All-of-a-Kind Family

I had heard good things about this book and since we're going to the Lower Eastside later this week, I thought my daughter might enjoy it. I picked it up at the library and worried, when I saw it, that she might not be terrifically interested in it: the cover art is old fashioned and I was afraid she might think it was too "young" for her. We read the first couple of chapters together and then, on her own, she devoured the rest of it and asked me to find all of the sequels. It's a beautiful book: simple and affecting and a fascinating source of information about Jewish life and culture, although not in any way preachy or didactic. I was so grateful for this book, such a nice break in the long line of books written for 9-12 year olds these days--good, well-written novels--that seem to focus chiefly on loss: a dying mother, a missing father, a loss of a childhood friend... I think the book was deeply comforting for my girl and I recommend it highly.

My childhood favorite! All the books in this series were read again and again, and sometimes outloud, by me and my four siblings. Fun, funny, endearing and memorable. Right up there with I REMEMBER MAMA, FARMER BOY, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS, and ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK. A timeless slice of life for kids ages 3 to 18 to enjoy!

What joy this book brought to me when I read it and the sequels in elementary school!!! For a Protestant girl from Texas who had no siblings living at home after I was nine, these books were PERFECT to help me see the world from a completely different perspective. This is the kind of experience that engenders understanding, kindness, and friendship. The best part is that children can read these books and learn positive, loving attitudes before they are polluted with the negatives. I am now buying it for my granddaughters. I only wish that I could find the sequels!!

I read this series multiple times as a secular Jew growing up in Queens in the late 1950s, and loved them for their "Jewishness" and their inclusion of cultural details missing from most of the many books I read. I also loved the depiction of the sisters, as we were also a family of girls - each sister was distinct and treasured. I was eager to share these books with my own daughter, and we read this one together about six months ago, when she was just-turned-six. She adored it, and kept asking for "just one more" chapter. A couple of months later, she spotted the book in a bookstore, grabbed it, and clutched it to her chest. "But we've already read that one. Don't you want to pick something else?" "No, I *love* this book. I have to *have* it!" I was thrilled - this was the first time she actually coveted book-ownership, and am now shopping for the other books in the series, now out-of-print. One caveat - although the book deals beautifully with Jewish immigrant life on the Lower East Side, it also contains stereotyped references to other ethnic groups that were current when it was written. For example, non-Jewish "good" characters tend to be tall, thin, and (yes!) blond, and there are offensive descriptions of Poles and Italians. I found myself editing while reading (and still felt it necessary to discuss stereotypes and prejudice) - you might want to initiate a conversation with your child before or during the reading of this book. Enjoy!