All of a Kind Family

A series of books about a Jewish family in the 1910s. It tells the story of five young girls and the everyday trials, tribulations and triumphs of being poor in money, but rich in spirit and family strength. The stories eventually follow the family to a new house uptown, and finally Ella's attempt at a career in the opera.

The All-of-a-Kind Family series contains examples of:

• Assumed Win: In Uptown, when Sarah loses a coveted History Prize to another girl in her graduating class.
• Beach Chapter
• Book Dumb: Henny
• Cousin Oliver: Averted with Charlie. He was born at the tail end of the first book, but he grew up with the five girls and developed into a character of his own, as well as introducing a change to the family dynamic.
• Denied Food as Punishment: Middle child Sarah refuses to eat her rice soup at lunch and is denied anything else until she does. Mama only gives in at dinner time after Sarah chokes down a few bites, replacing the dish with beef and potatoes.
• Five Girl Band:
  • The Leader: Ella
  • The Lancer: Henny
  • The Big Imagination: Charlotte
  • The Smart Girl: Sarah
  • The Chick: Gertie
  • The Sixth Ranger: Little Charlie
• Green Around the Gills: Sarah turns greenish when Henny pushes her too high on a swing in All of a Kind Family Downtown. She feels better once she sits quietly and sucks on a lemon drop.
• Hair of Gold: Henny, Sarah, Gertie, and little Charlie.
• Housewife: Mama, of the Silk Hiding Steel variety.
• Ill Girl: Sarah; Ella mentions her being prone to sore throats, the narrative states that she spends more time in the sick room than her sisters and she's the first one of the sisters to catch Scarlet Fever. Henny is the inverse of this trope, as she can't even catch the disease when she tries.
• Informed Judaism: Averted hard. The narrative discusses Jewish holidays and traditions, and Yiddish dialogue is peppered throughout the story (specifically in the market trip chapter).
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Henny, full stop.
• Limited Wardrobe: In the first book, the girls are rarely seen wearing anything other than their dark blue dresses and white aprons.
• Morality Pet: Charlie to Henny, sort of. She's far from evil, but she's reckless and mouthy and irresponsible unless she's put in charge of her little brother. Then she displays a gentle and almost maternal side.
• Never a Self-Made Woman: Well, these books were written in the 1950s.
• Old-Timey Bathing Suit: Justified by the time period.
• Only One Name: We never learn the family's last name.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Charlotte, Ella and their parents
• Ruptured Appendix: Mama goes to the hospital for an appendectomy in All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown. She recovers well, but the family gets an exercise in managing the household without her.
• Parental Marriage Veto: Charlie's parents forbade him from marrying the love of his life, who walked away in sadness. In anger, he left his home, his old life and even his old name Herbert Charles Grahm. But in the end, he and his sweetheart are happily reunited and she turns out to be the girls' favorite librarian, Kathy Allen.
• Smitten Preteen Girl: Ella's crush on Charlie
• Sweet Tooth: The girls, especially Henny, Charlotte, and Gertie. It helps that candy is actually pretty cheap, with the local shop even able to sell for half a penny.
• Unnamed Parent: Mama and Papa are never known as anything but.
• Wild Teen Party: Henny goes to one of these in All of a Kind Family Uptown. Of course, this being 1917, it's pretty tame.
• World War I: All of a Kind Family Uptown. Ella's beau Jules even goes to fight in the war, luckily he makes it back safe and sound.