A Bandit's Tale

A Bandit's Tale, by Deborah Hopkinson, is a historical fiction novel that dives into the life of a young immigrant boy who has been sold by his Italian family to a padrone in New York City. Rocco, along with many other boys in his "home," must work hard every day to scrape together a few coins as a street musician, otherwise he will be severely punished. Rocco quickly decides this is not the place for him, and he becomes involved with a a group of young pickpockets. Eventually, Rocco is caught, sent to prison, and subsequently escapes. Read the book to find out whether Rocco will make a clean start after his days in jail.

This book is for fans of Ms. Hopkinson's other historical fiction book The Great Trouble; or The Mostly True Adventures of Homer T. Figg by Roman Philbrick. Real city life photos from New York at that time add a realistic touch. I also really liked the clever chapter titles like "A Little Chapter Containing a Small But Significant Incident."  The back of the book has a great resources and credits section. There's even a map of Manhattan hand-drawn by Rocco. If your 10-13 year old reader likes adventure, and can stick with a story that definitely doesn't scrimp on detail, this book is for him.