Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore's Reviews > All-of-a-Kind Family

What a wonderful, endearing, lovely read this was! The adventures of five little girls (Gertie, Charlotte, Sarah, Henny and Ella) aged between four and twelve living with their mama who looks after the home, and papa who runs a junk shop in the East Side in New York City. I shouldn’t perhaps say adventures, for really this is the story of their daily lives, the daily happenings, chores, trips to the library, the little ups and down, the joys and sorrows that life brings every day―but that in itself is an adventure and I loved every bit of it.

The book opens with the girls heading off to the library on Friday, the day being ‘library day’ for them. That was enough to have me love it! But I loved it for so much more. For one, that the girls and their parents find happiness and contentment in what little they had; their means may have been modest but they lived life to the fullest within it and had their little pleasures with trips to the library, to the market, celebrating various festivals, even a day-out at Coney Island. This is something I feel one needs to remind oneself every so often, in a time when we are always wanting more no matter how much we have and are never satisfied―one doesn’t need to have much to be happy, just to appreciate all one has and enjoy it to the fullest rather than spending all one’s time brooding over all one hasn’t. (This aspect was very reminiscent of the Family at One End Street, and something I loved about that book too.) The other thing about this book I really loved was how rich it was in terms of showcasing culture. The beautiful detail in which Taylor describes Jewish festivals and observances makes one feel as if one is there with the family, watching the celebrations as they happen, listening to the sounds, and smelling the food (almost tasting it, even). And then of course the people themselves―none of the girls are really naughty as such, mostly well-behaved but they are all very real, very human and very likeable and I loved them all.

I was so thrilled to learn that this is a series of books and there are four more I haven’t read. Really looking forward to these.

It wouldn’t do to not mention the illustrations by Helen John which I also really liked very much.

A delightful read- if I could have rated it more than five stars, I would have :) I know I will keep coming back to this one often.