A Bandit's Tale

Written by Deborah Hopkinson

Sold by his parents, an immigrant boy learns to steal on New York's streets.

304 pages· 57,408 words· Est. 8 hour read· 740L· AR 5.1 · 9 AR pts

$8.99Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old Rocco is an Italian immigrant left alone in 1880s New York City after his parents sell him to a padrone. Working as a street musician, he falls in with the boys of the infamous Bandits' Roost, who teach him to pick pockets, but a life of crime and a mistreated horse force him to choose who he wants to be.

From the publisher

From an award-winning author of historical fiction comes a story of survival, crime, adventure, and horses in the streets of 19th century New York City. Eleven-year-old Rocco is an Italian immigrant who finds himself alone in New York City after he's sold to a padrone by his poverty-stricken parents. While working as a street musician, he meets the boys of the infamous Bandits' Roost, who teach him the art of pickpocketing. Rocco embraces his new life of crime--he's good at it, and it's more lucrative than banging a triangle on the street corner. But when he meets Meddlin' Mary, a strong-hearted Irish girl who's determined to help the horses of New York City, things begin to change. Rocco begins to reexamine his life--and take his future into his own hands.

At a glance