All-of-a-Kind Family

My 6 year old and I are a little more than half way done and we both seem to enjoy it. I will be keeping this book in my library to read to my daughter when she is a bit older. Right now, I read about 3-10 pages every night before bed and my son understands the language and story just fine. There are a few words to challenge his vocabulary and nice content of some details of history of a time come and gone. For example, they talk about pennies and how they save a penny and go to the store and spend half a penny on one thing and half a penny on another. They also have a scene in the book with a continued theme of visiting the library every week which is still relatable to today’s children. The book talks about things such as a love for reading, doing some chores, all 5 girls sleep in the same room, spending pennies, visiting the library every Friday, and how their papa works in a shop and their momma prepares for the sabbath dinner. It’s a cute read. I would recommend it or gift it.

My older sister read this book then gave it to me, knowing is would love it. I think I was 10, I've reread it many times over the years, it's just such a lovely family story.

It is impossible to adequately describe how important the "All of a Kind Family" books have been to my daughters, beginning when they were ages three and six and continuing now years later. I have read all the books to them several times, and they have listened to Suzanne Toren's incredible readings dozens of times. We all listened to the first book so often that they pretty much memorized it, and our whole family had countless hours of fun imitating the voices and accents Toren gives the different characters and making up new stories about the family. Even I felt like we had become part of the family! Not only did we thoroughly enjoy these books, but we also learned a tremendous amount about life on the Lower East Side in the 1910s and Jewish traditions. Each of the books has a plot line involving a different set characters outside the family, but it is the small, everyday moments that bring the stories to life. The family is always loving and supportive, and although the characters face some challenges, there is never any content too disturbing for younger children. Sydney Taylor should hold her place beside Laura Ingalls Wilder in the canon of historical fiction for children!

I read this book when I was in the third grade. It was written a long time ago, and the language is gentle and the story took place in a slower time with no computers or social media. I re-read this book periodically and enjoy the slow, calm, family time that is so rare today. There are four more books in this series that are just as charming and enjoyable!!!

I remember reading this book (and at least one of the sequels) when I was around ten years old and I loved it. Reading now, many years later, I still enjoyed it. Having come from a large family (five girls and a boy) myself, I mostly related to the 'sisters' element of the story when I read it as a child. I especially enjoyed the bit about not wanting to eat the rice soup - oh, the drama over refusing good food in a tight-budget family! I've so been there! I loved the book for its resemblance to my life then. Reading it now, I was much more aware of the DIFFERENCES in the story from my own childhood. I grew up in a highly-Catholic suburb, lower middle class, rather than a highly-Jewish East Side city tenement area. All the pictures that Sydney Taylor gave of the Jewish rituals and history pretty much went over my head back then - I just accepted them as I had accepted all the many Catholic rituals - whereas now I found them much more interesting. I still enjoyed the book very much. I don't know whether today's children could relate, whether the story can transcend the millions of changes in lifestyle, attitudes, and behaviors, although kids still seem to enjoy the Little House books. My grandchildren are too young yet for this book but I'm not even sure whether my own children would have enjoyed it. They were more of the Babysitters' Club era - and devoured those books - and even I would have read it as something more from my own grandmother's era, but basically I was that kid who read everything she could get her hands on, and having inherited my mother's Honey Bunch books, I was already accustomed to books set in a previous era. At any rate, I enjoyed rereading it - for its own merits and for the memories of myself as a kid reading it.

I am going to tell you about a amazing book called All of a Kind Family. This book was written by Sydney Taylor. There is a family of eight that was Jewish and had five girls. The girls loved going on adventures together and love each other dearly. It all starts from library day, through Jewish holidays, and Scarlet Fever. Now, let's not forget shopping with mama, going to the beach, losing one of the girls at Playland, and the most wonderful surprise of all. I think that this book would make an awesome book to read to your family. Why? Because it has great family values. I recommend this book to you because it teaches you how to be a family, and how to share, and how to help and encourage your family. That is why I recommend this book to you. - Harper ( Age 9)

By M, age 10 This is a great book, I would highly recommend it. The main characters are Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, Gertie, Mama, Papa. They have many adventures and fun surprises in store. My favorite character is Ella because she is the oldest child like me. There are 13 chapters and I know you will love it too. They go to the beach, stores, the fair, they get scarlet fever, get new books, and get to celebrate traditions with their family.

This is my kids favorite story, thank you so much for the audio book.

I read this book as a child, but couldn’t find it in the library. I was so happy to find it on Amazon. I love this book.

A book I read as a child and bought for my Grandaughter who is enjoying it as much as I did. Transports the reader to a life so different from their own . Very well written .

A very nice book with old-fashioned stories of a Jewish family. The story seems to be set in the early nineteenth century. The focus is on the five girls who tackle their poverty with dignity and find happiness and joy in little things! Beautiful classic.

Remembered from childhood, so had to buy

This was such a wonderful book about a loving family including a mother, father and their five daughters. This is such a loving, kind family even though they don’t have much money they make the most of it. One of my favourite parts is that the mother ( aka mama) makes the girls dust the front room everyday and they HATE it so much until she makes it into a game with colourful buttons, then the girls fight over dusting it! Then they get Scarlet Fever so mama is stuck in a room with sick girls. The girls names are Ella, Sarah, Charlotte, Gerttie and Henny. Throughout the book holidays like Passover, Sukkah and Purim go by and they go to the market to shop for food. On a family outing the girls and mama go to the beach and then to the boardwalk and one of the girls gets lost and mama gets very panicked. This is an amazing book with a surprise ending. All ages will enjoy this book. It has a great storyline and it’s not spooky or scary. I highly recommend this book!