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    More All-of-a-Kind Family
    More All-of-a-Kind Family
    More All-of-a-Kind Family
    Audiobook3 hours

    More All-of-a-Kind Family

    Written by Sydney Taylor

    Narrated by Suzanne Toren

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the third book of Sydney Taylor’s classic children’s series, Ella finds a boyfriend and Henny disagrees with Papa over her curfew. Thus continues the tale of a Jewish family of five sisters—Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie—living at the turn of the century in New York’s Lower East Side. Entertaining and educational, this book brings to life the joys and fears of that time and place.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherListen & Live Audio
    Release dateJan 1, 1982
    ISBN9781593163648
    More All-of-a-Kind Family
    Author

    Sydney Taylor

    Sydney Taylor was an American writer, known for her series of children's books about a Jewish-American family in New York during the early 20th century. Her first book won the Charles W. Follett Award in children's literature.

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    Reviews for More All-of-a-Kind Family

    4.5/5

    225 ratings25 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I think that this book is perfect for a fourth grader. It leads the reader on a journey through the holidays of the Jewish year as experienced by five sisters living on the lower east side of Manhattan in 1912 with their hard working father who has a rag and junk business and their loving and fair mother. There is a visit to Coney Island and Playland, the building of a succos house, celebration of Purim. The descriptions of the Jewish holidays are folded into the day to day lives of the children who operate as a tightly knit group.

      Very charming, with a hint of romance between the Gentile librarian and fellow junkman Charlie.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      In 1912, on the East Side of New York City, lives a Jewish family of a mother, a father, and five girls: Ella (the grown-up one), Henny (the troublemaker), Sarah (the logical one), Charlotte (the dreamer), and Gertie (the baby). The girls love candy, and books, and although they don't have much money they can always find ways to entertain each other. This is the first in a series of really cute books that I read when I was little. The girls are all different and are really fun, and it's a great introduction to Jewish customs. Several Jewish holidays are described throughout the book, from the perspective of the extremely excited little girls. I think these appealed to me more than the Little House books and Anne of Green Gables books when I was a kid, because these girls lived in a city, like I did. I enjoyed this trip down memory lane, although there is not much more to appreciate here as an adult than as a kid.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I love this book so much, an amazing and funny story and lovely charecters my favruite story in the world!!!☺☺❤❤???

      2 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This book is the first in a series about 5 poor little Jewish sisters living with their loving parents in New York City prior to WWI. It is very much a gentle middle grade story, told episodically with only the slenderest of threads keeping it from being related short stories. There is a charm to the novel but it is one that is hard for an adult who doesn't already have fond reading memories of it to pick up and enjoy thoroughly. The historical situation is interesting and the little girls are lovely. The easy introduction of Judaism was natural and likely somewhat exotic when it was published. It seems to me that our world and our experiences are a bit more global now than they were and so it loses a bit of the novelty factor, at least for me and for my non-Jewish but always inquisitive children. Children who enjoy reading about their counterparts in the past will enjoy this series of vignettes and will probably get some good imagination exercising in as they put themselves in the place of these sweet, sunny little girls. Adults may find the excessive cheer and always happy outcomes a bit much but it will appeal to them too if they want an hour or so of sheer, unsullied escapism.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Listened to Listen and Live eaudio edition narrated by Suzanne Toren over the course of a month or so. This worked really well for a now and then listen because it's very episodic. Would be a great recommendation for families looking for gentle reads. I really enjoyed learning about how the family celebrated Jewish holidays.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I loved this entire series as a child. This, the first one, is more organized by the Jewish holidays as the family goes through their year. The five little girls, growing up in New York City during the early 1900s, learn about their faith and their culture. The reader learns about the world they live in as they explore their neighborhood market for Shabbat, go to the library, head to Coney Island(complete with sideshow), get scarlet fever, and finally learn about having a little brother.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Favorite part: New baby comes after five girls and it is a boy. "Now we're not all-of-a-kind any more," one of the sisters says. Mom: "Yes, we are. We all love each other and care about each other. We're still all-of-a-kind."

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Oh my goodness. I loved this so much. I wish that I had read it as a child so that I could have had years of rereading it. The story of these five sisters is so charming and it really does make you want to be one of them.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Summary:This book is about a mom and a dad and 5 step daughters. it was set in New York City around 1900. this book is about all the adventures the girls havePersonal Reaction:I didnt really like this book, it was kinda boring.classroom extention:1. Shows children what it was like in the 19002. shows children that all kids go through stuff.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      A heart-warming, gently humorous and informative family story, my one main regret is that I only recently discovered Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family (I would have loved this delightful story as a child, or a teenager, and am now keener than ever to read the rest of the series, but the sequels are, unfortunately, not nearly as readily available as the first book of the series).Wonderful, delightful episodes show the joys, the struggles and the close family and neighbourhood ties of a Jewish-American family in early 20th century New York City. I love how the different Jewish holidays, how Jewish cultural and religious traditions are depicted and shown throughout the story, informatively, but with no hint of didacticism. And I especially appreciate how the all-of-a-kind family also shares its traditions with friends who are not Jewish (specifically Charlie and the Library Lady, who actually end up rekindling, rediscovering their romance, which had been thwarted by Charlie's bigoted and judgmental parents). In today's world, where multiculturalism, where different cultures are again so often under attack and scrutiny, All-of-a-Kind Family clearly and lovingly demonstrates that different cultures can not only exist and peacefully coexist in a country, in a city, in a neighbourhood, but that these different cultures can and should be shared, that sharing one's cultural heritage leads to increased tolerance and understanding (and that even though we might have different cultural and religious traditions, we are basically all quite similar in many ways). Recommended for anyone (both children and adults) who enjoys warm family tales, as well as anyone interested in learning about Jewish-American culture and traditions.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      A memorable story, strong in period details about Jewish family life. Excellent read aloud for any middle grades class room.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      All-of-a-Kind-Family is a nice look at life in turn-of-the-century New York, the life of an immigrant family, and the Jewish customs and culture. It is very fun to peek into the difference in lifestyle that this book presents. My only complaint is that it is indeed highly episodic: each chapter holds little connection with the one before or following. It takes a little while to get into the mode of how it is written, but is an enjoyable book none-the-less.
    • 5/5
      it is a very good book,
      about a family of eight.
    • 5/5
      This was my fav of all the Sydney Taylor books! I LOVE IT!!!
    • 5/5
      This is the first in a wonderful series of books. I read this as a child, and now my son is enjoying it. It is a very wholesome book about a Jewish family, which was an unusual subject for the time period in which it was written. A great starting point for talking about the early 1900's, as well as Judaism.
    • 5/5
      My mom introduced me to this book when I was 8; she read it herself at the same age! I love all of these books about a loving Jewish family. I learned a lot about the religion and I will never get tired of reading them! I also love the companion books!
    • 5/5
      Lovely family story about a family of girls living in New York. I would have loved this as a child.
    • 5/5
      I have enjoyed 2 books in this series so far and they are both delightful. Although, dealing with some very real issues of the time in which they were set, it teaches about dealing with trouble and hardship and also appreciating joys and pleasures.
    • 4/5
      This is a sweet book with sweet themes. Perfect for a young reader who is able to read chapter books, but who is not yet ready for the darker themes of many children's books.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting book to learn the history of the Jews on the Lower East Side in the early 20th century. The ideas are very sexist, but it provides for good discussions with grandchildren. I loved this book as a child.
    • 5/5
      The All-of-a-Kind Family return in this second delightful tale - and yes, despite the effort of some to re-order these by chronology, More All-of-a-Kind Family is the second book! - and their adventures here are more fun, more amusing, more poignant, and more heartwarming than in their first, the eponymous All-of-a-Kind Family! The book opens with the marvelous "Lena the Greena" chapter, which introduces the titular Lena who, in an act of bravery, saves Little Charlie, who has wandered into the street, right into the path of an oncoming carriage. From this dramatic beginning, the narrative moves on, once again chronicling matters large and small in the life of this loving, close-knit Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of New York City during the early years of the twentieth century. Here we see eldest daughter Ella experiencing her very first crush (begun at the library, of course!), we witness fun-loving Henny getting into quite a scrape (for which her friend Fanny pays the price!), and we follow along as youngest daughter Gertie finally learns to tell time. We have the amusement of baby Charlie's chapter, in which he toddles up and down the stairs until he finally gets what he wants: namely, his mother to smile at him. But then we have the heartbreak of the chapters in which Lena becomes ill, and her marriage to Uncle Hyman is called off. The book closes with a momentous change, as the family prepare to move away from the crowded Lower East Side, to the leafy uptown Bronx...I adore all of the books about the All-of-a-Kind family, but this may be my very favorite. There is a deepening of feeling in More All-of-a-Kind Family that is immensely moving, a sense that the people being depicted are real, walking right out of the 1910s, across the pages of the book, and into my heart. The romantic in me loved the story-line involving Charlie and the Library Lady in the first entry in the series, but the relationship between Uncle Hyman and Lena here is so much more real to me, so much more precious. I get teary EVERY SINGLE TIME I read the exchange between Mama and Lena at the house in Far Rockaway, in which Mama attempts to reason with a hurting and very stubborn Lena. I can still recall the revelation it was to me, reading this for the first time as a young girl, that one could act with the conviction of doing right, of sparing others, but really be motivated by a certain kind of thoughtless self-involvement. I feel proud EVERY SINGLE TIME I read Papa's little speech at the end of the book, in which he tells his girls that America is a truly wonderful country, where everyone has the chance to better themselves. Then I get teary again (EVERY SINGLE TIME) when he maintains that they, the All-of-a-Kind Family, have never been poor, because they have had each other. Although all the books are marvelous, and although I tend to reread the first book most often, this second installment is the absolute best in my opinion - a masterpiece of children's literature! Recommended to everyone who reads, with the caveat that they should read All-of-a-Kind Family first.
    • 5/5
      These books were my childhood. <3
    • 5/5
      I am thoroughly enjoying these books. I think that I read only the first book as a kid, and now I’ve just read book 3 and I plan to read book 4 soon. For now I’m skipping 2 and 5, though I might go back and read book 2 at some point.I love this family. I especially loved Sarah in the first book, and in this book I loved Sarah and Ella, and Charlotte too, and Mama and Papa of course, as well as assorted other relatives, friends, and neighbors.The experience of Jewish culture and life in NYC’s lower east side of nearly 100 years ago is lovingly captured. In my opinion, this is the best kind of historical fiction, a wonderful story with interesting characters (based on the author’s family) and getting a feeling for how they lived in another place & time.Even though this book works fine for a standalone book, I really feel that the first book should be read first. A lot of intro material is left out, including the ages of the daughters.This book would make for a perfect family read aloud book. Each chapter manages to stand on its own, telling its own story. It’s a perfect book for a chapter a night bedtime reading. Each chapter is a gem. If I’d read this at ages 8-10, I think I would have loved the telling time clock chapter the best; I’d have felt superior since I learned to tell time as soon as I turned 5, at the beginning of kindergarten, but I know many students in my 3rd grade class still didn’t have that ability. My borrowed library copy has a photo of Sydney Taylor. I love how the pictures of Sarah in the book look a bit like her. The illustrations are delightful and capture scenes right out of the story.Fabulous book and series! I can’t wait to get to book 4; it’s already on reserve at the library. I can tell there are going to be some major changes for the family and I’m eager to read about what happens in their lives.
    • 5/5
      Oh, now this one stands up to the re-read. Lovely, lovely book. Evocative of the Lower East Side, poised before the First World War. The family is doing better financially, and there's The Wedding to look forward to and be part of.

      My favorite bit in this book is when Charlie goes downstairs to solemnly tell the shopkeeper, "My mama don't smile on me."

      This one gets tucked back on the shelf for certain.
    • 5/5
      This series of stories is deceptively simple. It seems to be (and is) a look at the daily life of Jewish children in New York City tenements at the turn of the last century. Without a deep philosophical message, the story line still seems to run a little deeper than the usual children's book. For one thing, we learn a lot about Jewish holidays and customs. When the author explains the story behind a holiday, she rarely takes more than a paragraph, but that is all a child needs to understand. The relationship between the sisters (and their new little brother) is strong and loving without being sickly sweet and perfect. A lovely slice-of-life that I enjoyed a lot.