"The Little Sparrows" it seems by reviews to be either a book to love or dislike. Well on the most part it is a book that I really enjoyed. I will admit that the end might be a little to far over the top but then again that is one of the reasons I love fiction, for there is always a happy ending.It is true that I prefer reading romance books, and this most certainly not a romance, but I remember reading the series years before, and wanted to read them again. This book is a look at both a few of the orphans and the foster parents who take the orphans in. The stories of some of these orphans and foster parents start long before the orphans are placed on the orphan trains.I must say that I cried through quite a bit of the book. I enjoyed seeing how God was working in everyone's lives, and each character really touched my heart. I must admit that at time the dialogue seemed childish and other times there seemed to be more modern descriptions of items. I was able to overlook those things because I really enjoyed the story.
The authors of this series are attentive to some historical details, yet have a larger purpose in writing the novels: to make very clear the way of salvation. The Little Sparrows is a tear jerker. However, the sense of life in Nebraska and Wyoming, the time it might take to ride a horse several miles, drive a buggy from a ranch into a town, even the time it would take for the passenger train to travel from one location to another are poorly conceived. Amenities like a washroom down the hall in an 1880's ranch home are ludicrous. The characters on-the-other-hand are interesting and are where the strength of the novels lie. I cannot really give this book or its companions in the series a strong recommendation, even to young people, because of the misleading elements of time and space.
