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A Pickpocket's Tale
by Karen Schwabach
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (2006-10-24)
ISBN: 037583379X
EAN: 9780375833793
Hardcover: 240 pages
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Release Date: 2006-10-24
SKU: 03096
Condition: New
Comments: Nice copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Molly Abraham is a kinchin mort: a ten-year-old thief trying not to starve on the London streets. But everything changes for Molly when she is sentenced to be transported to the American colonies. She becomes an indentured servant to a kind Jewish family in New York City, and Molly has it good. So why is it that all she wants to do is go back to London?
Karen Schwabach uses richly detailed descriptions and authentic period language to bring history to life. She skillfully explores the subjects of Jewish culture in Colonial America and London street culture in this gritty yet heartwarming debut novel.
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Customer Reviews
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A Charming Tale for any age!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2009-08-03
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a charming tale rich in characters and historic content. As an author myself I can honestly say this was a delight to read and reminds me of the social commentaries of such greats as Dickens and Shaw. Ms. Schwabach has brilliantly portrayed the harshness of life for Molly, a young pickpocket in 18th century London. Your heart goes out for what she has endured in her young life, and has you cheering for her when others are determined to give this young girl a new start. Well done!
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'Oliver Twist' for the American female
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-04-05
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I definitely agree with previous reviewers: Karen Schwabach's book is a great read for all ages. I would have liked it as an elementary- or middle-school student, and I'm 33 now and liked it very much! Schwabach is one of those truly impressive historical fiction writers who has done her research thoroughly, but slides the information into the story so naturally that it never feels like you're reading *history*, just a good tale that happens to be set in another time. I could smell, feel, hear, and see the filthy streets of 18th century London and the quaintly pastoral roads of 18th century Manhattan. Young Molly's story of redemption, growing from orphaned pickpocket to respectable family member, is certainly as much fun as, and easier for young readers to tackle than, Oliver Twist's--and girls may especially appreciate the way female characters (both naughty and nice) take center stage.
Being a linguistics fan, I think my favorite feature might have been Schwabach's clever use of Flash-cant, the dialect and vocabulary spoken by the London thieves of the era. It added real color and delight, and for me the glossary at the back was almost as much fun to read as the story itself.
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A Pickpocket's Tale
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-11-26
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
In 1730, ten-year-old Molly is a pickpocket on the London streets who is caught and sentenced to be banished to America. While waiting in prison for the trip to America, two gentlemen come to her cell and tell her that she is a "daughter of Israel" and when she gets to America she will be indentured to a Jewish family. Her mother died of smallpox when she was 7, and she has little memory of her heritage. Upon her arrival to America, the Bell family purchases her as an indentured servant until her 21st birthday. The family is very good to her, even teaching her to read, but Molly is determined to get back to the London she knows. Molly grudgingly learns about compassion, family, and the real meaning of freedom through her contact with an abused African slave. Some characters speak an old London dialect called Flash or Flash-cant, a secret language that thieves invented so they could hide what they are saying. There is a glossary at the end with the definitions of the words used in the book. Children should particularly enjoy this aspect of the book. This is an engaging novel for young readers with historically accurate information about life in London and New York that is presented with all its complexity. It is particularly useful as an excellent introduction to the life of the Jews in New York at that time, and includes a map of New York in the 1730's. This book was the winner of the manuscript award of the Association of Jewish Libraries. Ages 8 - 12. Reviewed by Barbara Silverman
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My daughter loved it!
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-09-03
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I had my daughter write a little "book report" about The Pickpocket's Tale after she devoured it during our family vacation this summer. In part, she wrote "I liked the book because it was realistic and was full of suspense. I also liked that the author used Thieve's cant and a real time & place."
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History comes to life in a survey of their family's changes.
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-02-04
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Karen Schwabach's A PICKPOCKET'S TALE tells of a tough ten-year-old pickpocket in 1730s London who becomes an indentured servant to a Jewish family in New York City. Banished to America, Molly only wants to go home, even though her employers are good to her. History comes to life in a survey of their family's changes.
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