Christina Baker Kline, NYT Best Selling author of Orphan Train, visited the community of Woodstock, CT in February. Coordinator Deb Sharpe: “Her presentation was loved by everyone. I have gotten several positive emails from our patrons already! I would highly recommend her to any library. Thanks for your help in getting her here!”
We recently sat down with New York Times bestselling author, Christina Baker Kline. Her novel Orphan Train is about a young Irish immigrant who, as a child, is sent away from New York on a train that regularly transported unwanted and abandoned children from the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest. Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience. The novel (which is the authors fifth work of fiction) was selected as a Target book club pick, has held steady on 5 national bestseller lists, and has just gone to print for the fifth time!
Christina Baker Kline’s best-selling novel, Orphan Train is among the most popular book club picks in the nation, according to bookmovement.com, a website that tracks trends and provides book ideas for book clubs around the country. Orphan Train is the story of a young Irish immigrant who, as a child, is sent away from New York on a train that regularly transported unwanted and abandoned children from the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest. Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience. The novel (which is the authors fifth work of fiction) was selected as a Target book club pick, has held steady on 5 national bestseller lists, and has just gone to print for the fifth time. Orphan Train makes a terrific Common Reads Selection, and Christina is a terrific presenter.
Christina Baker Kline knits together the past and present. Most of us have no idea about the real orphan trains, and their fascinating historical origins. In a recent TV interview, Christina Baker Kline describes how children were taken from their homes to be transported thousands of miles to new homes in the midwest. She reveals interesting details (redheaded children were banned from the orphan trains for more than a decade!) and describes her research process.
