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For those of us (like me!) with fond childhood memories of reading about the five Jewish sisters growing up in early 1900s New York City, you'll probably be interested in the news that these books are being made into a television series.
I pored over these books as a young child, thoroughly enjoying the scenes depicting Jewish immigrant family life on the Lower East Side, and wondering what my own life might have been like had I been born in those earlier times.
I'm curious to see how Sydney Taylor's nostalgic stories will translate to the screen.
This is wonderful news! I've been meaning to take the lower eastside All of a Kind Family walking tour. This children's book series is very special to me. The article does not say where it can be viewed. Does anyone know?
For those of us (like me!) with fond childhood memories of reading about the five Jewish sisters growing up in early 1900s New York City, you'll probably be interested in the news that these books are being made into a television series.
I pored over these books as a young child, thoroughly enjoying the scenes depicting Jewish immigrant family life on the Lower East Side, and wondering what my own life might have been like had I been born in those earlier times.
I'm curious to see how Sydney Taylor's nostalgic stories will translate to the screen.
This is wonderful news! I've been meaning to take the lower eastside All of a Kind Family walking tour. This children's book series is very special to me. The article does not say where it can be viewed. Does anyone know?
They haven't made the series yet. This was breaking news about the deal that has been struck between the Jim Henson Company and (I presume) the estate of Sydney Taylor to develop and produce a live-action series based on the novels. Hopefully, there will be more news as the project commences!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
I loved these stories and read them all as a kid. Their appeal was not just to Jewish kids.
I would love to watch them.
You're right, MQ. Just like the old Levy's Jewish rye bread advertising slogan: "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's!" And you don't have to be Jewish to love the All-of-a-Kind Family!
They haven't made the series yet. This was breaking news about the deal that has been struck between the Jim Henson Company and (I presume) the estate of Sydney Taylor to develop and produce a live-action series based on the novels. Hopefully, there will be more news as the project commences!
You're right, MQ. Just like the old Levy's Jewish rye bread advertising slogan: "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's!" And you don't have to be Jewish to love the All-of-a-Kind Family!
You know something that stuck with me all my life? In one story, the girls go to the market with their father and each can pick out something to eat. One of them gets spiced chickpeas. I remember that they sounded SO good, even though I had no clue back then what chickpeas might even be. It was not something we ate in our house.
So fast forward to 2016, I am working in Boro Park, and the Yemeni kosher shop on the corner has spiced chickpeas in containers on their counter. By then I knew what chickpeas were, of course, but I remembered that story I'd read as a child when I saw them. They were good, too!
I miss that store. They had burekas, these sort of little turnover things with spinach or potato or mushroom in them.
You know something that stuck with me all my life? In one story, the girls go to the market with their father and each can pick out something to eat. One of them gets spiced chickpeas. I remember that they sounded SO good, even though I had no clue back then what chickpeas might even be. It was not something we ate in our house.
So fast forward to 2016, I am working in Boro Park, and the Yemeni kosher shop on the corner has spiced chickpeas in containers on their counter. By then I knew what chickpeas were, of course, but I remembered that story I'd read as a child when I saw them. They were good, too!
I miss that store. They had burekas, these sort of little turnover things with spinach or potato or mushroom in them.
I remember that scene from the book. I've just looked it up in my old, battered copy of the book. It was a great introduction to Yiddish for a generation of Jewish (and non-Jewish) children where Yiddish wasn't spoken in the home:
"Arbis! Shaynicke, guttinke arbislach! Keuf meine heise arbis!" (Chick peas. Fine, nice chick peas. Buy my hot chick peas!)
The hot-chick-pea peddler was singing the words over and over in a funny Yiddish chant as he rolled a small white oven along the streets. Before Mama could stop her, mischievous Henny gave the carriage a big push so that it rolled away from under Mama's hands. She stooped over it as if she were pushing a great weight and began to chant in imitation: "Arbis! Shaynicke, guttinke arbislach!"
The children roared with laughter. Even Mama could not hide a smile while she ordered Henny to stop.
"Leave her alone, lady," the peddler told Mama. "She's helping me in mine business."
It's this kind of children's humor with no intended malice that made these books so charming. Even so, Mama was concerned that her daughter's mimicking of the peddler might be taken for rudeness. The good-natured peddler, however, didn't take offense. Good times.
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LOVE LOVE LOVE the All-of-a-Kind Family books! I have read them over and over and over again, and I am 55 years old. Ella was about the same age as my grandmother (born in 1899), and my grandmother lived on Rivington Street where they went to the market mentioned above. I credit those books as the start of my interest in genealogy. If you look on Ancestry, there is a family tree up there for Sydney Taylor, and one of the photos in the family tree shows her family of 5 girls that really resembles the illustrations in the book. I am looking forward to this show!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the All-of-a-Kind Family books! I have read them over and over and over again, and I am 55 years old. Ella was about the same age as my grandmother (born in 1899), and my grandmother lived on Rivington Street where they went to the market mentioned above. I credit those books as the start of my interest in genealogy. If you look on Ancestry, there is a family tree up there for Sydney Taylor, and one of the photos in the family tree shows her family of 5 girls that really resembles the illustrations in the book. I am looking forward to this show!
Michgc, you (and others here) might enjoy the biography From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family. It was published only last year, and I'm currently reading it. The biography gives lots of details about Sydney Taylor's parents and their families before they immigrated to America. I think it may even fill in some gaps in that family tree you found on Ancestry.com.
"This is the first and only biography of Sydney Taylor (1904–1978), author of the award-winning All-of-a-Kind Family series of books, the first juvenile novels published by a mainstream publisher to feature Jewish children characters. The family—based on Taylor’s own as a child—includes five sisters, each two years apart, dressed alike by their fastidious immigrant mother so they all look the same: all-of-a-kind. The four other sisters’ names were the same in the books as in their real lives; only the real-life Sarah changed hers to the boyish Sydney while she was in high school. Cummins elucidates the deep connections between the progressive Taylor’s books and American Jewish experiences, arguing that Taylor was deeply influential in the development of national Jewish identity. This biography conveys the vital importance of children’s books in the transmission of Jewish culture and the preservation of ethnic heritage."
From reading Taylor's biography, I found out that Sarah/Sydney had a very interesting life besides being an author. The other sisters were also highly accomplished.
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