Children's Literature @ NYPL

Booktalking "Wanderville" by Wendy McClure

orphan

Frances takes care of her little 7-year-old brother, Harold. 

Jack befriends them on the orphan train.

Quentin is the bully whom everyone fears.

They come from the Howland Mission and Children's Home, which is not really a home at all.

Alexander founded Wanderville, a place where children who have been mistreated can come together and live a charmed life in the wilderness. He has survival skills, and he stocks his pantry from the nearest town. He escaped a child labor camp run by the Pratcherds and their ruthless 14-year-old son, Rutherford. The boy is happy to welcome the first citizens to the his very own town.

Driving a wagon with runaway horses, freedom from child labor, pining for parents to take care of them, and letting their imaginations run wild. The kids in this story have a bunch of fun…on their own.

Wanderville by Wendy McClure, 2014.