Sydney Taylor (1904–1978)
Author of All-of-a-Kind Family
About the Author
Series
Works by Sydney Taylor
Cocoons (Evolution of Us #2) 1 copy
All of a kind Family 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Brenner, Sarah (birth)
- Birthdate
- 1904-10-30
- Date of death
- 1978-02-12
- Gender
- female
- Education
- New York University
- Occupations
- children's book author
dancer
scripwriter
short story writer - Organizations
- Lenox Hill Players
Martha Graham Dance Troupe - Awards and honors
- Sydney Taylor Book Award
- Short biography
- Sydney Taylor was the pen name of Sarah Brenner, who was born in New York City to Orthodox Jewish immigrant parents. Her popular stories and children's books are based on life on the Lower East Side in her own large family with 4 sisters and 3 brothers. As a young woman, she became involved in the performing arts, acting on stage with the Lenox Hill Players and dancing with Martha Graham's modern dance company. In 1925, she married Ralph Taylor and had a daughter. All-of-a-Kind Family was published in 1951 after it won a contest sponsored by Follett Publishing.
Sydney Taylor's books were the first to reach a large, mainstream audience with a depiction of American Jewish children in realistic situations. In addition to the five novels that comprised the All-of-a-Kind Family series, she also wrote several other children's books and short stories. She often toured schools and libraries around the country, talking to children about her work. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, New York, USA
Members
Discussions
Children's book set in 1890s-1910s New York? 5-6 daughters, general store in Name that Book (October 2012)
Reviews
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 show more 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. show less
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. show less
One of the great delights of my childhood, Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family books were some of my absolute favorites as a girl, and I have read and reread them countless times over the years. Unlike some readers, they didn't serve as my introduction to Judaism - my father sat on a number of ecumenical and interfaith councils, and my first experience of Jewish religious tradition was probably the Passover Seder we attended at the home of a rabbi friend of his, when I was very young - but show more they did give me a serious case of Purim envy. Honestly - what child wouldn't want to partake of a holiday in which you're allowed to dress up in costumes, encouraged to make noise, and given lots of treats? I have this vivid memory of accompanying my mother to the city on one of those "take your child to work" days, and passing a branch of the New York Public Library that had a copy of Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family on display in the window. Having had, until that moment, no idea that there even was a fifth story about this marvelous family, I was simply beside myself with excitement (even then, the NYPL was a place of magic) and made my mother march in at once and check it out for me. Ah, what a day that was...
All of which is to say, I simply adore these books. They are a treasured artifact of my childhood, but they are also phenomenally good books, in as far as I am able to judge these things objectively. The story of a loving Jewish family living in New York City's Lower East Side in the early years of the 20th century, they chronicle both the everyday occurrences and the special occasions (whether religious or secular) that make up their world. This first one is so familiar to me, that I have only to look at the cover, and I can instantly call to mind the opening of the book, in which Ella, Henny, Charlotte and Gertie wait impatiently for slowpoke Sarah to get home, so they can all go to the library. As someone who went to the library every week as well, my childhood self entered immediately into this story of girls so like me, and yet also unlike me. I could probably list all the chapters from memory - the one with the button game (got to get those girls to dust properly!), the one with the candy and cracker-eating in bed, the Purim one (naturally), the one where everyone but Henny gets Scarlet Fever, the one at Coney Island, the one where Charlie and his long-lost lady love are reunited (sigh!) under the Sukkah - although I might not string them together in quite the correct order. Memorable, entertaining, heartwarming, informative - these stories have it all! Even the artwork, contributed here by illustrator Helen John, is dear to me.
Having now reread All-of-a-Kind Family for at least the hundredth time - I have decided to revisit the series, in order to read the newly published picture-book, All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah - I can confirm that it holds up as well as it ever has, and is every bit as superb as I remembered it to be. Recommended to anyone who enjoys well-written family stories, engaging historical fiction, fiction featuring Jewish children, vintage girls' books - in short, good reads, full stop! show less
All of which is to say, I simply adore these books. They are a treasured artifact of my childhood, but they are also phenomenally good books, in as far as I am able to judge these things objectively. The story of a loving Jewish family living in New York City's Lower East Side in the early years of the 20th century, they chronicle both the everyday occurrences and the special occasions (whether religious or secular) that make up their world. This first one is so familiar to me, that I have only to look at the cover, and I can instantly call to mind the opening of the book, in which Ella, Henny, Charlotte and Gertie wait impatiently for slowpoke Sarah to get home, so they can all go to the library. As someone who went to the library every week as well, my childhood self entered immediately into this story of girls so like me, and yet also unlike me. I could probably list all the chapters from memory - the one with the button game (got to get those girls to dust properly!), the one with the candy and cracker-eating in bed, the Purim one (naturally), the one where everyone but Henny gets Scarlet Fever, the one at Coney Island, the one where Charlie and his long-lost lady love are reunited (sigh!) under the Sukkah - although I might not string them together in quite the correct order. Memorable, entertaining, heartwarming, informative - these stories have it all! Even the artwork, contributed here by illustrator Helen John, is dear to me.
Having now reread All-of-a-Kind Family for at least the hundredth time - I have decided to revisit the series, in order to read the newly published picture-book, All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah - I can confirm that it holds up as well as it ever has, and is every bit as superb as I remembered it to be. Recommended to anyone who enjoys well-written family stories, engaging historical fiction, fiction featuring Jewish children, vintage girls' books - in short, good reads, full stop! show less
As the title would indicate, author Sydney Taylor focuses on the eponymous Ella in this, her fifth and final novel devoted to the doings of a loving, close-knit Jewish family living in New York City in the early years of the twentieth century. The book opens some six months after the conclusion of All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, which ended with Jules and the other American soldiers coming home from World War I. Although there are occasional chapters devoted to the doings of some of her show more siblings - Henny running for office in her school's elections, Charlie playing a dangerous street game with some older boys - the main narrative focus here is on Ella, who is torn between her desire for a career in singing, and her love for Jules, and longing to make a home with him. As she takes a job with a vaudeville act, she must struggle with this choice...
Apparently many readers dislike this final entry in Taylor's series, which was written some time after the others (all penned in the 1950s), and first published in 1978. For my part, although I do not love it quite as much as its predecessors, I do find it an engaging tale, and have always enjoyed it. I have fond memories, moreover, of discovering it in the window of one of the New York Public Library's branch locations as a girl, when my mother brought me into the city on one of those "take your child to work" days. Although I understand that many readers have found Taylor's resolution of the main narrative question -Ella decides to give up her career on the stage, because she misses Jules so much, and wants to be with him - unsatisfying, or even sexist, I think that it reflects an issue that women continue to grapple with, to this day, and depicts it in a sensitive, nuanced way. Taylor never makes it an easy choice, depicting the pros and cons of both options. Nor does she present the necessity of the choice itself as desirable, acknowledging that there is a selfishness behind it all, a way in which women are expected to put others first in ways that men are not.
All in all, an enjoyable conclusion to the series, and to my recent rereading project. My only regret is that Taylor never got to the subsequent volumes she had planned, devoted to each of the other sisters. Sadly, she died before she had a chance to write them. Highly recommended, to anyone who has read and enjoyed the other All-of-a-Kind Family books. show less
Apparently many readers dislike this final entry in Taylor's series, which was written some time after the others (all penned in the 1950s), and first published in 1978. For my part, although I do not love it quite as much as its predecessors, I do find it an engaging tale, and have always enjoyed it. I have fond memories, moreover, of discovering it in the window of one of the New York Public Library's branch locations as a girl, when my mother brought me into the city on one of those "take your child to work" days. Although I understand that many readers have found Taylor's resolution of the main narrative question -
All in all, an enjoyable conclusion to the series, and to my recent rereading project. My only regret is that Taylor never got to the subsequent volumes she had planned, devoted to each of the other sisters. Sadly, she died before she had a chance to write them. Highly recommended, to anyone who has read and enjoyed the other All-of-a-Kind Family books. show less
From the hilarious opening chapter to the triumphant final one, All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown draws the reader in, involving her once again in the lives of the eponymous All-of-a-Kind Family (surname: unknown). Having now moved to the leafier Bronx, the family are just beginning to find their way around, and the girls set out at the beginning of the book, together with little Charlie, to visit their Aunt Lena in her apartment, a few blocks away. Being unfamiliar with the way floors are show more reckoned in this new place, they make a mistake, one that is at first embarrassing, but that also leads to laughter, and to the making of a new friend. No sooner is this adventure over, than a more serious one arises: Mama must be taken to the hospital, in order to have her appendix out, and the girls (Ella in charge) must cope with running a house on their own. Ella's beau Jules, introduced in More All-of-a-Kind Family, returns here, and enlists in the US Army, shipping off to Europe to fight in World War I. Jewish holidays and customs - keeping the Sabbath, the P'Idyon Ha-Ben ceremony - still play a central role in the girls' lives, but their horizons expand in this new home, and they have new Christian friends, in the form of the Irish-American Healy family, who live downstairs from them. The book closes with the return of the soldiers from World War I, and their triumphant march through New York City...
Although there seems to be some disagreement, regarding the correct order of Sydney Taylor's series, given that the fourth book to be published, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown, chronicles events occurring between All-of-a-Kind Family and More All-of-a-Kind Family, I have always considered this book, All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, to be the third one in the series, rather than the fourth. Leaving that issue aside, this is one that is every bit as delightful as its predecessors, with a story that swings effortlessly from hilarity to pathos, chronicling the ups and downs in the life of one Jewish family, residing in New York City in the early years of the twentieth century. It was interesting to see the girls getting older, with Ella's romance becoming more serious, and Sarah struggling so to win her history prize. As a young girl, I found the romances between Ella and Jules, and Grace Healy and Bill, very compelling stuff, and I cannot read the chapter where the four young people ride around New York City on a double-decker bus, singing songs that eventually involve all the riders in an impromptu concert, without smiling in delight. Similarly, I cannot read the scene in which Ella and Jules are parted, or the one in which Bill is declared missing in action, without getting a shiver. Taylor has a light touch here, and one never feels overwhelmed with despair, but she definitely is as capable of evoking sadness and fear in her readers, as she is good humor and happiness. Highly, highly recommended, to all those readers that have read the earlier two stories about this family, with the further recommendation that, if you are not one of those readers... what are you waiting for?!? show less
Although there seems to be some disagreement, regarding the correct order of Sydney Taylor's series, given that the fourth book to be published, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown, chronicles events occurring between All-of-a-Kind Family and More All-of-a-Kind Family, I have always considered this book, All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, to be the third one in the series, rather than the fourth. Leaving that issue aside, this is one that is every bit as delightful as its predecessors, with a story that swings effortlessly from hilarity to pathos, chronicling the ups and downs in the life of one Jewish family, residing in New York City in the early years of the twentieth century. It was interesting to see the girls getting older, with Ella's romance becoming more serious, and Sarah struggling so to win her history prize. As a young girl, I found the romances between Ella and Jules, and Grace Healy and Bill, very compelling stuff, and I cannot read the chapter where the four young people ride around New York City on a double-decker bus, singing songs that eventually involve all the riders in an impromptu concert, without smiling in delight. Similarly, I cannot read the scene in which Ella and Jules are parted, or the one in which Bill is declared missing in action, without getting a shiver. Taylor has a light touch here, and one never feels overwhelmed with despair, but she definitely is as capable of evoking sadness and fear in her readers, as she is good humor and happiness. Highly, highly recommended, to all those readers that have read the earlier two stories about this family, with the further recommendation that, if you are not one of those readers... what are you waiting for?!? show less
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