Customer Reviews

All-of-a-Kind Family

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first read this as a child, growing up in the south in a pentacostal holiness church. This book was my very first introduction to the Jewish Faith, what it means and how it impacted day-to-day life. I found that this family was a very loving family who encouraged their girls (then baby boy) to learn and to grow up strong. I remember wanting to be Jewish so that I could be a member of their family. There was so much fun and love.

Well, I have since learned about the "Jewish" stereotype. However, I was not suckered in by the error because my first experience with Jews came about through the All of A Kind Family books. I am convinced that I knew the truth about the Jewish people because of these books.

I strongly recommend that these books be added to all reading lists, as they help to teach kindness, love, and tolerance for all people, just like they helped to teach to me.

Sydney Taylor won the Follett Publishing Company book award - she didn't even know her husband, Ralph, had submitted her first novel to the publisher! - for this, her first children's book. Thus began a career that is most distinguished for the series detailing the adventures of five sisters early in this century. Most distinguishing about them is the fact that they are Jewish, not as a stereotyping characteristic but rather a means to explore landscape that hadn't yet been handled in children's literature. This first in the series is particularly insightful in its introduction of the Jewish high holy days - Sabbath days, Yom Kippur, Purim and Succos among them. (Plus, the author even throws in the Lower East Side's celebration of a purely American event - Fourth of July - to demonstrate that this bright-spirited family is tied not merely to its religious roots but is nationalistic as well!) While All-of-a-Kind Family is one of those falsely sunny books that came out of the 1940s and 1950s, it's nice to believe that this is the life that Taylor lived as a child. (Incidentally, Taylor's real name was Sarah, and the stories are based loosely on her own childhood. All of the sisters' names are real.) Sydney Taylor died in February 1978. This initial story was followed by four more books in the series: More All-of-a-Kind Family, All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown and, published posthumously, Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family.

I first read this book when I was eight years old, and I loved it so much I went to the library and checked out the sequels. As other readers mentioned, not only are these books interesting and fun to read (I still enjoy reading them at age 37) but Christians can get a glimpse of what the Jewish religion is really like on a day-by-day basis. Other than Hanukah and Passover, school kids aren't really taught much about the other Jewish holidays. I remember in fourth grade, a Jewish girl in my class brought in Hamentaschen pastries, and I normally wouldn't have tried something with prunes in it - but because I had read about Purim in "All of a Kind Family", I discovered a wonderful treat!

I should also say that the illustrations in the books are terrific! Esp in the later books, little Charlie is so cute.

Hopefully the publisher or whoever owns the copyright to Ms. Taylor's books will read the reviews here on Amazon and re-release the entire series, as it deserves to be done. (I seem to recall the paperbacks were available in a gift box in the 70's).

I had heard good things about this book and since we're going to the Lower Eastside later this week, I thought my daughter might enjoy it. I picked it up at the library and worried, when I saw it, that she might not be terrifically interested in it: the cover art is old fashioned and I was afraid she might think it was too "young" for her. We read the first couple of chapters together and then, on her own, she devoured the rest of it and asked me to find all of the sequels. It's a beautiful book: simple and affecting and a fascinating source of information about Jewish life and culture, although not in any way preachy or didactic. I was so grateful for this book, such a nice break in the long line of books written for 9-12 year olds these days--good, well-written novels--that seem to focus chiefly on loss: a dying mother, a missing father, a loss of a childhood friend... I think the book was deeply comforting for my girl and I recommend it highly.

My childhood favorite! All the books in this series were read again and again, and sometimes outloud, by me and my four siblings. Fun, funny, endearing and memorable. Right up there with I REMEMBER MAMA, FARMER BOY, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS, and ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK. A timeless slice of life for kids ages 3 to 18 to enjoy!

I read this series multiple times as a secular Jew growing up in Queens in the late 1950s, and loved them for their "Jewishness" and their inclusion of cultural details missing from most of the many books I read. I also loved the depiction of the sisters, as we were also a family of girls - each sister was distinct and treasured. I was eager to share these books with my own daughter, and we read this one together about six months ago, when she was just-turned-six. She adored it, and kept asking for "just one more" chapter. A couple of months later, she spotted the book in a bookstore, grabbed it, and clutched it to her chest. "But we've already read that one. Don't you want to pick something else?" "No, I *love* this book. I have to *have* it!" I was thrilled - this was the first time she actually coveted book-ownership, and am now shopping for the other books in the series, now out-of-print. One caveat - although the book deals beautifully with Jewish immigrant life on the Lower East Side, it also contains stereotyped references to other ethnic groups that were current when it was written. For example, non-Jewish "good" characters tend to be tall, thin, and (yes!) blond, and there are offensive descriptions of Poles and Italians. I found myself editing while reading (and still felt it necessary to discuss stereotypes and prejudice) - you might want to initiate a conversation with your child before or during the reading of this book. Enjoy!

Reading "All-of-a-Kind-Family" by Sydney Taylor makes you wish you'd been part of a poor immigrant Jewish family living in New York's upper east side on the eve of World War I. Life is good and full of adventures for the five lively girls in the family. With no television in sight, they enjoy simple pleasures of talk, make-believe, penny candy, visiting the library, and going to Rivington street market with Mama.

The early 1900's come to reality with the descriptions of peddlers, scarlet fever, and bathing at Coney Island. Furthermore, the story is enriched with the traditions and holidays of the Jewish religion: Sabbath with Hebrew prayers, dressing up for Purim, and building wooden hut for Succos.

The author has injected much warmth and true-life quality to her writing with inspiration from her own childhood and family. The subtle humor and realistic timely descriptions make this book a one-of-a-kind read.

If you have enjoyed family stories such as "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott and "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you will love this book as well.

Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.

First, let's dispense with the idea that this book has too many stereotypes in it. In the early part of the twentieth century, most American Jewish people did live in New York and especially on the Lower East Side. The types of foods eaten in this book were, in fact, the types most often consumed in Jewish people's homes, and special ones were always part of certain holy days. Jewish and Irish people were not quite as assimilated in American culture as they are now, and parents would be silly to reject this great book just because Papa's peddler friends seem a little "Old World". (I don't believe in revisionism just to placate a bunch of over-sensitive mommies and dads.) This book has good lessons about family loyalty, taking responsibility for mistakes, looking after the things you are fortunate enough to have, and choosing chocolates instead of crackers so your midnight feasts won't be betrayed by crumbs. Modern-day kids will be able to relate to stuff like battles of will at the dinner table, chaotic outings, and the arrival of a new sibling. Celebrations of Shabbat, Purim, and Succot are made beautiful and lively by the author, and are a great way for kids to get a little insight into Jewish life. Yet these girls are American girls first and foremost, and they love the same things about American culture as any kid reading about them today. This is one of my favorite books from childhood. I will say that more girls than boys will be interested in reading it, because of many female characters, the themes of family and home life, and the wistful Charlie and his long-lost love. But this is a quality book.

What joy this book brought to me when I read it and the sequels in elementary school!!! For a Protestant girl from Texas who had no siblings living at home after I was nine, these books were PERFECT to help me see the world from a completely different perspective. This is the kind of experience that engenders understanding, kindness, and friendship. The best part is that children can read these books and learn positive, loving attitudes before they are polluted with the negatives. I am now buying it for my granddaughters. I only wish that I could find the sequels!!

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of going to my hometown library & I always checked out the 'All-Of-A-Kind Family' books. I loved & enjoyed the entire series! When I started working at my first bookstore, I finally bought the series for myself. I think it's a great series because it can be so different than a typical kids' life. I grew up in a Catholic family of six in a small, Midwestern town & where our relatives all lived out of state. This became such an interesting & different perspective of families & family life. The era was after the turn of the century New York City. The family was Jewish, poor & with five girls, but had a rich heritage & connection with the neighborhood & the extended relatives & friends all living nearby. It gives a great view of how life in a different era can seem very similar, but also so different from our current life. Each book is set up easily with each chapter devoted to a new problem or predicament concerning one of the girls. The five daughters throughout the series cover every age, so girls of all ages can & will identify with any of them at different times. All in all, a great series of books for girls, but boys might also enjoy these stories too!