The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless children. Indelible ink will likely be eagerly devoured by the serious student, professor, or practioner of history, journalism, or law. Orphan train, by christina baker kline, was another selection for our neighborhood book club. Today, we welcome christina to the blog to discuss her experience with book clubs and the three most common questions that clubs have asked her about the novel. There are both permanent and changeable parts of a persons identity. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. In real life, orphan trains were intended to save children from the streets, but sometimes. To get you started, weve put together a list of 20 surefire conversation starters, ranging from the best contemporary literature to historical fiction, memoirs, and history.
Spruce harbor maine, 2011 in christina baker klines orphan train. After tragedy, young girl shipped west on orphan train. Find books like orphan train from the worlds largest community of readers. Adapted and condensed for a young audience, orphan train girl includes an authors note and archival photos from the orphan train era. One of the books protagonists, an irish orphan, is packed onto a train and sent to the midwest. Orphan train book club ideas part 1 have you read this incredible story about our history in america. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading orphan train rider. The orphan train movement was a supervised welfare program that transported orphaned and homeless children from crowded eastern cities of the united states to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the midwest. Some of the food ideas are from the book like the terrys famous chowder but most of this book took place during the great depression so food was scarce and there was no way i was. Orphan train podcast new york cityin the 1850s, new york claimed between five and six hundred newsboys, most of whom came from poor irish or german families. The novel begins with 91 yearold vivians first person narration. More than 100 communities and colleges have chosen it as a one book, one read selection. Jan 20, 2015 in christina baker klines book orphan train, she uses a variety of different writing styles and techniques to impact the readers experience.
You want books that are thoughtprovoking and intelligent but still approachable. Online resources and questions for your book club to connect your groups lives, interests and personal experiences to books you discuss, friday, april 11, 2014. Apr 11, 2014 online resources and questions for your book club to connect your groups lives, interests and personal experiences to books you discuss, friday, april 11, 2014 orphan train book discussion guide. Goodreads members who liked orphan train also liked. Christina baker klines orphan train is an unforgettable story of friendship and second chances that highlights a littleknown but historically significant movement in americas pastand it includes a special ps section for book clubs featuring insights, interviews, and more penobscot indian molly ayer is close to aging out out of the foster care.
Orphan train is an unforgettable story, at times disturbing and painful, at other times hopeful and redemptive. Orphan train by christian baker kline is the story of a surprising friendship between two women troubled seventeen yearold foster kid molly ayer and ninetyone yearold vivian daly. Orphan train by christina baker kline book club discussion. Orphan train is a young adult historical fiction novel about the relationship between seventeen yearold molly ayer and ninetyone yearold vivian daly who, as the result of spending time together and sharing their experiences, form a bond, learn from each other, and change in significant ways. Niamh pronounced neeve is renamed dorothy and then vivian by a succession of families who take her in. One of the books protagonists, an irish orphan, is packed. Christina baker klines novel orphan train has ridden the new york times bestseller list for the past 15 weeks, becoming a favorite of book clubs across the country. History courses, christina baker klines novel orphan train is the perfect addition to your curriculum. What makes this book special is how kline uses point of view in her stories. Niamh pronounced neev was an irish immigrant girl sent on an orphan train from new york city to minnesota in the late 1920s. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Orphan train is a best book club book for discussion, the novel of a woman with a hidden past as an orphantrain rider and a teenage girl seeking answers about her life. She declares that all of the people who have been central in her life are ghosts, including her true love, whom she lost when she was 23 years old, and her sister, maisie. I expect indelible ink to become required reading in several departments of most colleges and universities.
Today, we welcome christina to the blog to discuss her experience with book clubs and the three most common questions that clubs have asked. This is a shortened, yamiddlegrade version of orphan train, the popular. In addition to being a quick, easy read, it was a fascinating book. Target chose orphan train as one of its club picks the promotion features a collection of titles the retailer arguably gears toward book clubs, and it is open only to paperbacks, and this.
Brought together by mollys community service sentence, seventeenyearold molly learns that she has much more in common with ninetyoneyearold vivian than she first thought. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read orphan train. Apr 02, 20 vivians journey west was aboard an orphan train, a bit of misguided 1900sera social engineering moving homeless, destitute city children, mostly immigrants, into midwest families. In the library, molly meets vivian, an elegant 91yearold woman. She served as writerinresidence at fordham university from 2007 to 2011 and. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Take a trip back in time to the early 20th century in america, where ethan cooper and his orphaned siblings are on a mission to find a family. The orphan train community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. She writes from two different points of views and switches back and forth between the two. Orphan train by christina baker kline teen book ratings. Christina has longed to write a scene in which she clarifies vivians motivations. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. Although this particular story of molly and vivian is fictional, the orphan trains were real, and a piece of history i had never heard of. Orphan train symbols from litcharts the creators of.
It will stop at several towns and folks looking to adopt or hire a child, will choose one of the children to come live with them. Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Beyond the orphan train series, volumes 14 by arleta richardson. I remember at the age of 10 or so reading a novel about the late19th and early 20thcentury orphan trains, which took children and babies. Her adaptation of orphan train for young readers is orphan train girl 2017. Orphan train by christina baker kline, paperback barnes. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train free library of. Rich in detail and epic in scope, orphan train by christina baker kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are. This book contains not only a history of journalism, but a. Need help on symbols in christina baker klines orphan train. Christina will be discussing her book orphan train. Dec, 2016 since the publication of her smash international bestseller orphan train, christina baker kline has met with countless readers and book clubs and is often asked the same question about a key decision one of her protagonists makes in orphan train.
Orphan train wrecked my heart and made me glad to be literate. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts. Orphan train by christina baker kline i remember at the age of 10 or so reading a novel about the late19th and early 20thcentury orphan trains, which took children and babies from east coast slums and brought them to the midwest, where they were given an opportunity for a potentially prosperous new life in the fresh rural air. Instant downloads of all 1297 litchart pdfs including orphan train. Since the publication of her smash international bestseller orphan train, christina baker kline has met with countless readers and book clubs and is often asked the same question about a key decision one of her protagonists makes in orphan train. She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. Orphan train is a best book club book for discussion, the novel of a woman with a hidden past as an orphan train rider and a teenage girl seeking answers about her life. Prologue page 3 summary the novel begins with 91 yearold vivians first person narration. She has been a professional writer for twenty years and works from her home office in the kansas city area. I had no idea that this happened with orphans in america.
Recommending new books each month to spark lively conversation. Conditions of the adoption is to cloth, educate and feed the child as. A special appendix at the end of the novel addresses the real history of the period, including a brief historical note. Choosing a book for your book club to read can be challenging. Molly knows that terry only agreed to arrange the service project for jacks sake. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan, book club.
One of the book s protagonists, an irish orphan, is packed onto a train and sent to the midwest. To be on an orphan train has nothing to do with luck. Christina baker kline is a novelist, nonfiction writer and editor. Its the story of the wmore my new novel the one im working on now. When molly comes to vivians house to organize vivians attic as part of community service to avoid. Orphan train tackles some pretty heavy themes, such as finding family and figuring out your identity. Vivian asks about the skunk effect of mollys dyed hair. On the surface, vivians and mollys lives couldnt be more different. In orphan train, christina baker kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old.
Andrea warrens books about children are the result of her passion for history and her interest in young readers. Bird in hand, the way life should be, desire lines and sweet water. The adolescent labor force expanded in the 1880s and 1890s when eleven million new immigrants poured into the country. The national orphan train complex in concordia, ks is a museum and research center dedicated to the orphan train movement, the various institutions that participated, and the children and agents who rode the trains. But in interviews, and on her blog, kline says one of the major themes she wanted to tackle. Christina baker kline my new novel the one im working on now. Book club kit discussion guide orphan train by christina. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan and train.
One boys true story kindle edition by warren, andrea. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything orperhaps most importantlyourselves. It was this book and the one i read immediately after it that finally inspired me to get started on my own genealogical research. When molly comes to vivians house to organize vivians attic as part of community service to avoid juvenile. On the contrary, these children definitely are not lucky at all, for they are parentless and homeless, not to mention, that the majority of them are going to. In christina baker klines book orphan train, she uses a variety of different writing styles and techniques to impact the readers experience. Collect all four volumes of the beyond the orphan train series. Her first book for houghton mifflin, orphan train rider, won the 1996 boston globe horn book award for nonfiction.
The idea of going west seems very permanent, as if those making the. They call this an orphan train, children, and you are lucky to be on it. For book clubs 1929 train itinerary international editions. Orphan train was a mix of favorite childhood books of mine such as anne of green gables, heidi, and understood betsy, and ms. His mother died and his father forced him to go do shoe shine work. Christina baker klines orphan train is an unforgettable story of friendship and second chances that highlights a littleknown but historically significant movement in americas pastand it includes a special ps section for book clubs featuring insights, interviews, and more. I love when i find a winner with my book club and this is definitely a winner. She stole a library book and must do community service in order to serve her punishment. Vivians journey west was aboard an orphan train, a bit of misguided 1900sera social engineering moving homeless, destitute city children, mostly immigrants, into midwest families.
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