goes out of business, the Alden children try to help their friends stay open while they find out who is behind all their problems.
The Boxcar children travel to Maine, take canoes into the wilderness and live in a house exactly like the one on Surprise Island, except the Maine house is brown, not yellow. Soon they are trying to untangle the mystery of the two houses.
The Alden children plan to ride in their boxcar at the Greenfield Founders' Day Parade, but the newly refurbished boxcar is stolen a couple of days before the big event.