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. One of the books protagonists, an irish orphan, is packed onto a train and sent to the midwest. Cook ahead and be ready long before the members arrive. One member brought up a hypothetical question about if you could have dinner with five people, living. Orphan train recipes for book clubs tosas allcity read. Literary terms orphan train climax molly and dina get in a fight and she is forced to. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan, book club. In real life, orphan trains were intended to save children from the streets, but sometimes. Orphan train book club ideas part 1 book club books.
A novel christina baker kline, 20 harpercollins 278 pp. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything orperhaps most importantlyourselves. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Orphan train by christina baker kline shows that relationships can flourish between two. One of the themes of the novel is the role of community. Christina baker kline is a novelist, nonfiction writer and editor. Through reading the book and completing any of the suggested activities, students can achieve any. 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.
The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless children. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. After finishing this book, we all know so much more about a topic we didnt. There is the theme of foster care, adoption, family history, unexpected. You want books that are thoughtprovoking and intelligent but still approachable. Its dorothys birthday, shes living with the miserable, dysfunctional grote. The children ranged in age from about six to 18 and were homeless or neglected. Online resources and questions for your book club to connect your groups lives, interests and personal experiences to books you discuss, friday. Orphan train by christina baker kline, paperback barnes. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train free library of. The orphan train by christina baker kline questions.
Orphan train is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. In the brief prologue, narrator vivian introduces the concept of ghosts, stating her belief that ghosts haunt the. Orphan train book book club food unexpected relationships book club parties books to read my books train food library books the incredibles. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
But in interviews, and on her blog, kline says one of the major themes she wanted to tackle. In orphan train, i wanted to write about how traumatic events beyond our control can shape and define our lives. To keep our theme on track, our cohosts served a typical 1930s, minnesotastyle, sunday dinner including all the fixings. Molly uses food as a part of her identity by choosing to be a. One week molly took over the kitchen and made her kind of food. 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. She served as writerinresidence at fordham university from 2007 to 2011 and.
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. My current book club is not that organized, but we do serve something to nibble on while we catch up on life. The goal was to get the kids out of new york and into a more positive environment. 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.
I had no idea that this happened with orphans in america. 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. People who cross the threshold between the known world and that place where the impossible does happen discover the problem of how to convey that experience, the. Orphan train is based on the real orphan train that ran from new york to the midwest from 18541929.
Belonging and connection theme in orphan train litcharts. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Therefore in nine years she hasmoved all of her things twelve times. 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.
Book club kit discussion guide orphan train by christina. 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. Many of those book clubs serve meals, or at least dessert to accompany the discussion. I love when i find a winner with my book club and this is definitely a winner. Orphan train by christina baker kline is a book that has many themes. 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. Niamh pronounced neev was an irish immigrant girl sent on an orphan train from new york city to minnesota in the late 1920s. Most had lived in new york citys streets and slums with little or no hope of a successful future. Read orphan train absolutely for free at readanybook. For a time, i was in a lovely, civilized san francisco dinnerbook club where couples sat down and discussed a book over dinner. 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. Map of united states showing number of orphan train riders in book club books. See more ideas about orphan train, orphan train book and orphan.
Orphan train book club ideas part 1 delicious reads. 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. 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. Molly, quietly introspective, is performing community service, assigned surprisingly for trying to steal a battered paperback from the public library. Belonging and connection molly ayer and vivian daly, two women born in different places and eras and who were orphaned as young children, both. Orphan train meets the standard for range of reading and level of text complexity for grades.
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. To represent this, i made two story maps that connect when the stories collide. In orphan train, christina baker kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. Orphan train book club ideas part 2 delicious reads. 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. 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. A great glass of wine and a good book have gone together almost as long as there have been. Questions every book club asks, the story behind the writing of orphan train, and more. 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. Read anne of green gables if you are looking for a happier, lighter story about orphans.
Everyone in book club hopped on board for orphan train donning either train conductor, engineering or 1930s garb. 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. Sarah burghardt orphan train is a unique book because it tells two stories that come together in the end. Any, or all, of these recipes would be suitable for the book club that focuses on dessert. Portaging in this novel, the theme of portaging takes on both literal and symbolic meanings. Orphan train book club ideas part 1 have you read this incredible story about our history in america. Orphan train by christina baker kline content rating and. 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. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the.
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. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their. The discussion questions in this lesson are designed to help students explore the. 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. The book describes parents looking the kids over like pieces of meat. Orphan train tackles some pretty heavy themes, such as finding family and figuring out your identity. Check out these monthly book club theme ideas to narrow your choices.
Palacio including a sack lunch food swap orphan train bookready player. Bird in hand, the way life should be, desire lines and sweet water. Her vegetarian diet was only one thing about her that her foster parents, especially her impossibletoplease foster mother dina, refused to accept about her. Your book club could also go veggie in honor of molly. For example, both molly and vivian have literally moved many times, taking all of their belongings with them. 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. I do recommend this book, however, due to the disturbing, mature content in certain scenes, only for upper high school students and adults. These questions about the novel can help foster discussion in your group. Dont let the food get in the way of the allimportant ending.
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. The orphan train has several threads for book clubs to discuss. These questions can be used as a guide for annotating the text, journal responses, or discussion. Choosing a book for your book club to read can be challenging.
She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. 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. Buy this book klines absorbing new novel after bird in the hand is a heartfelt pageturner. 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. Orphan train was a mix of favorite childhood books of mine such as anne of green gables, heidi, and understood betsy, and ms. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in orphan train, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. 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. 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. Food ideas for wonder by rj palacio book club food, book club.
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