This was a really interesting historical fiction, about an event in Canadian history most people seem to be unaware of. It was a ridiculously quick read, and the MC acted really young, but it was sweet. ( )

This is the fourth Haworth-Attard I've read. I always enjoy her books.

The family in this story frustrates me. Arthur is pretty much a slave they picked up for free. He’s a CHILD. ugh. The mother and oldest daughter make me the most mad. Stupid old-timey people. I couldn’t imagine treating a child so poorly. And to know that in real life they were treated worse just blows my mind. What the hell Canada?! ( )

This story is based on historical fact and it will make you cry. It is about British children, alleged orphan children between 6-15 years old and they were known as The Home Children. These children were part of the little-known British Child Emigration Scheme in which fifty child-care organizations emigrated 100,000 children to Canada between 1880-1930. The organizations professed a dominant motive of providing these children with better lives than what they might have had in England, but they had other ignoble motives, England did not want to care for them so they were sent offshore. Half of these children suffered from child neglect and abuse. The scheme persisted interrupted only by WWI and WWII until the mid-1960s when these organizations sent 15,000 children to Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.
This book tells of one Home Child who was adopted as indentured labour to the Wilson family on a farm outside Ontario, they decided to "adopt" a Home Child to help with the chores after their fourth child turned out to be another girl.
The story is told through Sadie Wilson, the second eldest daughter who befriends Arthur the home child, much to her mother's annoyance.
Sadie begins to realise that Arthur is treated differently, somewhat unfairly than the day labourers as Arthur is not allowed to eat at the table with the family or engage with them in any way. Before long things turn from bad to worse for Arthur as he is accused of the various small thefts that are beginning to plaque the Wilson family. Sadie is bewildered as she does not know who to believe, her new friend or her post natal depressed mother?
This book opened a window for me to research the factual side of this story. Be prepared for some heart wrenching stories in 'Neither Waif Nor Stray: The Search for a Stolen Identity' by Perry Snow. 'The Little Immigrants" by Kenneth Bagnall sums it up with this blurb
"Until the time of the Depression, 100,000 impoverished children from the British Isles were sent overseas by well-meaning philanthropists to solve the colony's farm-labour shortage. They were known as the "home children," and they were lonely and frightened youngsters to whom a new life in Canada meant only hardship and abuse." ( )

A part of Canadian history that is often forgotten, the Home Children were young Britishers, some of them orphans, but most from impoverished families, who were sent en masse to Canada, where they were, for all purposes, sold as indentured servants to Canadian families. Similar programs existed in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Although the Australian and British governments have tendered official apologies, Canada has made the supremely classy move of stating that no apology will be forthcoming, despite the fact that there are an estimated 4 million descendants of Home Children currently living here (that's 1 in 9 Canadians).

Haworth-Attard, with her usual skill, brings large concepts down to a scale that young kids can understand. In Home Child, we have the story of one family on a farm outside London, Ontario who decided to "adopt" a Home Child to help with the chores after their fourth child turns out to be another girl.

The story is told by the second of the four daughters, Sadie Wilson. She is bewildered that Arthur is not allowed to eat at the table with the family, unlike the day labourers. She's fascinated by his accent and the fact that he actually likes school. Despite her mother's insistence that Arthur is not a proper companion, Sadie begins to form a secret friendship with him.

But then, things start to go missing around the house. First money, then Mr. Wilson's beloved watch. Mrs. Wilson thinks the "ungrateful" Arthur is planning to run away. Sadie doesn't know what to believe.

Short but touching, Haworth-Attard's simple story helps to shed some light on a piece of Canadian history that has too often been hidden away. ( )