A Bandit's Tale: The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket

Description

From an award-winning author of historical fiction comes a story of survival, crime, adventure, and horses in the streets of 19th century New York City. Eleven-year-old Rocco finds himself alone in New York City after he's sold to a padrone by his poverty-stricken parents and forced to leave his small Italian village. While working as a street musician, he meets the boys of the infamous Bandits' Roost, who teach him the art of pickpocketing while posing as a newsboy. Rocco embraces his new life of crime--he's good at it, and it's more lucrative than banging a triangle on the street corner. But when he meets Meddlin' Mary, an Irish immigrant who has a big mouth and an even bigger heart, he begins to reexamine his life--and take his future into his own hands.

DEBORAH HOPKINSON has written many award-winning author books for children. Her most recent picture book for Schwartz & Wade Books is Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig. Her most recent historical fiction from Knopf is The Great Trouble, A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel, which has been featured on more than a dozen state award lists and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Visit her online at DeborahHopkinson.com, and follow her on Twitter at @deborahhopkinson. She lives in West Linn, OR.

"A strong choice for fans of Rodman Philbrick's The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (Scholastic, 2009) and those who enjoy adventures about scrappy and resourceful kids who have to rely on their own smarts and the kindness of strangers to change their lives." -School Library Journal starred review "A dynamic historical novel ideal for both classroom studies and pleasure reading." -Publishers Weekly starred review