<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>In March of 1887, Rocco, an eleven-year-old from an Italian village, arrives in New York CIty where he is forced to live in squalor and beg for money as a street musician, but he finds the city's cruelty to children and animals intolerable and sets out to make things better, whatever the cost to himself.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><b>From an award-winning author of historical fiction comes a story of survival, crime, adventure, and horses in the streets of 19th century New York City.</b> <p/>Eleven-year-old Rocco is an Italian immigrant who finds himself alone in New York City after he's sold to a padrone by his poverty-stricken parents. While working as a street musician, he meets the boys of the infamous Bandits' Roost, who teach him the art of pickpocketing. Rocco embraces his new life of crime--he's good at it, and it's more lucrative than banging a triangle on the street corner. But when he meets Meddlin' Mary, a strong-hearted Irish girl who's determined to help the horses of New York City, things begin to change. Rocco begins to reexamine his life--and take his future into his own hands.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>A strong choice for fans of Rodman Philbrick's The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg ​(Scholastic, 2009) and those who enjoy adventures about scrappy and resourceful kids who have to rely on their own smarts and the kindness of strangers to change their lives. --<i>School Library Journal</i> starred review <p/>A dynamic historical novel ideal for both classroom studies and pleasure reading. --<i>Publishers Weekly</i> starred review<br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>DEBORAH HOPKINSON </b>has written many award-winning author books for children. Her most recent picture book for Schwartz & Wade Books is <i>Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig. </i>Her most recent historical fiction from<i> </i>Knopf is<i> The Great Trouble, A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel, </i>which has been featured on more than a dozen state award lists and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Visit her online at DeborahHopkinson.com, and follow her on Twitter at @deborahhopkinson. She lives in West Linn, OR.