Rodzina
A Polish Girl Travels on an Orphan Train across the U.S. in 1881.
Rodzina is a fictional story about a twelve-year-old Polish orphan girl and her journey from Chicago across the United States on an orphan train in 1881.
Synopsis
Rodzina is a historical fictional story about twelve-year-old Rodzina Clara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski and her journey from Chicago across the United States on an orphan train in 1881. Karen Cushman, author and Newberry Medalist, skillfully weaves together two stories in this historical work for young people - one about Rodzina and the other about orphan trains in the U.S. at the turn of the 19th century.
The heroine in Cushman's story is named for the inscription, Rodzina Czerwinski, on the gravestone of what Cushman thought was her great-grandmother's grave. Cushman visited the Chicago cemetery, location of the gravestone, as a child with her grandmother. In checking with her father while writing this story, to make sure spelling was accurate, she found out that Rodzina really meant family. What Cushman had visited with her grandmother was really the resting place of the family Czerwinski. However, Cushman liked the name so much she kept it as the name for her main character anyway.
Part 1
Twelve-year-old Polish Rodzina, orphaned by the death of both parents and her siblings, is large for her age, standoffish, and to her mind's eye unattractive. in her quest for knowledge and in asking questions, she has a direct way of approaching adults that leaves them uncomfortable. However, the young children on the train, much to her dismay, flock to her for protection, warmth and a sense of belonging.
Rodzina is not only a keen observer of her surroundings, but she also possesses a lively sense of imagination that she uses to concoct stories that mesmerize the younger children. She incorporates memories of her parents - to whom she often "talks" - and Poland into her stories. It is through these memories and stories that we can glimpse a look at what it must have been like for immigrant (Polish) children. Rodzina also believes she does not need to be adopted; she can take care of herself! And yet, like any adolescent, she wants to be appreciated, accepted and loved. She won't admit that she wants a family! The book's ending is a surprise.
Part 2
In her author's notes, Cushman provides background about the turn of the 19th century orphan train movement and her rationale for choosing this subject. Here, she explains the attitude of the times toward needy children: It was thought that hard work in the clean air of the west would offer children a better chance to live happy and productive lives.
This then is the backdrop for Rodzina - Cushman's 1881 account of a representative orphan train as it travels from Chicago to California. The orphan train movement developed from 1850 to 1929 as a response to the problems of poor orphaned and abandoned urban children. "Placing-out" agencies, such as the private N.Y. City Children's Aid Society, sent or "placed" nearly 250,000 of these children from eastern American slums and the Midwest on trains to the West. At each stop along the way - Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming Territory, Utah Territory, Nevada and California - the children would be lined up and inspected. They were then either adopted, employed or rejected.
The author's notes also quote again the rationale of the times toward children from the 1853 published summary of the Children's Aid Society's mission …homeless waifs (found) themselves in comfortable homes, with all the boundless advantages and opportunities of the Western farmer's life about them.
In her author's notes, Cushman cites a dozen books and one television program about orphan trains. She also provides a Polish pronunciation guide. This is an exceptionally good book. Adolescents will enjoy it and even adults will like it.
- Edition Reviewed: Paperback, 224 pages, ISBN-10: 044041993X;
- Publisher: Yearling (January 11, 2005);
- Language: English;
- Reading level: Ages 9-12 (grades 4 through 7).
- Availability: Hardcover, paperback, audiocassette and audio CD editions.
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2007. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
