Marie-Grace has found a baby on the doorstep of their home. She sees a woman at the corner, but the woman quickly flees, and does not return. Her father is less-than-surprised, and says that it happened because the woman knew that he was a doctor. M-G quickly adapts, and falls into the big-sister role becoming extremely close to the orphaned child, even giving him a name, Philip. M-G wants to keep Philip as a baby brother, but her father has other idea, and wants him taken to a local orphanage for white children, Holy Trinity.----------- Let me just take a second now to say that I did not like how the race of the child was handled in this book. On the cover and on the title page, we clearly see that the baby is black, and that the woman in the shadows that left him on the step at the doctor's house--assumed to be his mother--is also black. Yet, later on, when he is shown, all fancied-up, he's clearly a blue-eyed white-skinned baby. I took away a star on my rating of this book, because they changed the race of the baby in the book. I don't like major details being changed or inconsistent. Now, back to the story....---------- The children at the orphanage become attached to M-G, because she plays with them, and they call her Marie-The-Great. She loves this, and that is quite apparent. But, when it is later decided that Philip will be going to Chicago with one of the nuns to be at a better orphanage and hopefully get adopted, her heart is not really in it, anymore. But, for the children, she doesn't let that show. When Marie-Grace finds a baby on the doorstep to her father's practice she cares for him as though he were her own brother. Eventually a man comes seeking the child, believing him to be the baby of an escaped slave. After the scary encounter with the man, Marie-Grace and Cecile devise a plan to get the baby into an orphanage and ensure the child's safety. Marie-Grace dutifully visits the baby at the orphanage and plays with the other children who live there becoming their beloved Marie-the-Great. Meanwhile, a yellow fever outbreak threatens the health of the city.What I most appreciated about this book was the service Marie-Grace extended to her community by becoming involved at the orphanage. It comes across as inspiring and mutually beneficial. Recommended for girls grades 3-5.
Do You like book Marie-Grace And The Orphans (2011)?
five star rating! This is a very fun, sweet, and a great book to read.
—Paula
I'm enjoying this series. Maybe because I've been studying French. ;)
—Monique
