Orphan Train

By Verla Kay, Ken Stark (Illustrator)

Orphaned siblings face separation on a train journey to uncertain futures.

4.1/5 Goodreads · 107 ratings

32 pages· 250 words· Est. 2 min read-aloud

$15.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

In the early 1900s, orphaned siblings Lucy, Harold, and David find refuge in an orphanage, only to face a new challenge. Sent on an orphan train to the Midwest, they are paraded before farmers seeking children to adopt. When David is chosen at an early stop, Lucy and Harold are left behind, their futures uncertain. Will they reunite, or will the train take them on separate paths forever? This poignant tale explores the heartache and hope of children seeking a place to belong.

From the publisher

Lucy, Harold, and David have recently become orphans and have no family left, no one to take care of them. They are living on the streets, stealing what they need to survive, like thousands of other unfortunate kids in the early 1900s. Then they get lucky. Lucy and her little brothers are welcomed into an orphanage where they get clean clothes and warm meals. But this orphanage sends groups of children to the Midwest on orphan trains. They are paraded in front of farmers who pick and choose kids they want to take home-and David is taken at one of the first stops, without Lucy or Harold. Verla Kay’s celebrated verse has been called “lyrical” and “rollicking” and Ken Stark’s warm, poignant paintings have been described as “as sun-dappled as a happy memory.” Together, they make the plight of these orphans both heartbreaking and hopeful. Illustrated by Ken Stark

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