A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly out of juvie and worse as she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as different as they seem to. These questions about the novel can help foster discussion in your group. Book overview between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the east coast to the farmlands of the midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. I do recommend this book, however, due to the disturbing, mature content in certain scenes, only for upper high school students and adults. Orphan train by christina baker kline, paperback barnes. Penobscot indian molly ayer is close to aging out out of the foster care system. Be sure to include in your reading how lee became an orphan train rider, his experience on the orphan train, who his adoptive parents were, and what happened to lee as an adult. Read excerpts from orphan train rider by andrea warren to introduce students to the story of lee nailling. Christina baker klines orphan train is a poignant and memorable story of two steadfast, courageous womenone young, one oldand their discovery of each others past as unwanted outsiders. 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.
Topics about this book topics that mention this book. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly out of juvie and worse. They were both orphaned, and their lives were put into the hands of the foster care system. Through a jigsaw activity, discussion, and creation of an acrostic poem, this lesson plan will help you teach your students about the orphan trains, their place in the child welfare movement, and. Apr 02, 20 a penobscot indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. 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 book tulsa citycounty library bibliocommons. Orphan train book hennepin county library bibliocommons. Christina baker kline, foster care, historical fiction, orphan train, orphans. Orphan train was a mix of favorite childhood books of mine such as anne of green gables, heidi, and understood betsy, and ms. As she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as different as.
Just before dutchy goes home with a farmer in minneapolis, minnesota, he and niamh promise to find each other again someday. Between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the east coast to the farmlands of the midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Orphan train is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. For book clubs 1929 train itinerary international editions. The orphan train by christina baker kline moves back and forth between two stories that of a young orphan girl in the early twentieth century and that of a teenager in the modernday foster care system. She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. As a recipient of one book resources, the free library requires that you devote one class period to introducing orphan train to students, either using this lesson or your own plan. It is a revelation of the universal yearning for belonging, for family, for acceptance and, ultimately, the journeys we must all make to find them. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts. If you are the publisher or author of this book and. A fun kid workbook game for learning, tracks coloring, dot to dot, mazes, word search and more. Orphan train by christina baker kline content rating and. The orphan train society of america was founded in 1986 and still hosts reunions.
The orphan train by christina baker kline questions. Have students create an orphan train project folder on their hard drive and save their word cloud. See the fact file below for more information about the orphan train movement or download the entire 15 page premium worksheet pack. Take our free orphan train quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. 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. The term orphan train refers to a time in american history from 18541929. 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. As she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as different as they seem. Orphan train by christina baker kline book club discussion.
If possible, allow students to print their word clouds. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything orperhaps most importantlyourselves. Choosing a book for your book club to read can be challenging. Orphan train summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Orphan train is a specifically american story of mobility and rootlessness, highlighting a littleknown but historically significant moment in our countrys past. Moving between contemporary maine and depressionera minnesota, orphan train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, and unexpected friendship.
A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of americas history. The story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship. A highly theatrical story, moving, amusing, and always tellingly human of nine orphans on an orphan train that left new york city on may 28, 1914, and traveled to midwes. Between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the east coast to the farmlands of the midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck and chance. As a young irish immigrant, vivian daly was sent by rail from. Games to play, songs to sing, fun stuff to do guaranteed to keep you busy the whole ride. B ased on historical events, christiana baker klines orphan train is told through the point of view of fictional characters with similar backgrounds. Orphan train book douglas county libraries bibliocommons. Ann packerbetween 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran regularly from the.
The orphan train has several threads for book clubs to discuss. Close to aging out of the foster care system, penobscot indian molly ayer takes a community service position helping an elderly woman named vivian clean out her home and discovers that they are more alike than different as she helps vivian solve a mystery from her past. Poll book tally orphan train by christina baker kline rounded up to 4 stars. Orphan train summary from litcharts the creators of.
Orphan train is an unforgettable story, at times disturbing and painful, at other times hopeful and redemptive. In orphan train, christina baker kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. Orphan train is the assigned summer reading for the 300 firstyear students at edgewood college in madison, wis. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. The orphan trains operated between 1853 and 1929, relocating about 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children. The national orphan train complex opened in 2007 in concordia, kansas and is dedicated to preserving the history. Between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the east coast to the farmlands of the midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose. 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. May 23, 2014 information about orphan trains and the book, orphan train by christina baker kline. Orphan train will hold you in its grip as their fascinating tales unfold. Aug 18, 2018 the orphan train by christina baker kline moves back and forth between two stories that of a young orphan girl in the early twentieth century and that of a teenager in the modernday foster care system. Poll book tally orphan train by christina baker kline rounded up to 4 stars karin. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan train book and orphan.
Orphan train book club ideas part 1 have you read this incredible story about our history in america. 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. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train table of contents 1. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly out of juvie and worse as she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as different as. This is a numbered limited edition replica of the 7 x 12 mural mounted on the west wall of our museum. As she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as. 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. 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. Klines novel is currently in the process of being adapted by broad green pictures. Despite the eighty years between molly and vivian, the parallels between their stories are staggering. Instant downloads of all 1291 litchart pdfs including orphan train.
As a young irish immigrant, vivian daly was sent by rail from new york city to an uncertain. The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless children. Penobscot indian molly ayer is close to aging out of the foster care system. As she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as different as they seem to be. Kline has written six other novels orphan train, orphan train girl, the way life should be, sweet water, bird in hand, and desire lines and written or edited five works of nonfiction. I had no idea that this happened with orphans in america. Between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains transported more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children many of them firstgeneration irish catholic. Vivian traveled from nyc to minnesota as a young girl on one of the infamous orphan trains that was used to get orphans out of the cities into the country where they might have a better opportunity to find families and to be able to make a good life. 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.
Find orphan train lesson plans and teaching resources. When they have finished, have students use their descriptive words to create a word cloud with wordle or tagxedo. On the train, niamh befriends dutchy, a twelveyearold boy, and takes care of carmine, a toddler. Orphan train on surprise trip up the bestseller list.
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 eating squirrel as the main dish. They take niamh to the childrens aid society, and the agency sends niamh out to the midwest on an orphan train. Niamh pronounced neev was an irish immigrant girl sent on an orphan train from new york city to minnesota in the late 1920s. Orphan train book recent activity hennepin county library. Read anne of green gables if you are looking for a happier, lighter story about orphans. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly out of juvie and worse as she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as. 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. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly out of juvie and worse as she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that she and vivian arent as different as they seem to be. You want books that are thoughtprovoking and intelligent but still approachable. A 1979 film titled orphan train provides a fictionalized account set in 1854. 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.
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