Orphan Trains: An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose: History) by Elizabeth Raum

Orphan Trains: An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose: History) Reviews

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  sleeps9hours

  Really depressing, I’m glad only my oldest daughter read this one. Somehow the books on war (Revolutionary War, WWII, Boston Massacre) seem more appropriate because the kids feel like the good guys win in the end and there is a lot of broad history to learn.
  
  In this book, while it is fascinating to learn about this little-known piece of history, it felt like too big of an emotional toll in exchange for learning about such a small slice of history (“Hey kids, did you know that 100 years ago there were so many poor kids in New York City whose parents couldn't take care of them that they and their siblings were separated and sent out west to work on farms and be abused and sometimes die? Well, it happened in real life.”)
  
  There are some happy endings of good families and children who went on to be successful and even adopt their own orphans, but it’s a grim read overall. I’m not a very overprotective parent (my 10-year-old read the Hunger Games series), but you might want to preview first.
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  Mo

  Well, now. Where to begin? While the idea of this book is fun - choose your own adventure, these adventures weren't that fun. So I was beaten by my father, my sister died of a fever, my mother died, I was homeless, I was overworked as a farmhand, and my baby sister was lost forever in the system. I actually liked this book and had a sense of humor the whole time. The poor people who sit near me while I am reading this book, "Crap! The baby just died! Let's start over."
  
  So in conclusion, I need to get my hands on another book in the series... Salem Witch Trials choose your own adventure. 😬 Can't wait to burn at the stake.
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  Seth

  Really good and touching, it explains the fear that they would have went through departing with family and friends. 😢
  So good and so touching!
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  Alex

  Very interesting and eye-opening. I thought I knew a little bit about the orphan trains, but "living" it was very different than I expected.
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  Kim Hampton

  A perfect way to teach kids history, by putting them into the story.
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  Kristin Nelson

  Historical choose your own adventure books are a pretty good idea. A variety of experiences packed into all the choices.
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  Erin Reilly-Sanders

  I thought that this adaptation of the choose your own adventure format was actually really really good. It presents the history of the orphan trains that ran from 1854 to 1929 in this interactive format that also helps display the multiplicity of history rather than the singular story that is usually told in historical fiction novels or that overly generic tale in textbooks. The presentation of information is clear and nicely done, beginning with a factual introduction before letting the reader choose one of three paths to follow and concluding with another historical note. The possible endings stick to realism without overly focusing on or ignoring the worst possibilities and the ideal outcomes. The back matter is also excellent, including a timeline, glossary, bibliography, index, reading recommendations, and more ideas on different perspectives. This little volume really packs a lot in and it's representative of the rest of the You Choose Books, I would recommend them hands down.
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  Apzmarshl

  This is a choose your own adventure in which you end up crying at most of the choices.
  This is a great interactive book about a very interesting part of American history. I think it's a fun way for kids to learn. I personally didn't like the format because I really wanted to just read the story.
  Orphan trains ran in the late 1800's until the great depression. Orphaned children were put on trains from New York, headed for the mid west. There, they hoped to find families to care for them.
  I wanted to meet those orphan trains at every stop and take the poor kiddos home with me.
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  Miss Pippi the Librarian

  For the lover of Choose Your Own Adventure Books! You can select three story paths from history. And each story path can lead to different endings for the good or the sad. Reality isn't always rainbows and sunshine. True, the stories aren't real, but they are reality based. The book ends with facts, additional resources and a timeline.
  
  This title was a great follow up to A Hope Undaunted (Winds of Change #1)
  by Julie Lessman.
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  Lisa

  
  This book was a nice story for kids to read about the orphan trains. I did not like the way the book gave you choices with different story lines and different endings. If you followed the directions you would skip all over the book to read it. I would have rather had individual different stories.
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  Amanda Lee

  This is an interesting way to read history. You get to pretend to make choices and see what happened with each choice. I learned a lot about the orphan trains and what happened to unwanted children. This would be a good book to accompany reading Moon Over Manifest by Vanderpool or Orphan Train by Kline to gain more facts about the time period.
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  Gia Ruiz

  My 8 year old had fun with this book. It provided an abbreviated way for him to get a grasp on this slice of history. Also, it helped provide the context for newsies.
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  Mr. George The Librarian

  Enjoyable interactive reading. Plus, it is a unique history than many adults do not know.
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  Emily Peter

  This is a book about the orphan trains from New York in the 19th century. It is also a choose your own adventure type of book so kids can go through multiple stories and see multiple view points. It is very informative and filled with facts.
  
  1. Why were there so many orphans in New York in the mid to late 1800's?
  2. Why did most people only adopt younger children?
  3. What did you choose for your first path? why?
  4. What was your second choice? Why?
  5. Now, go through the story again and make different choices. How did your story end differently?
  
  Raum, E. (2011). Orphan trains: an interactive history adventure. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.