More All-of-a-Kind Family

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 show more 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

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.

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 show more 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. show less

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.

The second book in the series offers "more" about everything. More about Jewish culture. More growing up for the children as Ella finds a boyfriend and Henny disagrees with Papa over her curfew. More love, as a single uncle finds romance. More about the world, as World War I approaches and the family heads to Rockaway Beach to avoid infection during an outbreak of infantile paralysis.

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.

The All-of-a-Kind Family books were some of my mother's favorites growing up so of course I read them as a child. I recently re-read them and still enjoyed them as an adult. There are some parts of them that are rather problematic from a religious tolerance perspective but in general they stand the test of time and are sweet well written books.