All-Of-A-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

(This week I'm doing my first series, and it's books that I found delightful. I mean this in the best possible way: books that filled me with delight. This came about organically; I realized I was using 'delightful' to describe a lot of the books I was using, and rather than reaching for a thesaurus I'm going to embrace it.)

I'd never heard of this book until it appeared on A Fuse #8 Production's list of Top 100 Children's Novels, but I found it (you guessed it) delightful. Written over fifty years ago and set about a hundred years ago, it tells the story of a Jewish family in New York City. The parents were immigrants and the children have embraced life in America. They love thinking about the candy they can buy with their pennies and they really love the library (and the kind library lady who works there). I learned a lot about Jewish holidays and observances from this book. I wasn't expecting to really enjoy this book as much as I did, but its tone, spirit, and content just really got to me. I wish I'd read it years ago, but I'm glad I found it now.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Gravity by Leanne Lieberman
Karen's Wish by Ann M. Martin
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary