Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story

by Andrea Warren

Paperback, 1998

Status

Available

Call number

362.734092

Genres

All Topics

Nonfiction

Publication

Sandpiper (1998), Paperback, 80 pages

Description

Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML: Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Some were adopted by loving families; others were not as fortunate. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. 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..

User reviews

LibraryThing member Kathdavis54

Andrea Warren has found a great way to explain the Orphan Trains to readers. She follows the story of one boy as he goes on his journey. As she points out in the books, many riders do not like to discuss this time period, so we are lucky to be reading this account. Following one person through this

time period definitely makes the story more engaging and easy to follow. My only issue is that I felt like the story ended so suddenly. Lee was lucky to find a loving home and have his story wrapped up so well, but I wish readers could have been exposed to at least one depth story of a rider who did not find that happy ending. We get some brief asides about this, but nothing too thorough.

The index and bibliography are useful, but brief. Warren is nice enough to point out which resources that she used are for younger readers.

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LibraryThing member Mwbordel

This book focuses on the life of 9 year old Lee whose father, unable to cope with his seven children after their mother's death, gave some of his children to the Children's Aid Society in NY while sending the older ones out into the world. Lee finds himself in an orphanage where he feels alone and

angry at being separated from his siblings and father. Eventually Lee is picked to ride the orphan train, and after a few false starts, finds himself being placed in the care of benevolent and caring Ben and Ollie Nailling, with whom he finds a true home. And eventually reunites with his family who are still living. It portrays the lives of unwanted, abandoned, and homeless children who were supposed to get a second chance at life through the orphan trains. Many did find good homes but others were not as fortunate, finding themselves physically and sexually abused instead.

I though Orphan Train Rider was a great read about a little known period in history. The book switched back and forth with each chapter from Lee's story in a narrative style to the history of the Orphan Trains. The pictures were a great addition to the story. I would definitely use this book in a middle school classroom as part of American History. Also, I could use this to talk about adoption since the Orphan Train was the beginning of adoption in the United States.

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LibraryThing member mcnicol_08

The orphan train riders is a fascinating part of our nation's history that I was unaware of. This shares the story of one child's experience of being an orphan and an orphan train rider. Fortunately, this specific orphan train rider eventually found a happy ending, however, this was not always the

result for all orphan train riders. I was very surprised at the treatment children experienced during the 19th and early 20th century. I was aware children were treated poorly and like mini adults, but this book provided me with an insight. Also, I had no idea orphans were almost an epidemic situation as there were thousands of homeless children during this era.

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LibraryThing member emedwards

This book is about the life of a young boy whose mother dies and his father is too grief stricken to take care of the children. After being put in an orphanage he is sent on an orphan train with his two younger brothers to find a new family out west. Unfortunately, the boys are separated which

makes the boy, Lee very unhappy. I thought this book was written quite well by switching chapters to refer to the history of the time and then back to Lee's specific story. I never even knew this was something that had happened until reading this book. It was a very sad story with a happy ending. The history in the story really makes you reflect on your own family.
Classroom extension: I would the have the students do a research project to find other orphan train riders and write a short essay about the person they found.
I would also have them do a writing exercise where they would write a short story describing something significant in their life.

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LibraryThing member RalphLagana

An amazing American event that is almost never shared in school.Aimed at children in grades 4-8, this book is brief but powerful. The story told here is gut-wrenching at times but ends on a positive note. Highly recommended for any age.

LibraryThing member Becky_McKenna

A short and informative true story about a child's experience as an Orphan Train Rider. While it was interesting, it doesn't go into much depth. I do think it's worth the read and is an important story. I'd also encourage others who want more detail to read Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. It

is a very touching piece of historical fiction that deals with the same subject matter over the span of a girl's life.

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