Jun 12, 2019 the orphan train movement transported orphaned and homeless children from crowded eastern cities of the united states to foster homes located in rural areas of the midwest. I do recommend this book, however, due to the disturbing, mature content in certain scenes, only for upper high school students and adults. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything orperhaps most importantlyourselves. The children ranged in age from about six to 18 and were homeless or neglected.
In a young readers version of klines orphan train 20, sixthgrader molly, a foster child on the coast of maine, helps an elderly woman, vivian, sort through boxes of keepsakes in her attic. Orphan train book club ideas part 2 delicious reads. Dont let the food get in the way of the allimportant ending. 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 delicious reads. 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.
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. Any, or all, of these recipes would be suitable for the book club that focuses on dessert. A great glass of wine and a good book have gone together almost as long as there have been. 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 is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The orphan train has several threads for book clubs to discuss.
A novel christina baker kline, 20 harpercollins 278 pp. Bird in hand, the way life should be, desire lines and sweet water. My current book club is not that organized, but we do serve something to nibble on while we catch up on life. In the brief prologue, narrator vivian introduces the concept of ghosts, stating her belief that ghosts haunt the. 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. 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. 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. She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Book club kit discussion guide orphan train by christina. After finishing this book, we all know so much more about a topic we didnt. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. Orphan train book club ideas part 1 have you read this incredible story about our history in america. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan, book club.
The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless children. Choosing a book for your book club to read can be challenging. 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 by christina baker kline shows that relationships can flourish between two. But in interviews, and on her blog, kline says one of the major themes she wanted to tackle. Orphan train girl by christina baker kline, paperback. The goal was to get the kids out of new york and into a more positive environment.
I had no idea that this happened with orphans in america. Read anne of green gables if you are looking for a happier, lighter story about orphans. Orphan train by christina baker kline content rating and. There is the theme of foster care, adoption, family history, unexpected. Belonging and connection theme in orphan train litcharts. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in orphan train, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Orphan train book book club food unexpected relationships book club parties books to read my books train food library books the incredibles.
Everyone in book club hopped on board for orphan train donning either train conductor, engineering or 1930s garb. Molly reports that the thibodeaus are her twelfth foster family. This study guide consists of approximately 42 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of orphan train. Molly uses food as a part of her identity by choosing to be a. Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in book club books. 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. Christina baker kline is a novelist, nonfiction writer and editor. She served as writerinresidence at fordham university from 2007 to 2011 and. 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. Orphan train by christina baker kline, paperback barnes. Belonging and connection molly ayer and vivian daly, two women born in different places and eras and who were orphaned as young children, both.
In this story we also go through the depression as well as wwii with the characters and can feel the agony of those times in the words of the novel. These questions can be used as a guide for annotating the text, journal responses, or discussion. Check out these monthly book club theme ideas to narrow your choices. To represent this, i made two story maps that connect when the stories collide. Palacio including a sack lunch food swap orphan train bookready player. The discussion questions in this lesson are designed to help students explore the. Therefore in nine years she hasmoved all of her things twelve times. One member brought up a hypothetical question about if you could have dinner with five people, living. The horrors of the life of a orphan, both present and past, will give you great sympathy for those who have been in that situation. Picking a complete makeahead menu for the night is a must, especially if you have a few more pages to read before the book club starts. One week molly took over the kitchen and made her kind of food.
Orphan train book club ideas part 1 book club books. Her vegetarian diet was only one thing about her that her foster parents, especially her impossibletoplease foster mother dina, refused to accept about her. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their. Molly, quietly introspective, is performing community service, assigned surprisingly for trying to steal a battered paperback from the public library. Read orphan train absolutely for free at readanybook. Orphan train meets the standard for range of reading and level of text complexity for grades. Many of those book clubs serve meals, or at least dessert to accompany the discussion. The orphan train by christina baker kline questions. After my book club chose orphan train for our next meetup, i picked up my copy and started reading just a little of the first page to get a feel for what the book.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the. Sarah burghardt orphan train is a unique book because it tells two stories that come together in the end. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train free library of. Gail martin is joined by cohost rebecca kubacki to discuss the fates of the children looking for a new home in orphan train by christina. Through reading the book and completing any of the suggested activities, students can achieve any. Portaging in this novel, the theme of portaging takes on both literal and symbolic meanings. You want books that are thoughtprovoking and intelligent but still approachable. I love when i find a winner with my book club and this is definitely a winner. Your book club could also go veggie in honor of molly. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. 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. 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 site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Food ideas for wonder by rj palacio book club food, book club.
In orphan train, i wanted to write about how traumatic events beyond our control can shape and define our lives. 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. Buy this book klines absorbing new novel after bird in the hand is a heartfelt pageturner. Go one step beyond the usual wine, cheese and crackers with a menu that matches the theme of your book clubs latest selection. 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. To keep our theme on track, our cohosts served a typical 1930s, minnesotastyle, sunday dinner including all the fixings. In real life, orphan trains were intended to save children from the streets, but sometimes. 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. These questions about the novel can help foster discussion in your group. Available in a special hardcover edition, christina baker klines smash bestseller that is a lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of american history ann packer. Most had lived in new york citys streets and slums with little or no hope of a successful future. The book describes parents looking the kids over like pieces of meat.
Orphan train is based on the real orphan train that ran from new york to the midwest from 18541929. Cook ahead and be ready long before the members arrive. Belonging and connection molly ayer and vivian daly, two women born in different places and eras and who were orphaned as young children, both struggle to find a sense of home and belonging. In orphan train, christina baker kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. For a time, i was in a lovely, civilized san francisco dinnerbook club where couples sat down and discussed a book over dinner. One of the themes of the novel is the role of community.
Orphan train tackles some pretty heavy themes, such as finding family and figuring out your identity. Orphan train recipes for book clubs tosas allcity read. Its dorothys birthday, shes living with the miserable, dysfunctional grote. Literary terms orphan train climax molly and dina get in a fight and she is forced to. 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. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan train book and orphan. Elizabeth begins her journey of self discovery with gastronomic delights in italy, so consider starting your book club discussion with a menu she would have relished.
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