Donna Nordmark Aviles

PLEASE NOTE* ORPHAN TRAIN TO KANSAS - A TRUE STORY, released January, 2018, is a reissue of my first two books (Fly Little Bird, Fly! and Beyond The Orphan Train). ORPHAN TRAIN TO KANSAS contains additional information, pictures, lesson plans, etc. As a descendant, I am always researching this topic and felt it would be better if this story was ONE BOOK.

A resident of Pike Creek Delaware, Donna Nordmark Aviles is the granddaughter of orphan train rider, Oliver Nordmark. Based on Oliver's oral history, ORPHAN TRAIN TO KANSAS tells the story of Oliver's early life as an orphan train rider from NYC to Kansas in 1908. The companion book, PEANUT BUTTER FOR CUPCAKES: A TRUE STORY FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION is the story of Oliver's children and the creative ways he cared for them during the Great Depression after the sudden loss of his young wife. This book has been selected as a 2012 indieBRAG MEDALLION Honoree. Additionally, it was named a 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award FINALIST.

Aviles has worked in many fields including foreign exchange, social services and business. After raising three children, she returned to her early love of writing, being inspired by Oliver's story. She enjoys speaking to school students and organizations about the Orphan Train Movement of 1854-1929 and The Great Depression. Aviles recently completed a book tour to central Kansas - sponsored by the Salina Arts & Humanities Commission. Donna Aviles is a member of both the Orphan Train Historical Society of America and The Delaware Humanities Forum Speakers Bureau. To learn more about Aviles' books and the Orphan Train Movement, visit the author's website at www.orphantrainbook.com.