April 18, 2004

I now have a library card for Rochdale Village, Queens Library. Which is pretty good. I can walk to it, since it's in Rochdale Village-Second Largest Co-op in the world, and the co-op in which I live.

I decided to get two books on Orphan Train Children. They are fictional Historic books. I really liked the first one I read. About a girl named Aggie.

Aggie abandoned, in NJ. And ended up in a Asylum for waifs (orphans). Where she was mistreated, but then got to go on the Orphan train and was eventually adopted by a neat and corky family. Along the way it is a pretty interesting story. Even though the actual story was only a little over 80 pages. Then there was some real Orphan train pictures, and documentation after the story to educate you a little more on the history of the Orphan trains, how many children from these trains were placed in each of the states out west, and how it really helped some of these homeless children that NYC was over filled with, from so many immigrants working in poor conditions and dieing from those conditions leaving their children orphans with no other family to care for them since their families were still in their home countries. It was a sad situation, but I never knew how important these orphan trains were to so many thousands of children needing homes. And how the book explains that there were rules that he adoption parents had to follow, such as treating them as family members, and they actually had people come and check on the children to make sure these rules were being followed. I never knew that there was that much care involved. I had always thought that it was a much worse situation, and that children were torn from their parents by welfare for these orphan trains. I am not saying it wasn't a bad enough situation it was terribly bad for these poor children I'm sure. It was just a different experience then what I had knew of them. Of course I have never read a book about it, I've only heard about them on Unsolved Mysteries. And of course this book could be giving a slanted out look on it too. But, from the books view point. It was a good thing for most the children, even though of course some of them probably did fall through the cracks, it was better then living on the streets, homeless in NYC.

So sad in any situation though. And it will be so good when Jehovah takes these kinds of miseries away.

Any way I give the book. A high grade, in education, as well as being able to follow the story and keeping my interest. I finished the whole book in one, two hour session. And thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like any of the Dear America series books, this series is very close to it and would probably also interests you.

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