All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (1951), 189 pages (for readers in grades 3-6)
(Finally, on to the 2009 reads!)
This children’s book, lent with a very high recommendation by a friend (she called the book “an old friend”), was just as she said. Set in New York City (the East Side), the book details the lives of stair-step sisters, along with their parents. I was hooked from the very first chapter, which lets the reader tag along on the sisters’ weekly trip to the public library. Alongside the children (ages 12, 10, 8, 6, 4) we also get scarlet fever, go to the beach and Coney Island, their father’s shop, and celebrate the (major) Jewish holidays.
A lovely book.
What’s more, this book is the first in a series (with at least four more books)!
Our family enjoyed this book and all of its sequels. Although I am not Jewish, I appreciated the natural way the books portrayed a Jewish family, uniting their daily “normal” activities with their religious practices. Jewish or non-Jewish doesn’t really matter. This is a family to love!
Indeed, a family to love.
WHERE CAN I BUY?