Tales of Immigrant Life: All of a Kind Family Downtown

To date, I have read All of a Kind Family, All of a Kind Family Downtown, More All of a Kind Family and All of a Kind Family Uptown, from the series of five books for older children written by Sydney Taylor in the 1950s. This is my favorite of the four, speaking strictly as an adult reader. Compared to the other titles, it feels more down-to-earth and less romanticized in its depictions of the difficulties of immigrant life on the Lower East Side of Manhattan around 1910. While all of the books are charming, this one does not gloss over the hard life people experienced. Poverty, illness and death were commonplace in all immigrant neighborhoods (and to some extent, still are) and we are not spared here from those sad realities.

The family, consisting of five sisters, a baby brother, father and mother, live in slightly better circumstances than some of their neighbors. They are observant Jews, and the holidays are beautifully explained and depicted. In this book, we hear more of Irish and Italian neighbors than we did in the first book, and in fact, a young boy named Guido plays an important role in the story. Guido is extremely poor. His father is dead, and his mother, who does piecework at home for a garment factory, has become very ill and can't work anymore. 

Ella, the oldest sister of our family, and her Mama pay a visit to Guido and his mother, bringing food and a small sum of money in case it is needed. Guido and the mother live in a back tenement, a building built behind the one facing the street. These were often the poorest and ill-cared for dwellings that can be found in a neighborhood that is already impoverished throughout because they tended to have even less light and air than the street front buildings. An illustration in the book depicts a slovenly rear yard with refuse, ashcans and alley cats.

Ella is sent to bring Miss Carey from the Settlement House and a doctor. Guido's mother is so ill she is hospitalized. The eventual outcome is as you might expect and it is heartbreaking. For a children's book, this is a story that will require special attention from parents and teachers to its young readers as they may find it upsetting.

There is more. Middle sister Henny's exploits and difficult personality are forthrightly addressed and we also learn about Miss Carey's sad back story.

Despite the difficult story line there are also celebrations of the Jewish holidays that all can enjoy. There are many lessons in this book, told with realism, but also with gentleness. As an adult reader, I found it very moving and in many ways, very contemporary. I would be careful though, in reading it with children who may find some of the events upsetting.