David's Search

Orphan Train Children #4

by Joan Lowery Nixon

History comes alive in this entertaining and educational series for readers ages 7-11, written by the beloved author of the Orphan Train Adventures.

David Howard has been living on the streets of New York City so long he can barely remember his parents. Through the Children's Aid Society, he finds a new home with the Bauer family in Missouri. But farm life isn't easy, especially for a boy who's never seen a cow before.

Luckily, the Bauers' hired hand, Amos, an ex-slave, comes to David's rescue. When an unexpected danger threatens Amos, David wants to help his friend. But how can an 11-year-old boy help a grown man?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Author of more than one hundred books, Joan Lowery Nixon is the only writer to have won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Juvenile Mysteries (and been nominated several other times) from the Mystery Writers of America. Creating contemporary teenage characters who have both a personal problem and a mystery to solve, Nixon captured the attention of legions of teenage readers since the publication of her first YA novel more than twenty years ago. In addition to mystery/suspense novels, she wrote nonfiction and fiction for children and middle graders, as well as several short stories. Nixon was the first person to write novels for teens about the orphan trains of the nineteenth century. She followed those with historical novels about Ellis Island and, more recently for younger readers, Colonial Williamsburg. Joan Lowery Nixon died on June 28, 2003—a great loss for all of us.

Reviews

[Mamiko · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was the same type of books I used to read (just a few years ago) that's part of a series about orphaned children who were transplanted to the western part of the U.S. to be adopted. I prefer novels that use the form of a diary, but this was interesting enough. For kids younger than middle school, I think. It depicts an interesting period of the U.S. history.

[Max D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphan Train Children David’s Search
By Joan Lowery Nixon
This story is about David, who is an orphan. He used to live on the streets of New York City with his friend named Mickey.Mickey brought David to the children's aid society because he wanted him to have a better life. David was a homeless child and was sent on a orphan train and met his new parents Mrs and Mr Bauer who lived in Missouri. They are very strict parents and want him to do lots of chores and don’t let him have any snacks only 3 meals a day and clothing and shelter.He enjoyed working on the farm and met a few good friends that were colored. David also learned that some people do not like colored people. At the end of the book Amos David's friend has to run away from the klu klux klan. I thought this was a good book and I would rate this ⅘ because l wish it would be more pages and you would learn about the klan.

[Andy Kavanaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of my book was David's Search by Joan Lowry Nixon. The publisher is Delacorte Press. The book was copyrighted in 1998. The book is about a boy, David, who is an orphan living on the streets of New York City. Life is rough and he lives very scared and alone. His best friend is Mickey who is also an orphan. Mickey tells David about an organization where orphan children go out west to be placed with a real family. Mickey tells david that he needs to go because life out west with a real family would be much better than what he is facing in New York City. David listens to Mickey and goes out west. David meets his new family, the Bauers, and he thinks they are rude people who only adopted him so he could be a farmhand on their farm. The upside is that David gets his own room and plenty of good home-cooked meals, something he never received in NYC. The Bauers' head hired man takes a likin' to David. He is a black man named Amos. Amos had been working the Bauers' land for sometime. Soon the Ku Klux Klan forms an organization right there in Harwood, David's new town. As the KKK begins to threaten Amos, David becomes worried and tries to protect him. One night David and Amos are laying under the stars and David tells him to move out west because there is no Klan out there and he would live a better life. Amos listens to him and leaves just as the Klan comes to the house to hang him. Amos gets away free and the story ends happily ever after.
Activities:
1.) A follow up activity for this book could be that the teacher could tell the students to put themselves in David's position and what they would do if they were in his shoes. This lets the students review what they have learned in the book and lets them be creative to change the story with them in it.
2.) The teacher could go over why the Klan was formed and what their purpose was and why they did what they did. The teacher could explain that after the civil war was over this group was formed because some people wanted the south to remain how it was before the war had began so, because of this, these people hated people with dark skin.

[Courtney Kleefeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my first books outside the Boxcar children that I chose to read myself, years ago. The word "orphan" must have made me want to read it. I loved books about orphans.
I reread it recently to see if it was as good as I remembered. It meant more to me then. The words were bigger to me then. The book is small now. But the story still represents to me a piece of my childhood nostalgia.
There's something amazing about reading a book about an orphan when you yourself have parents to run to for comfort. It makes you want to be stronger. I was fascinated by the idea of children growing up in a totally different way than I had.
It was also one of the books that made me appreciate the stars and get nostalgic about them.
It's a simple book, an easy read, and I probably won't buy it for my children but I'll always remember it fondly.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This boy's last name stuck with me because his name is in my family tree. David Howard has lived on the streets of New York for a long time. He doesn't see skin color; only good people and bad people. When he is adopted off the orphan train to work on a farm that he's never heard of before, a hired hand helps David. David ends up helping Amos too.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much less plot than the others, and therefore much weaker. No real resolution.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fictional account of a historical event that affected thousands of children on the streets of NYC.

[Sandra Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story about orphans on a jouney for a new home.