The King of Mulberry Street

Napoli, Donna Jo

3.91

799 ratings by Goodreads

9780385908900: The King of Mulberry Street

ISBN 10: 0385908903 ISBN 13: 9780385908900

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books, 2005

In 1892, nine-year-old Dom’s mother puts him on a ship leaving Italy, bound for America. He is a stowaway, traveling alone and with nothing of value except for a new pair of shoes from his mother. In the turbulent world of homeless children in Manhattan’s Five Points, Dom learns street smarts, and not only survives, but thrives by starting his own business. A vivid, fascinating story of an exceptional boy, based in part on the author’s grandfather.
From the Hardcover edition.

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About the Author:

Donna Jo Napoli is the author of many distinguished books for young readers, among them Daughter of Venice, Crazy Jack, The Magic Circle, Zel, Sirena, and Stones in Water. She has a B.A. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in Romance linguistics from Harvard University and has taught widely at major universities in America and abroad. She lives with her family in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where she is a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College.
From the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8–When Beniamino, a nine-year-old Jewish boy from Napoli, is smuggled aboard a cargo ship heading to America in 1892, he assumes his mother is onboard, too. Soon realizing that Mamma isn't with him, he makes the best of his plight, but his goal is to return home as soon as possible. Landing at Ellis Island, he evades good-hearted people who would send him to an orphanage and patrones who would put him to work begging on street corners. Assuming the name Dom Napoli, he sleeps in barrels and under bushes, and he quickly learns the lessons of the street: think fast, watch what's going on, and find friends who will help you. With the aid of two other streetwise urchins, he sets up a profitable sandwich business and eventually realizes that he likes New York and that his mother sent him there to make a better life for himself. The major characters are believable, and the minor ones–especially Mamma, landlady Signora Esposito, and grocer Grandinetti–are also wonderfully drawn, adding liveliness to the book. Though Napoli is an expert at gripping readers' emotions, which she does with consummate skill in this tale, the story occasionally lags as the boys figure out how to be successful in their chosen enterprise. Still, this richly imagined tale, based loosely on the author's family history, paints a vivid picture of the struggle many children faced when they first came to America.–Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
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