I adored the All-of-a-Kind Family books by Sydney Taylor as a kid. They're a series of books about five sisters: Ella, Henrietta (Henny), Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie, ages 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4.
They
live in a tiny apartment in turn of the 20th century New York City.
Their family is devoutly Jewish, and the girls' lives are regulated by
school, their Friday trip to the library, and their weekly Sabbath
celebration.
It's funny, because I never realized it till I reread All-Of-A-Kind Family,
but a lot of what I know about Jewish culture, I got from these books.
They discuss the foods they eat, the major Jewish holidays, and how life
functions in a poor, hard-working Jewish family. Their father is a "rag
man" - who collects rags from peddlers, and then bundles them and sells
them. Their mother is a very busy woman, who keeps their tiny apartment
spotless and keeps five little girls neat and tidy in their dresses and
petticoats and itchy woolen stockings. As the eldest, organized Ella
and tomboyish Henny are the leaders, but all five girls are sweet and
full of character - even when a very big surprise comes to the All-of-a-Kind-Family at the end of the book!
,
but a lot of what I know about Jewish culture, I got from these books.
They discuss the foods they eat, the major Jewish holidays, and how life
functions in a poor, hard-working Jewish family. Their father is a "rag
man" - who collects rags from peddlers, and then bundles them and sells
them. Their mother is a very busy woman, who keeps their tiny apartment
spotless and keeps five little girls neat and tidy in their dresses and
petticoats and itchy woolen stockings. As the eldest, organized Ella
and tomboyish Henny are the leaders, but all five girls are sweet and
full of character - even when a very big surprise comes to the All-of-a-Kind-Family at the end of the book!
This would be a great book to read aloud to a younger kid chapter by chapter, because each chapter pretty much stands alone. Several center on their visits to the library, one is about the five girls shopping for a birthday gift for Papa, in one chapter Gertie and Charlotte sneak crackers into their bed, and in another chapter Sarah and Ella get scarlet fever. Other chapters cover Rosh Hashanah, the 4th of July, and a trip to Coney Island.
I'm sad to see that most of the books in the series are out of print (All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
is $45 used!). I hope they get re-issued soon!
Have you read the All-of-a-Kind Family books?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Recommended age: 6 and up
This post is day eleven of my 31 Days of Awesome Kids' Books.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
