From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family

By: June Cummins and Alexandra Dunietz

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Synopsis: The untold life story of All-of-a-Kind Family author Sydney Taylor, highlighting her dramatic influence on American children&’s literature"Delv[es] deeply into historical context, including Jewish immigrant experiences. . . . An uncommonly intimate portrait. . . . Deeply empathetic."—Elissa Gershowitz, Horn Book 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.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9780300258363
Related ISBNs:: 9780300243550
Publisher:: Yale University Press
Date of Addition:: 06/22/21
Copyrighted By:: Jonathan Lewis
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.