Shauna - Review: All-of-a-Kind Family

Well, I am finally writing my first book review on our blog. Kirk and I came up with a goal some time ago to have a family novel going at all times. We read with the children in the evenings. We have always read to the children one on one and we are happy we've done this. But as the children get older it has been so much fun to read together, laugh together, be scared together (Read the true confessions of Charlotte Doyle) and fall in love with books together. We have created many fond memories reading these books and there are more to come I'm sure. We hope you will enjoy these reviews and comment when you feel so inclined because we love to hear what you think of these books too! The first book I will review is All of a Kind Family. Look forward to my review on The Evolution of Calpernia Tait, and Mary Poppins.

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




All of a Kind Family is a genuine treasure and must read for the family. As we started to read it as a family my daughter Gwyneth enjoyed listening to it so much, she took it during the day and finished it up. I couldn't resist either, I also read ahead and finished it too. Set in the turn of the century this book is simply about a sweet family. There is a mother, father, and five little girls. What I enjoyed so much about this book was the children's adoration for their parents, especially for their mother. This was a breath of fresh air contrasted with the tendency of our culture to pit children against their parents in books and television. By "pit" I mean showing (if by television) or writing (if by book) negative interactions between parents and children. Also, the author captured so well the behaviors of little girls and their interactions with each other. Since the family are Jewish Orthodox the author did a fantastic job of writing the book around their religious traditions which I felt we all learned something from. And last but not least the author wrote in a somewhat mysterious character so to keep the reader intrigued and the ending is very rewarding! This is what our two oldest children had to say about this book:



Kalen: "I loved this book! Each chapter had it's own story, but the chapter names don't give the story away and they make it so we want to know what's coming next. I also liked that all the sisters really got along, loved one another and love their mom and dad."



Gwyneth: "This book is one of my favorite books now. It's wonderful and very exciting, and not just at the end. I liked the characters in the book. I liked it because the mom is really smart. The girls play together and have fun together. The book taught us a lot about friendship and cooperation. It taught us to put ourselves in other peoples shoes and show charity to those around us. I loved it so much I read it ahead of my family!"







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