ONE OF A KIND

Michelson and Green pay homage to a one-of-a-kind author.

Born in 1904, book-loving Sarah Brenner is one of five sisters in a poor, Yiddish-speaking family in lower Manhattan. Both parents emigrated from Germany after facing antisemitism. Sarah loves celebrating the Jewish holidays, but her parents also encourage her and her sisters “to learn American customs, ‘so you [won’t] feel like foreigners in your own country.’” At age 14, Sarah adopts the masculine first name Sydney. Later, when she finds work as a secretary, her co-workers assume she isn’t Jewish and make ugly antisemitic slurs—and she protests. She also speaks up for workers’ rights and meets her future husband, Ralph Taylor. Upon marrying, she changes her name again—to Sydney Taylor. When her daughter asks why children’s books don’t feature Jewish characters, Sydney begins writing stories based on her own family history. But World War II is raging, and publishers aren’t accepting immigrant stories. Sydney puts her stories aside and forgets about them. Ralph doesn’t, however. After the war, he submits them to a story contest; All-of-a-Kind Family wins first prize. Published in 1951, it was “the first Jewish children’s book to become popular with non-Jewish readers,” as Michelson notes in the backmatter. Told in present tense, this is a lively, well-written tale about a renowned author who helped underrepresented kids see themselves in literature. The charming digital gouache illustrations capture period details and the cozy familial warmth of Taylor’s own background.

An effective, respectful treatment of a renowned author.