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This list is for the best books about orphans. Lest there be any dispute about whether a character is technically an orphan, it is also for books about children who believe they are orphans, or are practically orphans...
1

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4.47 avg rating — 11,323,968 ratings
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2

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4.33 avg rating — 1,106,206 ratings
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3

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4.17 avg rating — 1,288,593 ratings
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4

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4.16 avg rating — 2,308,988 ratings
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5

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4.23 avg rating — 323,646 ratings
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6

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4.04 avg rating — 210,714 ratings
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7

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4.03 avg rating — 159,999 ratings
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8

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4.02 avg rating — 423,566 ratings
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9

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3.80 avg rating — 870,362 ratings
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10

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4.13 avg rating — 139,343 ratings
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11

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4.02 avg rating — 321 ratings
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12

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4.02 avg rating — 567,920 ratings
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13

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4.72 avg rating — 35,179 ratings
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14

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4.15 avg rating — 208,860 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 1,176 ratings
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16

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3.88 avg rating — 426,202 ratings
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17

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4.20 avg rating — 174,580 ratings
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18

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3.90 avg rating — 128,336 ratings
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19

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4.12 avg rating — 54,254 ratings
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20

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3.82 avg rating — 208,315 ratings
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21

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3.83 avg rating — 1,334,255 ratings
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22

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4.07 avg rating — 38,437 ratings
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23

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3.67 avg rating — 6,066 ratings
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24

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4.03 avg rating — 30,580 ratings
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25

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4.15 avg rating — 565,407 ratings
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26

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4.05 avg rating — 78,265 ratings
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27

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4.04 avg rating — 356,507 ratings
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28

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4.13 avg rating — 75,260 ratings
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29

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4.18 avg rating — 426,853 ratings
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30

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4.31 avg rating — 3,410,485 ratings
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31

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3.77 avg rating — 111 ratings
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32

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3.75 avg rating — 2,349 ratings
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33

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 509,250 ratings
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34

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4.04 avg rating — 257,565 ratings
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35

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4.12 avg rating — 27,707 ratings
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35

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3.84 avg rating — 2,038 ratings
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37

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4.06 avg rating — 54,247 ratings
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38

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4.06 avg rating — 22,362 ratings
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38

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3.84 avg rating — 8,360 ratings
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40

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3.95 avg rating — 244,309 ratings
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41

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3.97 avg rating — 23,240 ratings
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42

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4.24 avg rating — 15,130 ratings
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43

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3.95 avg rating — 2,902 ratings
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44

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3.70 avg rating — 1,888 ratings
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45

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4.01 avg rating — 39,662 ratings
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46

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3.72 avg rating — 10,970 ratings
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47

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3.90 avg rating — 132,467 ratings
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48

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4.12 avg rating — 38,060 ratings
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49

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3.78 avg rating — 80,242 ratings
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50

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3.68 avg rating — 3,664 ratings
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51

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4.05 avg rating — 326 ratings
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51

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3.86 avg rating — 10,547 ratings
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53

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3.69 avg rating — 93,362 ratings
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53

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4.14 avg rating — 128,669 ratings
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55

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4.14 avg rating — 19,810 ratings
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56

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4.17 avg rating — 23,405 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 389,875 ratings
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58

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3.60 avg rating — 309 ratings
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59

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4.02 avg rating — 91,552 ratings
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60

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4.09 avg rating — 232,305 ratings
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61

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4.02 avg rating — 31,597 ratings
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62

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3.70 avg rating — 51,141 ratings
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63

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4.08 avg rating — 15,228 ratings
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64

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4.33 avg rating — 12 ratings
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64

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3.36 avg rating — 14 ratings
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64

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4.20 avg rating — 40 ratings
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64

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4.32 avg rating — 4,623 ratings
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64

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2.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
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64

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4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
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64

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4.13 avg rating — 47 ratings
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64

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3.91 avg rating — 1,730 ratings
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64

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3.89 avg rating — 23,047 ratings
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64

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4.21 avg rating — 28 ratings
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64

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4.18 avg rating — 34 ratings
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64

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4.19 avg rating — 17,492 ratings
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76

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3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings
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76

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3.54 avg rating — 1,669 ratings
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76

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4.07 avg rating — 9,959 ratings
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76

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4.10 avg rating — 1,106 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 4,627 ratings
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81

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4.23 avg rating — 3,025 ratings
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81

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3.71 avg rating — 693 ratings
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81

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4.17 avg rating — 6,871 ratings
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84

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4.16 avg rating — 4,544 ratings
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84

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3.92 avg rating — 1,013,881 ratings
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84

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4.29 avg rating — 125,317 ratings
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84

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4.24 avg rating — 1,310 ratings
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88

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4.01 avg rating — 2,455 ratings
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89

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3.69 avg rating — 2,547 ratings
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89

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4.07 avg rating — 103,984 ratings
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91

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3.80 avg rating — 100,797 ratings
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91

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3.60 avg rating — 2,138 ratings
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91

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4.13 avg rating — 113,374 ratings
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91

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4.05 avg rating — 93,614 ratings
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95

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3.54 avg rating — 1,574 ratings
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95

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3.83 avg rating — 9,692 ratings
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95

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3.79 avg rating — 771 ratings
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95

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4.34 avg rating — 20,727 ratings
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99

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3.98 avg rating — 4,775 ratings
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99

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3.91 avg rating — 3,652 ratings
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162 books · 70 voters · list created January 17th, 2012 by Lydia (votes) .
10 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Lydia 794 books
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Meghan 2324 books
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Jessie 498 books
36 friends
Manybooks 22305 books
241 friends
Annie 12569 books
143 friends
Apostrophe 51 books
830 friends
Andréa 51012 books
546 friends
Faith 271 books
28 friends

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Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)

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message 1: by Surendran (new)

Surendran Murugesan Can somone suggest some indian books in this theme


message 2: by Christine (new)

Christine Jeffords If you mean Indians as in India, Mowgli in "The Jungle Books" would qualify; his parents may or may not be dead, but they ran away when Shere Khan started "humming" in the brush, and he never meets them.

If Indians as in "Native Americans," there's a Cinderella variant in Native myth, and a Blackfoot story about Scarface, who is "an orphan and poor." That's just a start; I'd guess that if you searched worldcat under Subject: Orphans: Native American: Juvenile, you might find some.


message 3: by Janice (new)

Janice Kuharski This is a wonderful list--bringing so many great children's titles under the searchable heading of "orphan books." Didn't find what I was looking for. But I discovered this great list!


message 4: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Nov 23, 2019 08:35AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Pippi Longstocking (#13) has a father... (I know the description says 'it is also for books about children who believe they are orphans, or are practically orphans', but she does have a father...)


message 5: by Georgina (new)

Georgina Warren BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) wrote: "Pippi Longstocking (#13) has a father... (I know the description says 'it is also for books about children who believe they are orphans, or are practically orphans', but she does have ..."

I agree with you, Pippi Longstocking does have a father, but he is absent except when she visits him in Pippi in the South Seas. I think this book should be removed from this list.


message 6: by Georgina (new)

Georgina Warren The most iconic orphan stories familiar to readers are Pollyanna, Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Oliver Twist, Little Orphan Annie, Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden) and Sarah Crewe (A Little Princess).

Other well-known fictional orphans in the modern era:

The Beaudelaire siblings Violet, Klaus and Sunny (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Harry Potter.

Roald Dahl has written many orphans stories
James Henry Trotter (James and the Giant Peach), Sophie (The BFG), the little boy (The Witches)


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