A Papa Like Everyone Else

"Mama and her two young daughters, Szerena and Gisella, never thought they would be without Papa for five long years. Ever since he left their small farm in Czechoslovakia for America. they have been waiting for him to send for them. In the meantime, with the help of family and neighbors, Mama and the girls work on the farm. Every day Szerena wishes for "a papa like everyone else," but Gisella can't remember their papa, and wishes he had not gone away without them. Finally the big day arrives and Mama and the girls leave for America. What will it be like to travel on a train, and a ship? And what will happen when at last they see Papa?" This is a brief synopsis of a wonderful book by Sydney Taylor, who is better known for her "All-of-a-Kind Family" series. "A Papa Like Everyone Else" seems to be almost a precursor to those books and focuses on "the old world" of Eastern Europe. Hungarian and Czechoslovakian traditions and customs are explored, along with daily Jewish life in a small farming community in the early part of the 20th century. I wish someone would put this and the rest of Sydney Taylor's books back into print!