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All-of-a-Kind Family #2
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
Sydney Taylor grew up among immigrant families on New York City's Lower East Side prior to World War I and wrote the All-of-a-Kind Family series for her daughter. This sequel finds talented Ella, mischievous Henny, studious Sarah, dreamy Charlotte, and little Gertie helping Mama with their new baby brother, Charlie. Sydney Taylor's charming books capture the everyday life of a home with little money but lots of love and good times to share.
Paperback
First published April 1, 1972
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1795 people want to read
About the author
Sydney Taylor
72 books160 followers Taylor was born on October 31, 1904 on New York City's Lower East Side. Her Jewish immigrant family lived in poverty conditions, but they felt great respect and appreciation for the country that gave them hope and opportunities for the future. This childhood led Taylor eventually into writing.
Taylor started working as a secretary after she graduated from high school, married her husband, and spent her nights with the Lenox Hill Players, a theater group. As an actress, she also learned modern dance, which she thoroughly enjoyed. After dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Taylor took time off to have her one and only child, a daughter. As her daughter grew up Taylor would tell her stories about her own childhood. Because of her daughter's inquiries, Taylor wrote down her memories and then tucked them away in a drawer.
While Taylor was working at a nonprofit summer camp directing and choreographing dance and dramatics, her husband saw an announcement about a writing contest. Unbeknownst to his wife, he sent in her manuscript about her childhood. A short time later Taylor received word that an editor from Wilcox and Follett wanted to publish her work. Surprised and somewhat nervous, Taylor edited and revised her story, and All-of-a-Kind Family became a popular book. She had also won first prize in the contest. Taylor's success encouraged her to pen four more books in the series and write more short stories for books and magazines.
This author, actress, dancer, and choreographer then passed away from cancer on February 12, 1978. In her honor, the Sydney Taylor Book Award is given each year by the Jewish Association of Libraries to a book for young people that authentically portrays the Jewish experience.
In 2014, the All-of-a-Kind Family series is being re-released for another generation of readers to understand and appreciate Jewish immigrant life at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Taylor started working as a secretary after she graduated from high school, married her husband, and spent her nights with the Lenox Hill Players, a theater group. As an actress, she also learned modern dance, which she thoroughly enjoyed. After dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Taylor took time off to have her one and only child, a daughter. As her daughter grew up Taylor would tell her stories about her own childhood. Because of her daughter's inquiries, Taylor wrote down her memories and then tucked them away in a drawer.
While Taylor was working at a nonprofit summer camp directing and choreographing dance and dramatics, her husband saw an announcement about a writing contest. Unbeknownst to his wife, he sent in her manuscript about her childhood. A short time later Taylor received word that an editor from Wilcox and Follett wanted to publish her work. Surprised and somewhat nervous, Taylor edited and revised her story, and All-of-a-Kind Family became a popular book. She had also won first prize in the contest. Taylor's success encouraged her to pen four more books in the series and write more short stories for books and magazines.
This author, actress, dancer, and choreographer then passed away from cancer on February 12, 1978. In her honor, the Sydney Taylor Book Award is given each year by the Jewish Association of Libraries to a book for young people that authentically portrays the Jewish experience.
In 2014, the All-of-a-Kind Family series is being re-released for another generation of readers to understand and appreciate Jewish immigrant life at the beginning of the twentieth century.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
December 9, 2018
I’d skipped this one and the Ella book when I read books 1, 3, and 4 because I’d been informed that this one had been written later (turns out not to be true, though it was published later) and that the tone and story were too different, and it was not worth reading. For me it was very worth reading, and I wish I’d read them “in order” meaning in the chronological order of the ages/lives of these family members. I do wish I’d read this book right after the first book. It’s just as good and the style & storyline fit in well with the other 3 books, All-of-a-Kind Family, More All-of-a-Kind Family, and All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown. The fifth Ella book seems least popular and I’m not sure whether or not I’ll read it, but I probably will eventually; I’d have rather the focus been on Sarah (Sydney). I’ve always felt particularly fond of Sarah, and did again here too, and this time I also had a particular soft spot in my heart for Henny. The additions of Guido and Miss Carey were wonderful. This story is a series of connected vignettes in a year in the life of this Jewish family. Wonderfully atmospheric historical fiction mostly taking place in NYC’s Lower East Side. I always learn a lot when I read these books. The characters are memorable and endearing. Charming illustrations.
November 25, 2008
I LOVED these books when I was a little girl and read them over and over - I learned so much about the Jewish religion - how to be in a family, the power of love, the richness of the holidays - the joys of having sisters - I could see and smell what was happening in these books - I have been on the look out for them for some time as I want to purchase them for a few of the little people in my life
November 19, 2018
That loving, close-knit Jewish family, five girls and one boy, whose life in New York City during the early years of the twentieth century is chronicled in author Sydney Taylor's five-book series, return in this delightful new adventure, which covers events occurring between
All-of-a-Kind Family
and
More All-of-a-Kind Family
. Because it backtracks in the chronology of the series, some readers consider it the second book, although it was published fourth. For my part,
More All-of-a-Kind Family
will always be the second book, although I admit this may be owing to the prejudice of childhood habit, as I always read it second on my innumerable rereads of the entire series. That said, there is a misconception, it would appear, that this was written, like the fifth book,
Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family
, long after the others, when in fact it wasn't. All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown was written shortly after the first book, and was intended by Taylor as a sequel. Her publisher, the Chicago-based Follett, wouldn't publish it because it contained a grittier, more realistic depiction of life on the Lower East Side than that seen in the earlier book. As a result,
More All-of-a-Kind Family
was published instead, and Taylor has to wait until the 1970s to see this title in print. I knew none of this as a girl, but it makes sense to my adult self, as unlike so many other readers, I was never able to spy any significant difference in style between this, and the three earlier books. The themes are a little more serious, but other than that, this in no way stands out, either in my memory or on this latest reread, as being significantly different in feeling, than the others.
Leaving all of that aside, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown is every bit as engaging as its predecessors (if a little more serious), following the ups and downs, joys and sorrows in the life of the eponymous (never named) family. Here we see Henny getting up to her usual mischief, even going so far as to "run away" for one evening, when she is sent home from school with a letter for her mother. Ella is still the responsible eldest sister, and her singing talent once again plays a role, when she is given the part of the jester in her Hebrew School's Purim play. Sarah is as sweet and generous as ever, sacrificing her tenth birthday gift in order to help family friend Guido, while Charlotte has a frightening experience involving some lovely-looking, but very dangerous burning coals. Charlie, born at the end of All-of-a-Kind Family , is still a baby, while Gertie, still quite young herself, is ever-present at all family events and celebrations. In addition to the personal adventures, and religious holidays - Purim, Simchas Torah, and Sukkot all play a role in the story - the family here also become involved in the life of a young Italian-American boy, Guido, whose mother is terribly ill, and who has no other family or friends. Their friendship with Miss Carey, one of the nurses at the nearby Settlement House, is also a theme throughout the book, which takes a much closer look at the poverty and suffering all around the girls. Although there is tragedy here, in the , and the , some time before, there is also love, kindness, and hope, with an unlikely happy ending, in the form of .
As should be plain from the discussion above, I have no memory of enjoying this one less than the other books in the series, when I was a girl, although I did reread it less often as, unlike the first three, I didn't own a copy of my own. That said, I think I have a greater appreciation for it now, on this reread, than I did as a child, as I now have a better knowledge of some of the realities it is depicting. Just this past year my mother and I visited The Tenement Museum here in New York City, which recreates a number of real-life tenement apartments from various eras in the history of the building, located on Orchard Street, on the Lower East Side. We toured the "Irish Outsiders" exhibit, set during the 1860s and 1870s, and the "Hard Times" apartment, which belonged to an Italian-American family in the 1920s and 30s. Educational, by turns sobering and inspiring, it was a marvelous experience - one I cannot recommend enough! - and I feel it really gave me a better insight into and appreciation of the realities the All-of-a-Kind Family and their neighbors must have confronted, living in the area. I appreciated the inclusion of darker realities here, both as a girl and as an adult, and have never felt that they ruined the story. Taylor, as mentioned, knows how to create hope and instill confidence, even when depicting sad or disturbing truths. Highly recommend to all fans of the first three books about this family, and to anyone looking for children's stories about life on New York City's Lower East Side specifically, or new immigrant enclaves in America's cities generally.
Leaving all of that aside, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown is every bit as engaging as its predecessors (if a little more serious), following the ups and downs, joys and sorrows in the life of the eponymous (never named) family. Here we see Henny getting up to her usual mischief, even going so far as to "run away" for one evening, when she is sent home from school with a letter for her mother. Ella is still the responsible eldest sister, and her singing talent once again plays a role, when she is given the part of the jester in her Hebrew School's Purim play. Sarah is as sweet and generous as ever, sacrificing her tenth birthday gift in order to help family friend Guido, while Charlotte has a frightening experience involving some lovely-looking, but very dangerous burning coals. Charlie, born at the end of All-of-a-Kind Family , is still a baby, while Gertie, still quite young herself, is ever-present at all family events and celebrations. In addition to the personal adventures, and religious holidays - Purim, Simchas Torah, and Sukkot all play a role in the story - the family here also become involved in the life of a young Italian-American boy, Guido, whose mother is terribly ill, and who has no other family or friends. Their friendship with Miss Carey, one of the nurses at the nearby Settlement House, is also a theme throughout the book, which takes a much closer look at the poverty and suffering all around the girls. Although there is tragedy here, in the , and the , some time before, there is also love, kindness, and hope, with an unlikely happy ending, in the form of .
As should be plain from the discussion above, I have no memory of enjoying this one less than the other books in the series, when I was a girl, although I did reread it less often as, unlike the first three, I didn't own a copy of my own. That said, I think I have a greater appreciation for it now, on this reread, than I did as a child, as I now have a better knowledge of some of the realities it is depicting. Just this past year my mother and I visited The Tenement Museum here in New York City, which recreates a number of real-life tenement apartments from various eras in the history of the building, located on Orchard Street, on the Lower East Side. We toured the "Irish Outsiders" exhibit, set during the 1860s and 1870s, and the "Hard Times" apartment, which belonged to an Italian-American family in the 1920s and 30s. Educational, by turns sobering and inspiring, it was a marvelous experience - one I cannot recommend enough! - and I feel it really gave me a better insight into and appreciation of the realities the All-of-a-Kind Family and their neighbors must have confronted, living in the area. I appreciated the inclusion of darker realities here, both as a girl and as an adult, and have never felt that they ruined the story. Taylor, as mentioned, knows how to create hope and instill confidence, even when depicting sad or disturbing truths. Highly recommend to all fans of the first three books about this family, and to anyone looking for children's stories about life on New York City's Lower East Side specifically, or new immigrant enclaves in America's cities generally.
November 8, 2018
There is just something refreshing about this series! The writing style is simple yet not boring. The characters are so real that I sometimes think I could go visit them. And life on the East Side of New York for this Jewish American family in the early 1900s is vivid. I love each of the girls: Ella, Hennie, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie, and baby Charlie. So much fun, trouble, and love.
April 28, 2021
Yup, these books are still the best. Sydney Taylor's account of childhood still rings true, even a century later and across religions. I'm really glad to see these books reprinted with the original Beth & Joe Krush illustrations!
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown was written just after All-of-a-Kind Family, though it was published much later. The realism in this novel is a bit harsher than the first book, though it's by no means depressing. Sad things happen, but the family (as always) quickly moves to cheerfully support others rather than wallowing in sadness. The whole series is a fascinating look at second-generation immigrant childhood, though the balance is always weighted toward Americanization rather than pining after the old world. Yet, the Jewish identity and culture remain strong. A highlight of this installment is the Purim play, in which Ella portrays a court jester.
June Cummins's afterword revealed that she was working on a biography of Sydney Taylor, who wrote from life and based many characters on her family. Cummins passed away in 2018, but finished the biography with the help of Alexandra Dunietz. From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-Of-a-Kind Family is forthcoming from Yale University Press, fittingly, in June 2021. It will be the first biography of Sydney Taylor, a major influence on American Jewish children's literature. Taylor used the real names of her four sisters for the girls in the book, and even used her birth name for the middle sister, Sarah (she changed it to Sydney as an adolescent). Like with Laura Ingalls Wilder, I'm eager to see where fiction and reality diverge and converge. In the meantime, I'm eager to keep spending time with the stairstep girls and their brother.
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown was written just after All-of-a-Kind Family, though it was published much later. The realism in this novel is a bit harsher than the first book, though it's by no means depressing. Sad things happen, but the family (as always) quickly moves to cheerfully support others rather than wallowing in sadness. The whole series is a fascinating look at second-generation immigrant childhood, though the balance is always weighted toward Americanization rather than pining after the old world. Yet, the Jewish identity and culture remain strong. A highlight of this installment is the Purim play, in which Ella portrays a court jester.
June Cummins's afterword revealed that she was working on a biography of Sydney Taylor, who wrote from life and based many characters on her family. Cummins passed away in 2018, but finished the biography with the help of Alexandra Dunietz. From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-Of-a-Kind Family is forthcoming from Yale University Press, fittingly, in June 2021. It will be the first biography of Sydney Taylor, a major influence on American Jewish children's literature. Taylor used the real names of her four sisters for the girls in the book, and even used her birth name for the middle sister, Sarah (she changed it to Sydney as an adolescent). Like with Laura Ingalls Wilder, I'm eager to see where fiction and reality diverge and converge. In the meantime, I'm eager to keep spending time with the stairstep girls and their brother.
March 29, 2022
This is such a charming read! I loved it. Sweet, funny, beautiful illustrations, a lovely slice of history and culture that comes to life on the page in a beautiful way.
December 5, 2022
These books are teaching me so much valuable info now that i live in a 70% orthodox neighborhood
August 10, 2020
Such fun stories and scrapes these girls get into! My favorites - one girl ripping her clothes so she would look poor and going to the Christian church so she could receive a free doll for Christmas. Henny charging her friends money to come watch her give baby brother a bath!😂
December 17, 2024
Probably 3.5 stars--1, 3, and 4 are my favorites in this series. The parts about Mrs.Carey and Henny and the doll are the standouts, otherwise the whole thing is kind of a bummer.
On this year’s re-read, and being reminded that this is the second book chronologically in the series even though it was published later, I think my friend Wendy is onto something when she says it felt like the author decided she wanted to write about tenement houses. Worth a read, but nowhere near as good as the others.
On this year’s re-read, and being reminded that this is the second book chronologically in the series even though it was published later, I think my friend Wendy is onto something when she says it felt like the author decided she wanted to write about tenement houses. Worth a read, but nowhere near as good as the others.
March 14, 2017
While I ended up reading this family's story out of order it was still warm and wonderful and I loved every word. The characters are delightful and it opened my eyes to the lives of immigrants at the turn of the last century. I am grateful that Sydney Taylor took the time to put pen to paper and record a fictionalized version of the childhood she experienced as in immigrant in New York.
January 12, 2015
Just as good as the first, or maybe, even better.
July 29, 2020
4.5 🌠
My daughter and I enjoyed listening to she more adventures of the five sisters and their new baby brother. Teaches some good lessons and explains some hard life things in a way a child can grasp.
My daughter and I enjoyed listening to she more adventures of the five sisters and their new baby brother. Teaches some good lessons and explains some hard life things in a way a child can grasp.
November 8, 2022
I absolutely loved the first book in this series and found this one just as adorable. The family are all so wonderful and such dear characters! These would make great family read-alouds!
Ages: 9 - 12
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 4 Incidents: cock (as in a bird), shucks, stupid, holy cats
Name Calling - 3 Incidents: scaredy cat, fraidy cat, that’s for sissies
Religious Profanities - 7 Incidents: for heaven’s sake, thank heavens, Gee, Goodness, Geewhiz, Gosh
Romance Related - 5 Incidents: Girls have a crush on a certain boy. An older girl says how handsome a boy is - just observance, not a crush etc. There is family dancing - non-romantic. An old woman has a dream about a beau coming courting. “And you know what Ma, … there was a dopey boy following Ella around the place. He was making goo-goo eyes at her the whole time. And Ma …”
Attitudes/Disobedience - 5 Incidents: A girl sticks her tongue out at her sister. A girl decides to rip her clothes so she looks poor and can get a doll. She tells a half-truth. She repents, makes amends and learns a lesson. A girl pushes her sister on a swing too high, knowing she doesn’t like it. She is sorry and makes up. A girl recollects taking something that wasn’t hers. She says it was just a joke, but she shivers at the thought. A girl gets up on the wrong side of the bed and she behaves poorly, learning some lessons though.
Conversation Topics - 4 Incidents: References the genie and Aladdin’s lamp. Mentions a beer saloon. Mentions a cigar box. Mentions wine.
Parent Takeaway
A sweet story about a loving family and how the father and mother purposefully run their home. The narration includes comments in the style of, "Henny knew she was being naughty and felt bad afterwards." There is always conclusions to wrong behaviors. The boy/girl mentions are not fantasized or lengthy.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
Ages: 9 - 12
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 4 Incidents: cock (as in a bird), shucks, stupid, holy cats
Name Calling - 3 Incidents: scaredy cat, fraidy cat, that’s for sissies
Religious Profanities - 7 Incidents: for heaven’s sake, thank heavens, Gee, Goodness, Geewhiz, Gosh
Romance Related - 5 Incidents: Girls have a crush on a certain boy. An older girl says how handsome a boy is - just observance, not a crush etc. There is family dancing - non-romantic. An old woman has a dream about a beau coming courting. “And you know what Ma, … there was a dopey boy following Ella around the place. He was making goo-goo eyes at her the whole time. And Ma …”
Attitudes/Disobedience - 5 Incidents: A girl sticks her tongue out at her sister. A girl decides to rip her clothes so she looks poor and can get a doll. She tells a half-truth. She repents, makes amends and learns a lesson. A girl pushes her sister on a swing too high, knowing she doesn’t like it. She is sorry and makes up. A girl recollects taking something that wasn’t hers. She says it was just a joke, but she shivers at the thought. A girl gets up on the wrong side of the bed and she behaves poorly, learning some lessons though.
Conversation Topics - 4 Incidents: References the genie and Aladdin’s lamp. Mentions a beer saloon. Mentions a cigar box. Mentions wine.
Parent Takeaway
A sweet story about a loving family and how the father and mother purposefully run their home. The narration includes comments in the style of, "Henny knew she was being naughty and felt bad afterwards." There is always conclusions to wrong behaviors. The boy/girl mentions are not fantasized or lengthy.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
May 18, 2017
Despite the label that indicates that this is the fourth book in the series--and it is the the fourth book published--It's the second chronologically. It begins when Charlie, the little brother of the five protagonists who was born at the end of the last book, is three months old.
This book was new to me--I only owned three in the series as a child--so it was good to read stories about the family that I hadn't seen before, such as the child with theatrical ambitions and musical talent getting a part in a Purim play, but not the part she wanted and the girls befriending a kindly nurse who works in a settlement house for immigrants on the Lower East Side. At the same time, there's a great deal of focus on another child (Guido, the son of a tubercular widow) rather than on Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie, and I confess that I was less invested in him than I was in the five sisters. Guido was a nice enough kid, but I knew that he wouldn't show up in the next two books and didn't expect him to appear in the final one. (Spoilers--he didn't appear.)
This book was new to me--I only owned three in the series as a child--so it was good to read stories about the family that I hadn't seen before, such as the child with theatrical ambitions and musical talent getting a part in a Purim play, but not the part she wanted and the girls befriending a kindly nurse who works in a settlement house for immigrants on the Lower East Side. At the same time, there's a great deal of focus on another child (Guido, the son of a tubercular widow) rather than on Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie, and I confess that I was less invested in him than I was in the five sisters. Guido was a nice enough kid, but I knew that he wouldn't show up in the next two books and didn't expect him to appear in the final one. (Spoilers--he didn't appear.)
March 3, 2011
Chalk up another crushing disappointment to re-reading an old favorite. I'm certainly still fond of the characters, but this book feels awkward. The dialogue is stilted, the plot clunky, and the illustrations just stink. There's certainly a place for Beth and Joe Krush, I love their work in several books- but their drawings here make my teeth hurt- their free, almost messy style doesn't gibe with Mama's bandbox neatness.
This one's not going back on my shelf (which is to say, goodreads friends, if you want it, it's yours).
This one's not going back on my shelf (which is to say, goodreads friends, if you want it, it's yours).
September 26, 2007
I just reread this to confirm my childhood impression--it's by far the weakest of the first four books, perhaps on a level with ELLA. The language is awkward and the dialogue is stilted. The characterizations are weak (especially of the parents and two new characters). Makes me wonder why the author decided to write this book--maybe she wanted to write something about settlement houses, and decided to give it to the AOAKF characters.
May 2, 2020
A gentle, pleasant read. We are now settled into the formula for the series: the kids have fun playing and being kids, there are a couple of big buildups to possible adult anger that come to nothing, a couple of Jewish holidays are explained and seen happening, and the wonderful family sorts out a non-Jewish person's problems.
The only thing that surprised me was the description of Thanksgiving, which seemed to get tangled up somehow with trick or treat as the kids beg from passersby "something for Thanksgiving" and hit them with flour stockings if they don't cough up. I have never read or heard of this custom anywhere else, and I doubt Mama and Papa would like their carefully-brought-up girls panhandling in this way, let alone hitting those who don't give!
The only thing that surprised me was the description of Thanksgiving, which seemed to get tangled up somehow with trick or treat as the kids beg from passersby "something for Thanksgiving" and hit them with flour stockings if they don't cough up. I have never read or heard of this custom anywhere else, and I doubt Mama and Papa would like their carefully-brought-up girls panhandling in this way, let alone hitting those who don't give!
July 19, 2020
[from my nine year old daughter]:
This story is about five sisters: Ella (the oldest), Henny (feisty and funny), Sarah (middle child), Charlotte (best friends with the littlest), and Gertie. They are a Jewish family living in New York City. In one of the chapters, Sarah gets earrings, plus if you adventure more you'll see Henny with a bathtub on her head! They celebrate Jewish traditions, meet an interesting nurse, and entertain a boy. They have fun wherever they go!
I like this book and I think you should read it, too.
This story is about five sisters: Ella (the oldest), Henny (feisty and funny), Sarah (middle child), Charlotte (best friends with the littlest), and Gertie. They are a Jewish family living in New York City. In one of the chapters, Sarah gets earrings, plus if you adventure more you'll see Henny with a bathtub on her head! They celebrate Jewish traditions, meet an interesting nurse, and entertain a boy. They have fun wherever they go!
I like this book and I think you should read it, too.
October 17, 2021
A great sequel with the sad but ultimately uplifting Guido thread woven throughout. Again the family shows itself to be a loving, generous group of people. The only thing that slightly annoys me is Miss Carey seems too perfect all the time and always knows just what to say in a way that is unnatural. Henny is so naughty I could shake her sometimes. With her insatiable desire for mischief, she reminds me of Davy Keith from Anne of Avonlea. Lovable but also a terror. But mostly I love every character.
August 12, 2024
I loved the first book in this series as a child and didn’t realize there were more of them until recently. While the stories are simple and childish, I felt like they were every bit as charming as the last book and I appreciate the balance of characters who both try to do the right thing and also sometimes make mistakes and have consequences. I am excited to share these books with my daughter when she is a little bigger.
November 9, 2022
2022 bk 344. More hijinks from Henny, learning experiences for the younger girls, and for Ella - not the part she wanted, but the part she shined at for the holiday play at the Jewish School. The family concerns themselves in the life of the Settlement House lady and the life of one young Italian boy who is a hard worker in this continuation of the series. An enchanting look at the hard lives, but ones filled with love and laughter, in the early 1900s.
May 26, 2020
Here are more charming stories of a Jewish family in New York City in the early nineteen hundreds.The five sisters and their baby brother have many adventures. The most important was befriending an orphan Italian boy.
March 20, 2021
I’m always partial to the first book of a series, so I’m not surprised this book isn’t quite as good as the first to me, but I loved being reunited with the characters and the traditions. Every chapter is a feel-good story of its own.
February 4, 2019
This was such a feel good read. So sorry I missed that there were sequels when I was a kid!
March 22, 2019
I had to read another book in the series!! Always fun!!
Read
March 25, 2024This was a re-read for me in anticipation of an All-of-a-Kind Family walking tour of the Lower East Side. Book was delightful to re-read!
September 13, 2024
Not as good as the first, but still enjoyable.
April 27, 2025
This series is just a delightful look at life and character lessons and frugal living in a simpler time.
February 25, 2025
Wish I'd had access to this series as a young reader - I would have loved it.
Reminds me of the Betsy/Tacy Series.
Reminds me of the Betsy/Tacy Series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews