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. 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.

Author Biography

DEBORAH HOPKINSON has written many award-winning author books for children. Her most recent picture book for Schwartz & Wade Books is Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig. Her most recent historical fiction from Knopf is The Great Trouble, A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel, 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. From the Hardcover edition.