Despite the label that indicates that this is the fourth book in the series--and it is the the fourth book published--It's the second chronologically. It begins when Charlie, the little brother of the five protagonists who was born at the end of the last book, is three months old.

This book was new to me--I only owned three in the series as a child--so it was good to read stories about the family that I hadn't seen before, such as the child with theatrical ambitions and musical talent getting a part in a Purim play, but not the part she wanted and the girls befriending a kindly nurse who works in a settlement house for immigrants on the Lower East Side. At the same time, there's a great deal of focus on another child (Guido, the son of a tubercular widow) rather than on Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie, and I confess that I was less invested in him than I was in the five sisters. Guido was a nice enough kid, but I knew that he wouldn't show up in the next two books and didn't expect him to appear in the final one. (Spoilers--he didn't appear.)

That loving, close-knit Jewish family, five girls and one boy, whose life in New York City during the early years of the twentieth century is chronicled in author Sydney Taylor's five-book series, return in this delightful new adventure, which covers events occurring between n  All-of-a-Kind Familyn and n  More All-of-a-Kind Familyn. Because it backtracks in the chronology of the series, some readers consider it the second book, although it was published fourth. For my part, n  More All-of-a-Kind Familyn will always be the second book, although I admit this may be owing to the prejudice of childhood habit, as I always read it second on my innumerable rereads of the entire series. That said, there is a misconception, it would appear, that this was written, like the fifth book, n  Ella of All-of-a-Kind Familyn, long after the others, when in fact it wasn't. All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown was written shortly after the first book, and was intended by Taylor as a sequel. Her publisher, the Chicago-based Follett, wouldn't publish it because it contained a grittier, more realistic depiction of life on the Lower East Side than that seen in the earlier book. As a result, n  More All-of-a-Kind Familyn was published instead, and Taylor has to wait until the 1970s to see this title in print. I knew none of this as a girl, but it makes sense to my adult self, as unlike so many other readers, I was never able to spy any significant difference in style between this, and the three earlier books. The themes are a little more serious, but other than that, this in no way stands out, either in my memory or on this latest reread, as being significantly different in feeling, than the others.

Leaving all of that aside, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown is every bit as engaging as its predecessors (if a little more serious), following the ups and downs, joys and sorrows in the life of the eponymous (never named) family. Here we see Henny getting up to her usual mischief, even going so far as to "run away" for one evening, when she is sent home from school with a letter for her mother. Ella is still the responsible eldest sister, and her singing talent once again plays a role, when she is given the part of the jester in her Hebrew School's Purim play. Sarah is as sweet and generous as ever, sacrificing her tenth birthday gift in order to help family friend Guido, while Charlotte has a frightening experience involving some lovely-looking, but very dangerous burning coals. Charlie, born at the end of n  All-of-a-Kind Familyn, is still a baby, while Gertie, still quite young herself, is ever-present at all family events and celebrations. In addition to the personal adventures, and religious holidays - Purim, Simchas Torah, and Sukkot all play a role in the story - the family here also become involved in the life of a young Italian-American boy, Guido, whose mother is terribly ill, and who has no other family or friends. Their friendship with Miss Carey, one of the nurses at the nearby Settlement House, is also a theme throughout the book, which takes a much closer look at the poverty and suffering all around the girls. Although there is tragedy here, in the death of Guido's mother from consumption, and the deaths of Miss Carey's son and husband, some time before, there is also love, kindness, and hope, with an unlikely happy ending, in the form of Miss Carey's adoption of Guido.

As should be plain from the discussion above, I have no memory of enjoying this one less than the other books in the series, when I was a girl, although I did reread it less often as, unlike the first three, I didn't own a copy of my own. That said, I think I have a greater appreciation for it now, on this reread, than I did as a child, as I now have a better knowledge of some of the realities it is depicting. Just this past year my mother and I visited The Tenement Museum here in New York City, which recreates a number of real-life tenement apartments from various eras in the history of the building, located on Orchard Street, on the Lower East Side. We toured the "Irish Outsiders" exhibit, set during the 1860s and 1870s, and the "Hard Times" apartment, which belonged to an Italian-American family in the 1920s and 30s. Educational, by turns sobering and inspiring, it was a marvelous experience - one I cannot recommend enough! - and I feel it really gave me a better insight into and appreciation of the realities the All-of-a-Kind Family and their neighbors must have confronted, living in the area. I appreciated the inclusion of darker realities here, both as a girl and as an adult, and have never felt that they ruined the story. Taylor, as mentioned, knows how to create hope and instill confidence, even when depicting sad or disturbing truths. Highly recommend to all fans of the first three books about this family, and to anyone looking for children's stories about life on New York City's Lower East Side specifically, or new immigrant enclaves in America's cities generally.

All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown is a solid sequel. A fun glimpse into a different time!

I read these when I was in 3rd grade, I think, and it's a sweet little series of books. Great books to help educate a youngster about other cultures in an unobtrusive way.

I'll admit, I wasn't sure how the sequel would hold up, but it really came through. It was a great contunation of the lives of these sisters and also introduced some new characters. I'm very impressed with how the author has captured the hearts and thoughts of girls. I had moments in my own girlhood where I encountered situations like these sisters and had many of the same thoughts as they do. I also have learned so much about Jewish culture in modernity. It's a very real book, yet with the light hearteness of childhood antics.

As good as the 1st one. 3 down & 2 more to go - reading books from my childhood has been fun!

We adore this book series. It's a joy to be able to read something that's similar to our faith and learn about how a family would do things. It's a very wholesome book filled with laughter, joy and things to think about.

Their little, full of life and funny adventures continues in this book. Putting butter onto shoes to make them shiny or old ways to pierce an ear or paying up to watch little brother and old traditions with stories of this jewish family is delightful read.

What I never realized until today was that this book was written years after the other four--and it shows, big time. Of course, I didn't know that when I was little, and I think I read this one almost as many times as I read All-of-a-Kind Family. But it's not as charming, and neither are the illustrations. They look dated instead of classic like the beautiful pen-and-ink drawings of the other books. I mean, it's not a bad book, but the others have a lot more to recommend them.

Love reading childhood favorites. There are illustrations and lines that I remember so well that it's like seeing an old friend.

This series is truly lovely. The 9yo are thoroughly enjoying it.

NOTE: it was published later — bc in the 1950s they apparently thought ppl couldn’t handle reading about tenement slums

Another sweet story. I felt like the siblings argued more in this book than the first, so only 3 stars for us.