Orphan Runaways - Softcover

Gregory, Kristiana

4.15

52 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590603671 ISBN 13: 9780590603676

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2004

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When twelve-year-old Danny and six-year-old Judd lose their parents to pneumonia in 1878, they are sent to an orphanage in San Francisco. The headmaster wants to separate the brothers and send them to different families, but because they have only each other they escape. They make their way to the dangerous mining camp of Bodie, California in the High Sierras to be with their Uncle Hank. A tenderhearted croupier named Madame Mustache takes them under her wing, along with other orphans roaming the raucous town. When the boys find their Uncle Hank and learn he's involved with a Chinese woman, they realize life with him won't be what they had expected. Then Judd becomes sick, and Danny must decide if he's willing to set aside his prejudice to have a real family again.

Historical fiction at its finest: short chapters & high adventure for reluctant readers. Great for classrooms studying California history; highly recommended by 4th grade teachers.

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About the Author:

Kristiana Gregory has published more than 30 children's book with Scholastic, Harcourt and Holiday House, and has now ventured into self-publishing with her memoir BLUE SKIES: ONE AUTHOR'S JOURNEY, due Spring 2015. She grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, two blocks from the beach and she always loved to make up stories, telling her younger siblings whoppers that would leave them wide-eyed. Her first rejection letter at age eleven was for a poem she wrote in class when she was supposed to be doing a math assignment. She's had a myriad of odd jobs: telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer & columnist for the LA Times. Kristiana's award-winning novels include JENNY OF THE TETONS, which earned the SCBWI Golden Kite Award. Set in 1876, it tells the story of the Shoshone Indian and her fur-trapper husband, Beaver Dick Leigh. Jenny Lake and Leigh Lake in Wyoming are named after this couple. STALKED: DANGER AND FURY, ELLIS ISLAND 1912 won the 2012 Gold Medal for Young Adult Mystery from Literary Classics and is hailed as "historical fiction with a thrilling twist." KIRKUS says it "will thrill YA readers ... with insightful details about the immigration process and New York tenements in the early 1900s." Her most recent title with Scholastic's Dear America series is CANNONS AT DAWN, a sequel to the best-selling THE WINTER OF RED SNOW, which was made into a movie for the HBO Family Channel. Her Royal Diary, CLEOPATRA VII: DAUGHTER OF THE NILE, was also an HBO movie. New re-releases in e-books & paperback on Amazon: JIMMY SPOON AND THE PONY EXPRESS PRAIRIE RIVER SERIES ORPHAN RUNAWAYS: THE PERILOUS ESCAPE TO BODIE CABIN CREEK MYSTERIES BRONTE'S BOOK CLUB. Set in a town by the sea, five girls read Scott O'Dell's ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, finding parallels in their lives and that of the main character, Karana, the Chumash Indian who lived alone on San Nicholas Island during the 1800s. NUGGET: THE WILDEST, MOST HEARTBREAKIN'EST MINING TOWN IN THE WEST (formerly titled "My Darlin' Clementine."). This riveting historical mystery set in an Idaho mining camp of 1866, was Idaho's choice for the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Library of Congress. Kristiana and her husband have two adult sons, and live in Idaho with their two golden retrievers. In her spare time she loves to swim, hike, read & hang out with friends.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6?In 1878 California, Danny and Judd run away from the orphanage and head for the mining town of Bodie, looking for their uncle and hoping he will give them a home. When Uncle Hank turns up and proves to be involved with a Chinese-American woman, 12-year-old Danny buys into the prevalent anti-Chinese sentiment and delays the melding of a new family. While the plot has possibilities, neither the descriptions of the boys' actions nor the occasional dialogue provide much insight into their personalities and the characters don't come to life. The period is well researched, but the historical information sometimes seem tacked on. Children read that "like many of the other men, [Uncle Hank] was gradually growing deaf from the noise and from the beeswax melting into his eardrums," but at a critical point Uncle Hank is quick to hear pounding on his window and never in any scene exhibits hearing loss. Perhaps most unsettling of all, given the unmistakable anti-prejudice message, is the turning point that brings Danny to accept the love offered him. When his brother is critically ill, he goes to his uncle and aunt because "he'd heard how Chinese have healing ways and he'd seen her bottles of herbs." The use of a stereotype at the apex of the plot weakens the theme. All in all, this title is much less compelling than Gregory's The Winter of Red Snow (Scholastic, 1996).?Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library District, Elgin, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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