“All-of-a-kind Family” resource

Youngest would like to study 20th century history this year, and we’re going to go with that, because this is my hands-on learner and at present it’s best to go with her interests. She retains what she finds interesting, and disregards the rest.

But isn’t that the way with most of us? Sure, we learn to pay attention to eye-glazing stuff as we mature, but we still retain best the material that interests us.

So I’m putting together a reading list. We’ll have something about the Wright Brothers, of course. The first thing that popped into my mind, however, when she mentioned the 20th century, was the “All of a Kind Family” books. It’s a perfect illustration of the immigrant community in turn-of-the-century New York.

I just ran across a free resource on the web, with background information on the author and her books. Did you know that the author based her “All of a Kind Family” on her own life? Which character grew up to become Sydney Taylor?

There are discussion questions, pictures, and activity suggestions in this PDF file, along with a booklist for those who’d like to read more books like the “All of a Kind Family” books.

http://www.jewishlibraries.org/main/Publications/AllofaKindCompanion.aspx

Update 1/25/2013: Sorry, the link was out of date, but I hunted around and found the updated link, so as of today, the link ought to work.