The Orphan of Ellis Island

The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff is a middle-grade novel blending elements of the historical fiction and science fiction genres. It follows the story of Dominic, a young orphan who begins a journey of self-discovery during a field trip to Ellis Island. Mysteriously sent back to 1908 Italy, Dominic navigates challenges and transformations that parallel the struggles faced by immigrant families arriving on Ellis Island and culminate with discovering his family history and identity. Elvira Woodruff, an American author of children’s books, is notable for her melding of the science fiction and historical fiction genres. She published The Orphan of Ellis Island in 1997, and in 2004, received the Carolyn W. Field Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association for The Ravenmaster’s Secret (2003). Her work has been nominated for the Mark Twain Book Award in Missouri, the Grand Canyon Reader Award, and the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Award. She is the author of 26 children’s books.

This guide uses the Scholastic 1997 edition.

Plot Summary

Dominic Cantori is in the fifth grade, but he has an unstable life. He’s been in the New York City foster care system since he was a baby, after his parents both died in a car accident. His most important possession is the gold key he wears on a chain. The initials “S.C.” are scratched into it, and it had been with his mother’s belongings. Dominic moves from one foster home and school to another, so he has no friends. The only reliable person in his life is his social worker, Dave Santos.

Dominic attends a school field trip to Ellis Island, where other students can identify their family’s origins. Feeling ostracized and lonely because he has no idea where the Cantori name comes from, Dominic leaves his group. He finds a janitor’s closet, sits in the corner to relax, and takes his shoes off. In just a few minutes, he is asleep.

Dominic wakes up in the darkened Ellis Island Museum; the museum is closed, and he’s alone. He walks around the museum and admires the photographs of the immigrants and their families who made the arduous journey through Ellis Island in hopes of achieving the American dream. He picks up a receiver through which he can hear the recordings of immigrants’ stories; comforted by the voices, he goes from receiver to receiver to listen to the stories. Dominic wishes he were related to one of these voices. Suddenly, a voice in the last receiver speaks directly to Dominic, and Dominic is transported back through time and space.

Dominic awakens in Italy in the early 20th century. He immediately meets three brothers, Francesco, Salvatore, and Antonio Candiano. These three brothers are Dominic’s age and are also orphans. They find Dominic’s clothing and explanation of where he comes from odd, but they allow him to join them. Dominic realizes the golden key he always wears on a chain around his neck is missing; he doesn’t know the key’s origins, but he found it with his mother’s possessions after she died. The brothers want to bring Dominic to Father Tomaso, who will be able to help them.

On the way to Father Tomaso, the Candiano brothers are assaulted by a wealthy landowner’s son. After Dominic takes a whipping from him to spare little Antonio, the Candiano brothers include Dominic in their brotherhood. A security guard arrives to help the landowner’s son. Salvatore throws a ball of dirt at him so they can all escape.

The Candiano brothers bring Dominic to Father Tomaso. Father Tomaso informs the brothers that he has arranged their immigration to America. They will have two different foster families in New Jersey and New York, but they will make the ship journey together. Francesco, the eldest and his brothers’ leader, refuses to be separated. Father Tomaso learns that the security man is dead, ostensibly killed accidentally by the ball Salvatore threw at him. The boys have no time to waste and must escape before the authorities catch Salvatore. They rush to the city to prepare for their voyage by sea to America.

Dominic discovers that Salvatore has the same key that Dominic inherited from his mother.

In the city, Salvatore falls terminally ill, and his death devastates the brothers. They must continue their journey, so they give Salvatore’s space on the ship to Dominic. Dominic is their unofficial brother.

The journey to America is difficult and dirty, but Dominic and the remaining Candiano brothers rely on one another to get through it. They endure and arrive at Ellis Island. There, the boys are processed through immigration. As they wait, Francesco draws on a pillar the beloved goat he had to leave behind in Italy. Dominic falls asleep, having discovered that the Candiano brothers are his real family, both metaphorically because they bonded during their difficult journey and literally because they are his ancestors.

Dominic wakes up in the Ellis Island Museum, having returned to the present. He misses the Candiano brothers but is at peace with the story of his family history and identity. Dave Santos places Dominic with a new foster family with two boys, and Dominic hopes this new foster family will last longer. He is no longer ashamed about being in the foster care system now that he knows about his family’s journey and has learned to love and be loved.