Newbery Award winner Patricia MacLachlan (pictured, via) has signed up with Albert Whitman & Company to write a prequel for Gertrude Chandler Warner‘s popular kidlit series, The Boxcar Children.

The not-yet-titled project will be released in September 2012 for the 70-year anniversary of the book’s debut. An eBook version will be published simultaneously from Open Road Integrated Media.

MacLachlan gave this quote in the press release: “Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are kind to one another and embody the true sense of family. They are resourceful and positive. I find them both true children and true heroes at the same time. It occurs to me that perhaps their parents were the same. I’m looking forward to exploring that idea and more.”

Editor’s Note: This post was edited to correct a misspelling.