Wow! What an amazing novel and experience it has been reading this Newberry Award winner for Avi. An incredible story...Avi is an outstanding story teller! What is more amazing however, is his ability to infuse the smallest tidbits of history and culture of the time period of his novel. Set in the late 1800s in NYC, the City of Orphans tells a story of an immigrant family, a story that could be told of possibly thousands of immigrants. From the dialogue, to the descriptive details, to the smallest nuance, the reader of this novel comes away with an incredible wealth of knowledge about this time period that could never have been gleaned in such a way from a history book. An invaluable activity to go along with reading this novel could be to have the students research their own immigrant story of how their ancestors came to America.
Below is a link for a website that describes the top 10 FREE genealogy websites:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-free-genealogy-websites-to-find-ancestors/
Unlike his Crispin series, Avi does not leave many questions unanswered, meaning he tells what eventually happens to each character and doesn't leave the reader guessing.
Although a lengthy read, it's definitely worth the read for any class studying this time period or the following topics:
US Immigration
Tuberculosis Epidemic
Newsboys (Newsies)
New York City during the immigration era
Children during the immigration era
The Great Panic
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