Orphan Train

Verla Kay's "Orphan Train" is a historical picture book that uses gentle rhyming text and evocative illustrations to tell the story of three siblings who lose their parents and are sent West on an orphan train. It sensitively introduces young readers to a significant period in American history, the Orphan Train Movement, where thousands of children were relocated from crowded Eastern cities to rural areas. The narrative focuses on the children's experience of loss, the journey, and the bittersweet hope of finding new families, even if it means being separated from each other. It's an excellent resource for discussing themes of family, resilience, and historical social welfare.

Illustrations and rhyming text tell the story of a sister and two brothers who become orphans, are taken in, and make a journey aboard an orphan train to separate new homes.