Orphan train summary from litcharts the creators of. 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. How similar can the stories of two orphans, born years apart, be. She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. Orphan train by christina baker kline a 30minute summary. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train table of contents 1. As she helps vivian sort through her possessions and memories, molly learns that they arent as different as they seem to be. Tell me something true orphan train is so beautifully written, and the characters are inspiring. To link to this orphan train important characters page, copy the following code to your.
Mount prospect public library book discussion questions. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly out of juvie and worse. The first concerns a frustrated, angry teen who has been bounced around the foster care system from one uncaring home to another, unloved and generally unwanted. Yes a little reminiscent of that powerful book the nightingale by kristin hannah, however very different in its own right. The orphan train community note includes chapterbychapter summary and. The orphan train community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author. Seventeen years old at the time the novel is set, narration.
When you choose a popular book club book, you can often find a wealth of book discussion questions already written for you. Questions every book club asks, the story behind the writing of orphan train, and more. Adapted and condensed for a young audience, orphan train girl includes an authors note. 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. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Lesson plans and resources for orphan train free library of. To link to this orphan train summary page, copy the. Niamh pronounced neev was an irish immigrant girl sent on an orphan train from new york city to minnesota in the late 1920s. The main character in this novel, vivian daly, traveled from ireland to. The main difference between the two versions, other than length, is the protagonists age. Many books have reading guides at the end of the book that are perfect to use for your book club. During these struggles hugo gets interested and tangled in a mystery involving his automaton left by his dead father. Christina baker klines adapts her bestselling orphan train for young readers with orphan train girl. She is chosen along with twenty other children to join the orphan train that will travel west.
Orphan train christina kline baker flashcards quizlet. I read the original novel for my book club and i may have been the one that. However, it was ruined by a small, and to some, insignificant character and. The two women astrid a jewish woman hiding and sheltered in a circus and noa a younger woman who was cast out from her home in the netherlands when she became pregnant. Orphan train study guide contains a biography of christina baker kline, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Molly ayer is a seventeenyearold girl who lives with her foster parents, ralph and dina thibodeaus, in the town of spruce harbor, maine. 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. Orphan train girl by christina baker kline, paperback. Reading group guide questions provided by the publisher. Hemingford, minnesota, 19401943 spruce harbor, maine, 2011 summary orphan train important characters literature literature summaries. Orphan train girl audiobook by christina baker kline.
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. Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to. Need help on characters in christina baker klines orphan train. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping molly ayer out of juvie and worse. This young listeners edition of christina baker klines new york times bestselling novel orphan train follows a young foster girl who forms an unlikely bond with a 91yearold woman. What message would you like your readers to take away from orphan train. Today, we welcome christina to the blog to discuss her experience with book clubs and the three. Yet the novel has been embraced by readers, especially book clubs. Orphan train is so beautifully written, and the characters are inspiring. Paperback original orphan train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from christina baker kline, author of bird in hand and the way life should be. Orphan train summary orphan train by christina baker kline summary and analysis. Orphan train wreck the book i just read was terrible. Not surprisingly, kline grew interested in how the inner life could survive a lack of external comforts, an idea that sits at the heart of her 20 book, orphan train. Even though dina constantly criticizes molly for her liberal opinions and goth selfpresentation, molly knows that ralph and dina give her a better, safer home than many of her previous foster families.
And many teenage boys and girls went to orphan train sponsoring organizations simply in search of work or a free ticket out of the city. This is a summary of the book and not the original book. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. As an activating strategy, show students the book trailer for the novel. Christina baker kline is a novelist, nonfiction writer and editor. This extremely urban fantasy, a lovehate song to and rallying cry for the authors home of new york, expands her story the city, born great from how long til black future month, 2018 when a great city reaches the point when its ready to come to life, it chooses a human avatar, who guides the city through its birthing and contends with an extradimensional enemy who seeks to. Adapted and condensed for a young audience, orphan train girl includes an authors note and archival photos from the orphan train era. After my book club chose orphan train for our next meetup, i picked up my copy. For example, the defining moment of her life comes when, overwhelmed by grief after the death of her husband, dutchy, she gives her newborn daughter away. Orphan train major character analysis supersummary. 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. Molly, half indian, has stolen a library book and is.
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. Im a huge reader, and if im invested in a character, i wont put down the book. In three sentences, how would you describe your book. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike.
After tragedy, young girl shipped west on orphan train. Examine the way the author uses dialogue and other details to develop dinas character. Learn orphan train with free interactive flashcards. Vivian daly vivians singular characteristic is her selfcontainment. 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. Christina has longed to write a scene in which she clarifies vivians motivations. Book club kit discussion guide orphan train by christina. Penobscot indian molly ayer is close to aging out out of the foster care system. Each and every character was straight out of central casting. Molly ayer has been in foster care since she was eight years old. One thing that ive learned in my research is that every immigrant group that. Hugo is an orphan boy who works on the clocks and is trying to survive while hiding from the relentless yet clumsy and stupid railway inspector in the train station in paris in the 1930s.
Vivian is one of the two main characters in the book. Choose from 212 different sets of orphan train flashcards on quizlet. The term orphan trains is also misleading because a substantial number of the placedout children never took the railroad to their new homes, or even traveled very far. The orphan s tale by pam jenoff was a very moving read. Orphan train summary orphan train quiz orphan train spruce harbor, maine, 2011 union station, chicago, 1929 quiz. In the prologue vivian mentions that her true love died when she was 23, but she doesnt mention the other big secret in the book. This is not the actual book orphan train by christina baker kline.
Weekends and summers, the family pumped water, read by candlelight, used an outhouse, and stayed warm with only a stone fireplace. From what i understand, the only difference is that the age of the main character, molly, is made to be in. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. A novel christina baker kline, 20 harpercollins 278 pp. After tragedy, young girl shipped west on orphan train christina baker klines new novel incorporates a true piece of american history. The orphan s tale, by pam jenoff pam jenoffs new novel follows two women who sign on with a german traveling circus and. This 38page guide for orphan train by christina baker kline includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 7 parts, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. The orphan train by christina baker kline questions. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. Find out in this lesson, which will go over a summary of orphan train by christina baker kline and discuss one of the major themes. Orphan train characters from the creators of sparknotes. The orphan train community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you.
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