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misspippireads's review against another edition
4.0
Are you familiar with orphan trains? Children from New York (or other big cities) were sent out West to live "better lives" with families and big open spaces. Yet, many children were fearful of the unknown.
Jack, Frances, and Harold were a couple of children sent out to Kansas on an orphan train. They didn't want to leave, but they couldn't escape their traveling fate. After hearing awful orphan stories on the train, they decide to "jump ship" in the middle of Kansas. They meet up with another orphan named Alexander who gives them a new look at life in the prairie wilderness.
When I began reading this story, I thought it would be historical fiction mixed with fantasy. I was completely wrong. The magic of Wanderville and the letdown was realized at the same moment as Jack, Frances, and Harold. It was rather ironic and heartening to relate so well to the characters. Just as the children came to grips with their new situation, I knew that this wouldn't be a fantasy story, but reality (albeit in history). Don't let the knowledge of no fantasy elements steer you away from reading Wanderville!
McClure mixes historical fiction with a kid's today approach. The book is set in history, but the children face many emotions and circumstances that kids' today can encounter. The emotions of loss, fear, hope, friendship, and survival are very relate-able to today's audience. The theme of overcoming circumstances is largely woven throughout the text in different ways, but not overpowering. The story ends with a gentle cliffhanger - one that will have readers imagining what's going to happen next. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in 2014!
I think this story would be very appropriate for 3-6 graders. The author offers many different situations that can open the floor to great classroom, book club, or family discussions.
Reviewed from an Edelweiss copy. Thank you, Razorbill!
Jack, Frances, and Harold were a couple of children sent out to Kansas on an orphan train. They didn't want to leave, but they couldn't escape their traveling fate. After hearing awful orphan stories on the train, they decide to "jump ship" in the middle of Kansas. They meet up with another orphan named Alexander who gives them a new look at life in the prairie wilderness.
When I began reading this story, I thought it would be historical fiction mixed with fantasy. I was completely wrong. The magic of Wanderville and the letdown was realized at the same moment as Jack, Frances, and Harold. It was rather ironic and heartening to relate so well to the characters. Just as the children came to grips with their new situation, I knew that this wouldn't be a fantasy story, but reality (albeit in history). Don't let the knowledge of no fantasy elements steer you away from reading Wanderville!
McClure mixes historical fiction with a kid's today approach. The book is set in history, but the children face many emotions and circumstances that kids' today can encounter. The emotions of loss, fear, hope, friendship, and survival are very relate-able to today's audience. The theme of overcoming circumstances is largely woven throughout the text in different ways, but not overpowering. The story ends with a gentle cliffhanger - one that will have readers imagining what's going to happen next. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in 2014!
I think this story would be very appropriate for 3-6 graders. The author offers many different situations that can open the floor to great classroom, book club, or family discussions.
Reviewed from an Edelweiss copy. Thank you, Razorbill!
inkstndfngrs's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, this was a solid, enjoyable read. However, I didn't care for the open end. Too many questions or possibilities left open for my own liking. I would however still recommend the book to others.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
A little fantastical kids-run-it-all-grown-ups-are-villainous book set at the start of the 20th century in NYC/on an orphan train/in Kansas. We're considering having the author in for a visit at our library, so I gave it a quick read. Cute, and kids will like it.
yapha's review
4.0
Frances has been taking care of her younger brother Harold since their mother disappeared five years before. Jack is wracked with guilt when his older brother is killed in a fire that he survives. Due to a variety of circumstances, the three of them find themselves on the same Orphan Train heading to Kansas. Worried about all of the rumors they have been hearing about what waits for them at the end of the line, as well as Frances being concerned that she will be split up from Harold, the three kids jump from the train just before it reaches the final station. Although wandering on the prairie still seems like a better alternative, they are relieved when they meet Alexander, who takes them to his campsite named Wanderville. Together, the four of them set out to survive on their own, without getting caught by the sheriff. An exciting, though not necessarily realistic, look at the Orphan Trains and life on the prairie. The first in a new series. Recommended for grades 3-5.
saragrochowski's review against another edition
5.0
WANDERVILLE is set in the 1900s and introduces readers to Frances, Harold, and Jack, three kids from New York bound for Kansas on an orphan train. Frances and her little brother Harold have been living in horrible conditions since their Aunt Mare abandoned them. Both hope for a better life out West, though Frances is skeptical of the fate that awaits them. Jack, not technically an orphan, has been sent away by his destitute parents after the loss of his older brother in a tragic factory fire. The three meet aboard the train, where Jack comes to Harold rescue as he's being picked on by a bully. Jack and Frances are both convinced nothing good awaits them in Kansas, so they hatch a plan to escape the train and make their way back to New York. Dodging the local sheriff, the three escape. Beginning their trek back east, the three runaways literally stumble across Alexander, another escaped orphan. Alexander confirms their fears: nothing good was waiting at the end of their cross-country train ride. But, Alex explains, he has the perfect place for Frances, Jack, and Harold to live. A safe place. A place with no adults. A place all their own. A place where kids like them are always welcome. Wanderville. Population: 4. Everything is perfect until Harold is captured by the worst people imaginable, the Pratcherds, the very family Alex has escaped from. Now Frances, Jack, and Alex must rescue Harold, without getting caught themselves.
Creativity and resilience, key themes found within Wendy McClure's newest novel, play a large part in the creation of Wanderville. The town, at first glance, might not seem like much, but if you look closely, it starts to take shape. Built with bits and pieces, and no small amount of imagination, the town has everything our four runaways need: food stores (restocked frequently by "liberating" items from the nearby town, right under the sheriff's nose), a safe place to sleep (both a remarkably comfy area on the ground and hammocks), room to make their own decisions (the courtroom is a great place to determine the laws of Wanderville), and the freedom to explore and play (plus determine how they'll take on the sheriff if he tracks them down). After all the hardship these four kids have endured, Wanderville is a refuge. A place where no adult can hurt or betray them, a place entirely their own.
WANDERVILLE allows young readers to learn about and explore history, specifically the realities of orphan trains and the harsh lives of young children in the early 1900s, while allowing them to embark on an adventure with plucky characters their own age that they'll find easy to relate to. Readers will easily compare their lives to those of Frances, Jack, and Harold, finding both similarities and differences. The characters in WANDERVILLE deal with bullies, love their siblings, enjoy reading and learning, etc, all things kids today can easily relate to. But there are notable differences too: Jack works in a factory under harsh conditions, Frances and Harold are briefly taken in many times before being abandoned, and all three are shipped across the country where they are promised a better life, but where a fate of a hard life as cheap labor awaits them.
A fantastic new historically set adventure, readers are sure to love both the adventure and history included in WANDERVILLE. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for Frances, Jack, Alex, and Harold in the next part of their story, slated for a fall 20114 release.
Creativity and resilience, key themes found within Wendy McClure's newest novel, play a large part in the creation of Wanderville. The town, at first glance, might not seem like much, but if you look closely, it starts to take shape. Built with bits and pieces, and no small amount of imagination, the town has everything our four runaways need: food stores (restocked frequently by "liberating" items from the nearby town, right under the sheriff's nose), a safe place to sleep (both a remarkably comfy area on the ground and hammocks), room to make their own decisions (the courtroom is a great place to determine the laws of Wanderville), and the freedom to explore and play (plus determine how they'll take on the sheriff if he tracks them down). After all the hardship these four kids have endured, Wanderville is a refuge. A place where no adult can hurt or betray them, a place entirely their own.
WANDERVILLE allows young readers to learn about and explore history, specifically the realities of orphan trains and the harsh lives of young children in the early 1900s, while allowing them to embark on an adventure with plucky characters their own age that they'll find easy to relate to. Readers will easily compare their lives to those of Frances, Jack, and Harold, finding both similarities and differences. The characters in WANDERVILLE deal with bullies, love their siblings, enjoy reading and learning, etc, all things kids today can easily relate to. But there are notable differences too: Jack works in a factory under harsh conditions, Frances and Harold are briefly taken in many times before being abandoned, and all three are shipped across the country where they are promised a better life, but where a fate of a hard life as cheap labor awaits them.
A fantastic new historically set adventure, readers are sure to love both the adventure and history included in WANDERVILLE. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for Frances, Jack, Alex, and Harold in the next part of their story, slated for a fall 20114 release.
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