I give this 2.5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The All-of-a-Kind Family books and didn’t even know this one existed until I came across it at the bookstore this weekend. Out of the little pile I bought, this was the first book I started.

It was somewhat of a let down.

Even though “Papa” is in the title, he’s hardly in the book. He has gone to America to get a job and save money to bring his wife and two daughters over where they can rise above poverty and take advantage of “The Land of Opportunity.”

The story revolves around Mama and the daughters still in Czechoslovakia, and primarily from the perspective of the youngest, Gisella. Who, is quite a brat. She doesn’t like her dad (because he left) and doesn’t want to leave their poor farm to move to America. She doesn’t like doing her chores either, and often doesn’t obey.

Mama and Szerena are very sweet and admirable though; and it was fun learning about the various Jewish/Hungarian/Czech customs and how farming was done back then!

The ending is sweet though, and Gisella recognizes her father’s love and devotion, but boy, she was kind of a slog to get through.

Also, as a side note to the editor: there are a lot of typos in this edition! Several letters were scanned in incorrectly (a number of “h’s” that should have been “b’s” etc.) and then weren’t caught before printing.

Ages: 8+

#Hungary #Czechoslovakia #Passover #MayDay

Cleanliness: mentions a girl being scared of goblins, ghosts and witches (it’s only her imagination). A girl runs outside in only her petticoats - they’re so pretty she wants to show them off. A girl is envious of other’s possessions (see above for other attitudes/behaviors). A mother gives her children beer to settle their stomachs. A boy is struck several times by his teacher. A boy tells of a man who tried to commit suicide by hanging himself - you don’t know whether it’s true or not. There is a house robbery and the mother takes after the robber, thinking he did something to her daughters as she can’t find them. It is somewhat of an intense scene with her frantic and the robber hitting her in order to get away. Nothing happened to the girls (they were not even at home).

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A different perspective on the immigration story. A Papa Like Everyone Else portrays the life of two girls and their mother left behind in the old country while Papa went ahead to America. It is a vivid depiction which shares the courage and struggles of the families waiting to join fathers and husbands in America.

So many books detail the immigrant experience in America - think of this as prologue. Frankly, I wish the travel part of it had been more fleshed out (suddenly, they are in Rotterdam waiting for their ship! what happened?). The whole thing is very episodic - as are most of Taylor's books - but I still liked getting the other half of the story.

3.5⭐️ Had a bit of a hard time keeping my attention but a sweet story. More about their life on a farm waiting to go to America than the actual trip. One instance of the mother giving children beer to “settle their stomachs.”

gr 4-6 ? 159 pgs


aprox 1920 Helmecz, Hungary (Czechoslovak Republic). 10 year old Szerena and 6 year old Gisella live with their mother while their father works hard in America to save up the money to send for them. Szerena looks forward to being together again, but Gisella can't remember her father and can't imagine leaving all their friends and family to move to a strange country. The story follows the family's daily life as they await a letter for them with tickets to America. The story also follows them as they make the trip to America

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed The All of a Kind Family series or the Little House on the Praire.

Charming story of a family waiting in Czechoslovakia to join their Papa in America in the time after world war 1.

I love learning about culture and history- making lechwar, harvesting flax, dealing with goose feathers.

It was so sweet when things were new to them- 4 story buildings, stairs, ice cream & roller skates!

Imre giving her a button to be returned when they found each other in America was such an impactful gesture,
I wish there had been a resolution- but I can imagine it.

Taylor is great a capturing a young girl's p.o.v., with all their worries and hopes.

This is such a darling story! I’m not sure I’ve read a book set in Czechoslovakia before; I know I definitely have not read one featuring a Jewish family that was set there in the early 1900s! I fell in love with Gisella right away (she reminds me of myself when I was a girl), and loved getting to know her and her world.

I’m not sure what part of this book was my favorite…the village setting, and all the many things it describes the family making by hand, or the way the community pulled together to help each other with bigger tasks, or maybe even the family element, where Mama did her best to create a loving, happy home atmosphere, even though things can’t have been easy for her. It was all done well!

Highly recommended, if you’re looking for books set in early 20th century Europe to help round out your knowledge of the time period. This is a gentle, heartwarming read, with multiple layers of faith, family, and home. I’m looking forward to reading it to my younger siblings; it’s perfect for the 8–12 age range, although I think slightly younger (and older!) children would like it, too. It’s a simple story, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am looking forward to what other gems Sydney Taylor has up her sleeve that I don’t know about yet!

As a big fan of the All-of-a-Kind Family series from this author I was excited to learn that she had written one additional book at this same reading level. A Papa Like Everyone Else follows sisters Gisella and Szerena, their mother (aptly called Mama) who live in Czechoslovakia as they wait to have enough money to join Papa in America. Gisella was a baby when her father left and Szerena was a young girl, so he is not a large presence in their daily lives. Most of the book follows their daily lives of celebrations, family life, and small adventures appropriate for early-elementary-aged readers. Even though this book was written long ago it tells age-old lessons of kindness, bravery, and relying on one another.

Not as good or vivid as the All-of-a-Kind Family books, but it's enjoyable enough and has its own sweetness. The portrayal of the Roma is disappointing.

I’m on a “Sydney Taylor” kick!
“ A Papa Like Everyone Else” is a sweet, gentle story, from the famed author of the All-of-a-Kind-Family series. I’ve owned this one for awhile, but hadn’t gotten around to it (huge TBR list!). Now that I’ve read the biography of Sydney Taylor, “Papa” meant so much more. This was a fictional account of the experiences of Taylor’s friend Gertrude, upon waiting for and then getting the chance to join her father in America. I loved it!

Read with the boys. A mother and her two daughters live in a small village in Hungary, after the Great War. The father has gone to America to work and begin a life there. Topics of Jewish family traditions, immigration, rural life. We enjoyed the book, even though it was a bit slow moving compared to some of our other reads this year.