Last week, my sister asked me if I remembered reading 'All-Of-A-Kind Family' by Sidney Taylor. Of course. Thinking about that book and the following one 'More All-Of-A-Kind Family' brought back memories of visiting the Carnegie Library in our small Nebraska town. The front doors creaked when you pulled them open and the Children's Department in the basement was filled with treasures, worlds to be explored. We visited frequently, while our mother selected her books upstairs.Sidney Taylor, whose given name was Sarah Brenner, was the daughter of Jewish immigrants and
lived from 1904 to 1978. She was the fulfillment of the promise made to all those who come here for a better life. Your daughter can grow up to be a published writer, even if you arrive poor or unable to speak the language or without an education yourself.
I re-read 'All-Of-A-Kind Family' about a year ago and what struck me, reading as an adult, was the vivid portrait of life on New York City's lower east side. These children were 'city kids' and their lives followed the Jewish calendar. What I remember from my childhood reading was just that this big, happy family was different, and yet the same, as my own.
I recently read '97 Orchard, An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families In One New York Tenement' by Jane Ziegelman. It's a little like a non-fiction version of the book I loved as a child. What it shows us is that each group of immigrants to the United States brings their own customs, foods and traditions. As they settle here, their ways combine with those who came before. Children of immigrants marry partners whose heritage and religion is often different than their own.
Today, I read so much about people in power who somehow manage to ignore this great thread that winds through our history. They feel justified in excluding immigrants they do now know from our country out of fear of the unknown. When they do this, they waste one of our greatest resources. Most immigrants come to this country hungry for new life, for success and for a better life for their children.
Maybe we should assign 'The All-Of-A-Kind Family' to the power brokers in Washington. It might remind them that we are all immigrants, some of us have just been here a little longer.
