The Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time-Travel Adventure (Time Travel Adventures)

Had to read this book with my 4th grader for a book report. We both really enjoyed the book.

I wish this author had written more historical fiction books! My kids and I feel like we relived history rather than just reading about it!!

This is a great book. This story takes place in two different time periods and places. The story starts and ends in present day New York City. However, the main story takes place in Italy in1806. The amount of time that passes is about 2 weeks. The real action takes place in Italy. The mood of the story is exciting with adventure built in. I enjoyed reading the story and was happy at the end of the story. Dominic was mostly happy until the end because he was sad to leave Italy. I think the author chose this mood to keep people reading the book. The main characters are Dominic ,Francesco ,Salvatore, and Antonio. The supporting characters are Father Tomaso,and Sigonora Giasullo. Dominic is an orphan and is very shy,he is eleven years old and wears a t-rex t-shrit and khaki shorts. Francesco is eleven, he wears ripped shorts and a dirty t-shirt like his brothers, who are 7 and 9. Salvatore the 9 year old brother always wanted to be a cowboy but saddly never got to.Their major problem, as orphans, is not having any food. This problem was resolved by the boys leaving Italy. My favorite part was Dominic meeting the brothers. I would not change any part of this book. I would recommend this book to my friends.

Great quality

Loved this book. Used it with a group of fourth graders as part of our Immigration unit. We started reading it at the end of the year and the kids were so worried we wouldn't finish before summer vacation. They actually BEGGED to have reading everyday. Some parts were a little confusing to them so we had excellent lessons on rereading to confirm information. This book lent itself perfectly to predicting. The kids were so excited about what would happen next, they were interrupting our reading to make their predictions. An aspect that I really loved was the historical accuracy of the immigration process. Since we had nearly finished our Immigration unit when I discovered this book, the kids had lots of background knowledge about the process through nonfiction sources. This historical fiction book gave them a new perspective through the eyes of a character they became very attached to. Highly recommend this book for use during Immigration studies.

[Spoiler Alert - review tells plot]: The Orphan of Ellis Island is a story about an orphan boy who falls asleep on a field trip to Ellis Island and wakes up in 1908 Italy where he meets three brothers who are his great grandfather and great uncles. Dominic experiences their emigration to America on the long voyage across the Atlantic and learns of their hopes and fears for a new life in America after leaving extreme poverty behind in their small Italian village. Among his many realizations about his past and his ancestors, Dominic learns to appreciate his life in America and his opportunities thanks to the sacrifices of his great grandfather and great uncles. I like this book because it teaches a lot about the struggles of immigrants coming to America in hope of a better life through a fictional tale that weaves historical lessons into an interesting story. - Calvin Volkmann

This is a children's book written for middle school age. It gives a very nice contrast between the struggles of a modern foster child in New York and immigrant children from a century earlier. Interesting for the genealogist - young or old, and to help understand the struggles of our ancestors.

Trying to keep the kids off the PCs, so bought this book which recommended by 4th grade teacher for my kids and their friend to read to get them off the PCs and tablets for a bit. Great book - good history lesson and fun!