Wonderful! I loved the peek into daily life in a Jewish family of all girls, early 20th century NY. Charming and fun to read, with a couple of lovely plot twists toward the end. I would have recommended this book to myself around age 9-11. :)

A bit quaint and old fashioned, but overall a very sweet story about a Jewish family living in the Lower East Side of NYC at the turn of the century. I loved all the discussion about Jewish holidays and foods, it felt very nostalgic and cozy. And it made me hungry. I'm going to have to cook all the things now - potato kugel, hamentaschen, matzo ball soup...yum. I've never made gefilte fish, but now I'm tempted to look up a recipe.

It felt a bit like the Jewish version of Little Women, but the sisters weren't quite as well developed. I would have liked to see them get a bit more character development and growth, but it is a series, and I suppose that could happen in later books.

Such a sweet book! I can’t wait to read more of this series.

Oh I remember this series.

What a fun book for younger girls probably starting at age 8. I would have loved these as a kid, but I still enjoyed it as an adult. 5 sisters growing up in New York City in the early 1900s. I love this era and they are a Jewish family so I liked reading about all their feasts and celebrations. Fun, relaxing read and the ending was super cute.

I first read this book when I was a child and loved it, along with the sequels. I have reread it many times as I've gotten older and still enjoy it. Growing up in a secular Jewish home, this is where I learned so much about Jewish holidays and life cycle events. I proudly admit that this series was kind of a blueprint for my Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved: A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France trilogy - a multivolume saga of a Jewish family with lots of daughters set in a fascinating historical time period, where the reader learns about Jewish traditions as they enjoy stories that involve some romance and end happily.

Maggie Anton

I think a lot of people must have read this as children and have the sort of nostalgia for this series that I have for the Bobsey Twins. No way the Bobsey twins could stand up to my memory. Anyone unacquainted would never be able to read more than one. All-of-a-kind family was predictable and bland. Glad I read it - but I'm done.

I read the whole series about 20 years ago and loved them. It was fun to follow the family as they moved around and as the various family members had adventures growing up.

I think these books may have been my introduction to Judaism, kindling a lifelong interest in Jewish literature. Passover, Succoth, and Purim are all present here, as are lovely episodes about daily life in pre-WWI New York City.

Helen John's illustrations bring the story to life.





Highly recommended to those looking for historical Jewish children's literature; those wanting a children's book about immigrant life in early 20th century NYC; and those who love close-knit family stories.

A delightful and incredibly sweet book about the daily life of a Jewish family growing up in New York city in the 1910s, based on the author's childhood. It's been a favorite since my own childhood, when I read it over and over, and I've always loved reading about the five sisters and their parents.

I first read this book about 50 years ago (yes, I am dating myself) and the last time I read it was probably 49 years ago. I remember loving the book at the time but I think read it just the years I was 9 and 10, and I think I always read library copies. I am wondering if I even read it in third grade but I don’t remember for sure, so I’m sticking with my original read date, which was when I was in fourth grade.

I did a reread, something I’ve long wanted to do, mostly because the Children's Books group is reading it for one of their book clubs. (I feel so grateful to them; now that I’ve reread it I wish I’d done so years ago, and probably more than just once.) I reread this book from March 16, 2013 through March 17th, 2013.

I guessed about the couple in question, even before the plot gave me the background or any hints, but probably didn’t as an 8-10 year old on first reading. I did want more about the two of them and their future, but I guess that’s what sequels are for. And this book did have a delightful ending.

I love how close the sisters are, how thoughtful they are, how they play fair, and how each of their different personalities comes across (I’ve always been especially fond of Sarah, the middle daughter), and I appreciate the parenting they got too. It’s just a wonderful family. I envied the closeness of the family but was and remain a bit surprised that the girls’ child friends didn’t make any appearances; it was only family and adult family friends that showed up in the story.

I love how Jewish holidays and traditions are seamlessly incorporated right into the story. Although I’m Jewish, my nuclear family never celebrated Jewish holidays, not at all. I went to a couple Passover seders at cousins’ and then when I was about 12 I learned and participated in two different friends’ Jewish family celebrations, but not on a completely regular basis.

What’s funny is when I was young I read tenement and how money was dear so I thought of this family as poor, and I guess they are in a sense, but there was enough money to give each girl 1¢ a day in spending money, which is 35¢ a week, and that money could buy a lot back then, and they had enough for a few other extras too, so now they don’t seem particularly destitute or needy to me.

I loved the library and the books portions of the story, and always have.

There is some anachronistic material such as when describing men of different ethnic groups and the “freaks” at Coney Island, and the differences between girls and boys regarding interests, careers, and roles, but I accepted that. This was historical fiction even 50 years ago.

The ink drawings are lovely and really add to the story. They help make it a perfect book for 7 or 8 though 10 year old chapter book reading kids but the story and characters can be enjoyed by everybody, which makes it an ideal book for read aloud, for one to one, for families for sure, and for teachers and students. Adults will enjoy the reading experience as much as the children do.

I hated being an only child and always wanted a big family and at ages 9 and 10 it was sisters I wanted, so I know I got vicarious gratification from this and many other books about families.

This is a perfect comfort read book and a lovely, fun, heartwarming, and old-fashioned yet timeless family story.

Thanks to Goodreads friend Melody I know to read only 2 of the 4 sequels, and I do want to read both of them.

One of the best books ever. I love all the little girls and Mama and Papa and their friends and relatives. The setting is amazing, too. I kinda want to go there, even though it was probably a pretty hard life. :)