A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures) [Paperback]

Joan Lowery Nixon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Orphan Train Adventures

When their mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri in 1860.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This first book of the Orphan Train Quartet tells the story of Frances Mary, 13, eldest of the six Kelly children. Life in New York's grim 19th century slums consists of hardship for the poor but honest Kelly clan. When widowed Mrs. Kelly feels that she is no longer capable of providing for her children, she sends them west on the Orphan Train, to be adopted by farm families. Frances masquerades as a boy in order to be adopted with Petey, the brother she promised her mother she would protect. The practical difficulties Frances faces in maintaining this disguise are handled in an amusing and thoughtful manner. Since Frances and Petey are adopted by a couple with strong abolitionist sympathies, it should come as no surprise that Frances, just days after her arrival on the farm, finds herself helping two runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. Though the plot is predictable and sometimes overly sentimental, and the Kelly family lapses into stilted Irish syntax, the rapid succession of high-spirited adventures make for lively reading. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 First of a projected quartet of orphan stories, each about a member of the same family of children transported by orphan train from New York to St. Joseph, Missouri, and surrounding areas. A kind of period piece, circa 1860, A Family Apart has a distinct Horatio Alger tone. Well constructed incidents, including the widowed mother giving up her children so they can be sent west to find a better life, a grass fire set by sparks from the train, and a holdup of the train contribute to fast action and considerable suspenseparticularly about the oldest girl, Frances, who disguises herself as a boy so she can better help her brothers and sisters. An Orphan for Nebraska (Atheneum, 1979) by Charlene Joy Talbot is a similar orphan train story, but about one boy. Patricia Beatty's That's One Ornery Orphan (Morrow, 1980) is more humorous but less of a saga. What happened to orphans and street children of the last century may well appeal to many of today's children who hear so much about street children and abducted and deserted kids. George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (December 18, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440226767
• ISBN-13: 978-0440226765
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.5 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Orphans & Foster Homes

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Phenomenal Book for Readers of All Ages!, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures) (Paperback)

This book has got to be one of my favorites. My fifth grade teacher read the whole series to us that year. the other books in the series are as followes- 1) A Family Apart, 2)Caught in the Act, 3) In the face of Danger, 4)A Place to Belong, 5) A Dangerous Promise, 6) Keeping Secrets, and 7)Circle of Love. There is also a series called the Orpan Train Children which is based on the book Circle of love. the books in that series are as follows 1)Lucy's Wish, 2)Wills Choice, 3)Aggie's Home, and 4)David's Search. I hope u enjoy all of these books as much as i have

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Novel! One You Must Look Into!, January 21, 2004

By 

Alexander Nordquist (Cary, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures) (Paperback)

My mom bought me the orphan train adventures series a long time ago, and I never really read them because I wasn't that much into reading. But now, after I read this book, I am reading all the stories in this series 30 minutes a day! This would really be a good book to read.

The story is about a 13 year old girl named Frances Mary Kelly who lives with her mom and her brothers and sisters named Megan, Mike, Danny, Peg and Petey. The family is very poor and the mother realizes that she cannot afford to keep all of them. So, to solve that problem she sends them on an orphan train to live in the west with more wealthy families. Each of the children gets separated into different families and the second part of the story tells how Frances and Petey get along with their new family. I thought that the story was very interesting and when I finished one chapter I was so curious that I had to read more than one. What I also liked about the book was that it was very easy to understand what is happening. I have read many other books including Harry Potter where there are so many things that are happening at once that it's just to hard to keep track of everything so that's another good point of the story.

The other books in this series include: Caught In the Act, In the Face Of Danger, A Place To Belong, A Dangerous Promise, Keeping Secrets and Circle Of Love. The other books tell you the stories of the other kids and I also recommend them.

This was one of the best books I have read so far and I am going to read the whole series!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Family Apart, September 23, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures) (Paperback)

This was really a great book. It had a interesting plot. It lagged only once when Frances,the oldest,did something for her job requering going on the streets. I thought it was page turrning when the children were being seperated. I liked the fact that the charicters were going through such in intence situation that i could never relate. I will warn you that I think the book "stops short". I wouldn't let that stop you from reading it. Infact I read it in the car dispite the fact it made me car sick. I recomened this to anyone who likes books on slavery or the west. I congradulate Joan Lowery Nixion on a job well done!