May 17, 2015 since orphan train was my book club choice for the year, i had to provide the discussion questions. Orphan train by christina baker kline book club discussion. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. After tragedy, young girl shipped west on orphan train christina baker klines new novel incorporates a true piece of american history. From the teeming streets of new york among a crush of immigrants. 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. She served as writerinresidence at fordham university from 2007 to 2011 and. 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. Online resources and questions for your book club to connect your groups lives, interests and personal experiences to books you discuss, friday. They started their journey in new york and were given away in train stations across the country. Orphan train tells the story of vivian, an orphan who rode on the orphan train from new york to minnesota in 1929.
A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train table of contents 1. Poll book tally orphan train by christina baker kline rounded up to 4 stars. Andrea warren is the author of many acclaimed nonfiction books for young readers, including orphan train rider. We didnt get a lot responses last month, so this month will determine whether or not we continue the book club. Between 1854 and 1929, over 250,000 orphans and surrendered children were placed out across the country. Orphan train is a great book club discussion book and we recommend it to everyone. 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.
Orphan train movement, social experiment of childrens aid sociey and new york foundling hospital, carried 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children from. She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. Was it common for train riders to keep their experiences secret. 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. Feel free to respond to one, two, or all of them as well as share your overall thoughts. Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in.
For other news and our upcoming schedule, visit our facebook page and click on events. 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. This part of our american history was unknown to a few of our readers. Riders of orphan train meet to tell life stories the new. 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. When christina asked the audience if anyone knew someone who had been on an orphan train, a. When a divorce sends kathryn reeling back to the maine town where she grew up, the young journalist finds herself facetoface. Adapted and condensed for a young audience, orphan train girl includes an authors note and archival photos from the orphan train era.
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 book club ideas part 1 have you read this incredible story about our history in america. One boys true story, which won the boston globehorn book award. 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.
Orphans brought to iowa, containing name of child surname first then given name, adoptive parents surname first then given name and town. But dont worry, christina baker kline wraps it all up neatly at the end so you wont go into a tailspin. Book club questions for the orphan train by christina baker. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Coeur dalene, post fall libraries to host riders of the. Book club kit discussion guide orphan train by christina. We will be discussing the novel with our online book club and would consider it an honor if you would join us.
See more ideas about orphan train, orphan train book and orphan. I had no idea that this happened with orphans in america. Bird in hand, the way life should be, desire lines and sweet water. So, please respond, ladies heres some general questions to get the discussion going. Virginia johnson, a member of the nir committee, will lead that discussion, which is open to. Our discussion leader, tamara welch will kick things off this morning. Two of us had heard of orphan trains before reading this book. The girl on the train book club discussion questions. Its been ten years since then, but kathryn still feels the conspicuous void in her lifeand the nagging, guilty sense that she has failed her friend. May 23, 2014 information about orphan trains and the book, orphan train by christina baker kline.
May 23, 2014 map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in 18531910. When christina asked the audience if anyone knew someone who had been on an orphan train, a third of the rooms hands shot up. Apr 11, 20 on the night of her high school graduation in 1986, kathryn campbells best friend, jennifer, vanished without a trace. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. On the night of her high school graduation in 1986, kathryn campbells best friend, jennifer, vanished without a trace. Orphan train is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. 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. Orphan train riders to iowa the children brought to iowa. Since orphan train was my book club choice for the year, i had to provide the discussion questions.
You will become a better person for having read it. As always, there is no cost to join and no longterm commitment. Nyt best selling author christina baker kline answers the top ten questions book clubs ask about orphan train. 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. Riders on the orphan train is an historical novel about a littleknown piece of american history. Luckily, there were some provided in the back of the book which i have listed below.
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 reality of this heartbreaking time provided for an interesting storyline. Orphan train will be read by the pageturners library book club for its discussion on oct. Mar 09, 2014 the orphan train transported a reported 200,000 children from the east coast to the midwest between 1854 and 1929. Jan 31, 2014 nyt best selling author christina baker kline answers the top ten questions book clubs ask about orphan train. We didnt talk about all of them, but we did hit on most of the main ones. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. 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. Riders on the orphan train chronicles the lives of two children among approximately 250,000 young people placed out between 1854 and 1929. Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. The books this year are about the include orphan train by christina baker kline and riders on the orphan train by moore. Discussion questions book club recommendationsdiscussion.
One of the books protagonists, an irish orphan, is packed. The additional information column was added in 2017. After tragedy, young girl shipped west on orphan train. 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. She put an impressive amount of research into the book, fueled on to the topic as her husbands grandfather was an orphan on the train. This book is equal parts heartwrenching and heartwarming. A novel christina baker kline, 20 harpercollins 278 pp. More than 200,000 homeless children were sent west on the trains. 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. Her mother, sophia kaminsky hillesheim, 1917 orphan train rider, was one of the children of the orphan trains taking part in a phenomenal journey from new york city to the midwest. The orphan train transported a reported 200,000 children from the east coast to the midwest between 1854 and 1929. Molly ayer has been in foster care since she was eight years.
The story describes in great detail the conditions on the train, as recalled by real orphan train riders. 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. Orphan train riders, from the riders on the orphan train multimedia performance at union depot in st. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and. Ask and answer questions about the novel or view study guides, literature essays and more. Christina answers top 10 book club questions youtube. Questions every book club asks, the story behind the writing of orphan train, and more.
But in interviews, and on her blog, kline says one of the major themes she wanted to tackle. Orphan train tackles some pretty heavy themes, such as finding family and figuring out your identity. 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. Our discussion of christina baker klines orphan train begins today and will continue through friday. 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.