Kline's book is fictional, but it's based on the very true history of thousands of children shipped to the Midwest. Kline joins NPR's Rachel Martin to discuss the history of the trains, how young girls were often passed over by families and the most surprising fact she learned from train riders.
Apr 11, 2013
People also ask
Is The orphan train based on a true story?
Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story is about Lee Nailling, whose mother died when he was seven. Lee and a younger brother, Leo, were placed in an orphanage. Two years later, along with yet another brother, the boys were sent west on an orphan train.
Is orphan train fiction or nonfiction?
His historical non-fiction book, "Orphan Trains," was about the 250,000 homeless children transported out of American cities and placed with families in the rural West from 1854 to 1929.
Does the orphan train still exist?
Other organizations quickly adopted Brace's system, and for nearly 80 years, children migrated across the country to find new homes. Finally, in 1929, amidst growing objections and changing welfare systems, the orphan train movement came to an end. FAQs – All your basic questions, answered!
Are there any orphan train children still alive?
I found that approximately 145 orphan train riders are still alive in the United States; orphan-train reunions are still being held in towns across the Midwest.
Every detail this book is rooted in history, but Vivian – the train rider in my novel – goes on a journey that is entirely her own. It isn't until a rebellious ...
The co-founders of the Orphan Train movement claimed that these children were orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless, but this was not always true. They were ...
Oct 14, 2022 · A heart wrenching true story of a young boy and his brothers, and their journey across the country to their new lives. Patricia Timmermans.
Almost everything that happened in Orphan Train actually happened to someone in real life (including, for example, the story of the boy who was traded by a ...
When it reached a small town in Texas, the youngest brother was quickly chosen by a couple who took him away. Lee and Leo went home together with an elderly ...
The orphan train movement was started by Charles Loring Brace and his organization, the Children's Aid Society. Brace recognized the inadequacy of New York's ...
Oct 21, 2020 · The Orphan Trains operated prior to the federal government's involvement in child protection and child welfare. While they operated, Orphan ...
Jan 31, 2017 · In 1906, a 13-year-old orphan named Emily (Reese) Kidder boarded a train in New York City bound for the Midwest with the hope of being adopted ...