These questions can be used as a guide for annotating the text, journal responses, or discussion. Orphan trains continue to make news, in light of todays current debatesregarding illegal immigration and amnesty. An amazing multimedia program that tells the story of the 250,000 orphans and unwanted children who were placed on trains in new york between 1854 and 1929 and sent all. Niamh looked around at the faces of her fellow train riders. Choosing a book for your book club to read can be challenging. Book club books book nerd orphan train book orphan quotes the wild geese happy stories united states map history projects old west map of united states showing number of. Andrea warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of lee nailling, who in 1926 rode an orphan train to texas when he was nine years old. A the orphan trains, as they were called, ran from 1854 to 1929. 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 riders, from the riders on the orphan train multimedia performance at union depot in st. Orphan train riders to iowa the children brought to iowa. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. Go one step beyond the usual wine, cheese and crackers with a menu that matches the theme of your book club s latest selection. Orphan trains brought homeless nyc children to work on.
Recipient of the founders award presented by the national orphan train complex for her eminent presentations on the orphan trains and having two published books. Read the story of two orphan train riders who grew up to be the governors of alaska and north dakota here. This book was geared towards adult new readers and therefore a quick, easy read i finished it in just a few hours. How close are the events you describe in the novel to real life. They started their journey in new york and were given away in train stations across the country.
Orphan train movement, social experiment of childrens aid sociey and new york foundling hospital, carried 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children from. More than 200,000 homeless children were sent west on the trains. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. An entire menu of irish dishes also would be suitable for a book club discussing orphan train. The currant bread and rhubarb tart both would qualify as irish. Molly uses food as a part of her identity by choosing. 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. Some had been preplaced already and rode the train to a predesignated home. Riders of orphan train meet to tell life stories the. Kansas state historical society in the beginning of the orphan train movement, the trains that took children across country were little better than cattle cars and only had makeshift bathroom facilities. Orphan train book club ideas part 1 have you read this incredible story about our history in america. Read the story of two orphan train riders who grew up to. 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 is the theme of foster care, adoption, family history, unexpected relationships, inhumane acts of violence and of course the train that took children from large cities to be adopted by families in the midwest to be more like indentured servants then a part of a new family. The additional information column was added in 2017. While i was researching the orphan trains i jotted down ideas that. Questions every book club asks, the story behind the writing of orphan train, and more. Aug 02, 2015 descendants and relatives of new york orphan train riders, including margaret briley, james douget, warren lafleur, barbara jesclard and florella inhern, tell the stories of some of the children. Andrea warren is the author of many acclaimed nonfiction books for young readers, including orphan train rider. 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. Christina baker kline is a novelist, nonfiction writer and editor. I am very glad i read this book, because after reading orphan. A novel and over 8 million other books are available for. In the prologue vivian mentions that her true love died when she was 23, but she doesnt mention the other big secret in the book. Riders on the orphan train chronicles the lives of two children among approximately 250,000 young people placed out between 1854 and 1929.
Apr 02, 20 orphan train by christina baker kline 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. Penobscot indian molly ayer is close to aging out out of the foster. Orphan train book club ideas part 2 delicious reads. 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. In orphan train, vivian dalys firstperson, pasttense account of her experience on the orphan train and her journey from irishcatholic immigrant to protestant midwesterner alternates with the presentday, presenttense, thirdpersonlimited story of vivians life on the maine coast. May 04, 2017 find out more about the national orphan train complex and the orphan train movement online. Christina baker klines novel orphan train has ridden the new york times. Bird in hand, the way life should be, desire lines and sweet water. The main narrative about vivian, an orphan train rider, was excellent.
A quarter million children rode the orphan trains from 1854 to 1929. May 23, 2014 map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in 18531910. This book illustrates that effect by looking at the fates of orphan train riders in aggregate, and by telling the stories of particular children. If youve read orphan train you already are aware of a lot of what is contained in this book. I envision him scrounging through the garbage for a morsel of food, huddling in a. Andrea warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of lee nailling, who in 1926 rode an. Riders of orphan train meet to tell life stories the new. Her vegetarian diet was only one thing about her that her foster parents, especially her impossibletoplease foster mother dina, refused to accept about her.
Many train riders ended up with their names changed more than. Adapted and condensed for a young audience, orphan train girl includes an authors note and archival photos from the orphan train era. 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. Book club books book nerd orphan train book orphan quotes the wild geese happy stories united states map history projects old west map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in 18531910. Orphan train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from christina baker kline, author of bird in hand and the way life should be. Oct 20, 2014 i love when i find a winner with my book club and this is definitely a winner. Book club selection for august 2014 by christina baker kline historical fiction20273 pages publishers comments goodreads.
Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in book club. I love when i find a winner with my book club and this is definitely a winner. Christina has longed to write a scene in which she clarifies vivians motivations. 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. Orphan trains almost became lost to history just a few decades ago, but their legacy lives on, thanks to books, historians and the national orphan train complex in kansas. After my book club chose orphan train for our next meetup, i picked up my copy and. Christina answers the top ten questions book clubs ask 15 minutes questions.
Christina answers top 10 book club questions youtube. 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. Orphan train meets the standard for range of reading and level of text. Book club questions for the orphan train by christina baker.
The story describes in great detail the conditions on the train, as recalled by real orphan train riders. Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in book club books, book. Book club kit discussion guide orphan train by christina. Recipient of the new york foundling award 2004 and 2018 presented by othsa and the national orphan train complex for preservation of orphan train history. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train free library of. The novels locations include new york city, arkansas, the big bend region of texas, central new mexico and southeastern arizona. Between 1854 and 1929, over 250,000 orphans and surrendered children were placed out across the country. 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. We hope to educate you a bit on this subject and help you further your research on any ancestors you may have that came to iowa on one of the infamous orphan trains. Orphans brought to iowa, containing name of child surname first then given name, adoptive parents surname first then given name and town.
This list was originally compiled by madonna harms. Orphan train by christina baker kline is a book that has many themes. How did most train riders ultimately feel about having been put on a train. Your book club could also go veggie in honor of molly. Was it common for train riders to keep their experiences secret. There is the theme of foster care, adoption, family history, unexpected. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Sep 23, 2015 an amazing multimedia program that tells the story of the 250,000 orphans and unwanted children who were placed on trains in new york between 1854 and 1929 and sent all over the united states to. Not all orphan train riders went to an unknown destination. 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. Riding the orphan train cowboys and indians magazine. Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders.
Children placed out during the orphan train era 18531929 and their descendants have particular research problems. Orphan train tells the story of vivian, an orphan who rode on the orphan train from new york to minnesota in 1929. 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 by christina baker kline book club discussion. May, 2000 orphan train movement, social experiment of childrens aid sociey and new york foundling hospital, carried 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children from new york and other east coast cities west to. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan train book and orphan. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book.
A novel christina baker kline, 20 harpercollins 278 pp. Orphan train is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Conflict in europe in the mid1800s caused many families to come to the united states. Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in. On the surface, vivians and mollys lives couldnt be more different. I had no idea that this happened with orphans in america. One boys true story, which won the boston globehorn book award. 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. A lot of the women in this group liked the book along with our strong male contingency of one but not as much as i did. Find out more about the national orphan train complex and the orphan train movement online. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and.
From the teeming streets of new york among a crush of immigrants. Descendants and relatives of new york orphan train riders, including margaret briley, james douget, warren lafleur, barbara jesclard and florella. For other news and our upcoming schedule, visit our facebook page and click on events. A group outside of the childrens aid societys central. This facebook page is dedicated to families and friends who want to know how their family members came west as orphan train riders when they were children. Orphan train riders of new york organization honorary president. One week molly took over the kitchen and made her kind of food. John jackson, who at five years old walked off after a marching band and never found his way home again. Orphan train recipes for book clubs tosas allcity read. This list is a small portion of riders that rode the orphan train to the midwest. She served as writerinresidence at fordham university from 2007 to 2011 and. We are new to facebook but have been working with orphan train rider families for several years. You want books that are thoughtprovoking and intelligent but still approachable. She can give you the information you seek about the orphan trains, when and where they ran.
Riders on the orphan train is an historical novel about a littleknown piece of american history. One of the books protagonists, an irish orphan, is packed onto a train and sent to the midwest. The main characters are vivian, the orphaned train rider who at 91 years of age tells. In real life, orphan trains were intended to save children from the streets, but sometimes. The novel began with a short story that is at the heart of a multimedia presentation called riders on the orphan train that the author has been performing in libraries and museums since 1998. The orphan train by christina baker kline questions.
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