Is the book Orphan Train a true story?
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.
What is Orphan Train based on?
Orphan trains were the brainchild of Charles Loring Brace, a minister who was troubled by the large number of homeless and impoverished children in New York. A massive influx of new immigrants had crowded the city, and a series of financial panics and depressions in the late 19th century created unemployment.
What was the time frame of the orphan train?
between 1853 and 1929
The orphan trains operated between 1853 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children.
Was orphan train made into a movie?
Orphan Train is an American TV movie directed by William Graham which was broadcast on December 22, 1979.
Was the Orphan Train successful?
From 1854 to 1929, hundreds of thousands of abandoned and orphaned children were sent from east coast cities to the American countryside in a “placing out” effort to find them loving homes. The movement boasted an impressive success rate by relocating over 250,000 children to midwestern states.
Where did the children come from on the Orphan Train?
The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest.
Were the orphan trains a good thing?
In the beginning of the Orphan Train Movement, the trains that took children across country were little better than cattle cars and only had make-shift bathroom facilities. The conditions of the train cars improved in later years as more money became available; and in the final years the children rode in sleeping cars.
What kind of book is Orphan Train?
Novel
Historical Fiction
Orphan Train/Genres
This historical novel was well written as the author describes the journeys of many orphaned children in New York City that were sent by train to other states for adoption and the horrific processes these children experienced during the earliest adoption runs.
Was the Orphan Train Good or bad?
It is arguable that The Orphan Train could be seen as a triumph, however; the Orphan Train, when created in the mind’s of its designers, was never met to have an unfavorable outcome. The way Charles Loring Brace and the Children’s Aid Society saw it was that there was no possible way for the Orphan Train to go wrong.
Is Orphan Train girl a movie?
‘Orphan Train’ Movie Adaptation in Works Broad Green Pictures is developing a movie based on the book with Michael London and Janice Williams of Groundswell Prods., whose credits include “Milk” and the upcoming “Trumbo.” Christopher Monger (“Temple Grandin”) is adapting the screenplay.
Where did the orphan trains go?
Orphan trains were sent to 45 states, as well as Canada and Mexico. During the early years, Indiana received the largest number of children. At the beginning of the Children’s Aid Society orphan train program, children were not sent to the southern states, as Brace was an ardent abolitionist.
What is your review of Orphan Train?
Wonderful! Orphan Train is an unfortunate train wreck of generic, formulaic, historical fiction plotting and all the subtlety and nuance of a Mack truck. It’s got a great premise – the orphan trains were a real part of American history.
How many children were transported by the Orphan Train?
Christina Baker Kline notes that the breadth and scope of the orphan train movement transported a reported two hundred and fifty thousand children from the East Coast to the Midwest between 1854 and 1929.
Is Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline a good book?
The main narrative about Vivian, an Orphan Train rider, was excellent. The second narrative of Molly, a teen foster child, is marred by the way the author, Christina Baker Kline, portrays her oppressive foster mom. As a Midwesterner, I was really interested in this book after hearing it featured on NPR.