Brooklyn Doesn't Rhyme

Rating:
Summary: Where my Brooklyn peoples at?
Review: Once I was perusing a children's literature listserv when someone proposed the following question: Are there any good children's books about Jewish children that don't focus solely on the Holocaust? Locating such tales is not easiest task in the world. In fact, finding modern books about contemporary Jewish children is well nigh impossible sometimes. You're better off if you look for books containing recent Jewish immigrants, if anything. The best books of this kind is definitely the "All-of-a-Kind Family" series by Sydney Taylor. Less well-known but still worthy reading is Joan W. Blos's, "Brooklyn Doesn't Rhyme". A familiar story of a girl living in early 20th century New York, the tale focuses on the lives of Jewish arrivals in America and the world in which they lived.

Rosey has a pretty darn good life. Her father has a steady job, she lives in a nice house in Brooklyn, and her family loves one another. But when asked in school to write her family's story in a composition, Rosey finds herself stymied. According to her, nothing interesting has ever happened in her family. Sure, there was that time when Rosey bought a bag of chocolate babies for her new baby sister and then ate every last one. Or when she tried to help out her depressed serving girl by taking her to the doctor. There was the story of how her brother made friends with a boy in her grade, or that grueling move the family made from their flat to their new home. Eventually, Rosey tells us the stories of her family's life and how well they've survived in Brooklyn itself. And we find that perhaps she's got a lot to say about her world and people. Much of it is very interesting indeed.

As I mentioned before, this book is closest to "All-of-a-Kind Family" in a variety of ways. The setting, the characters, and the time period are very similar. Most surprising to me was the fact that both books even went so far as to arrange storylines around those tasty chocolate babies. There are some distinct differences, of course. For one thing, "Brooklyn Doesn't Rhyme" places itself firmly within its time period in each and every chapter. Sometimes it teaches the reader about suffrage or the rights of women to unionize. Other times it adds little period details while furthering the plot. Kids who read this book will learn about hauling ice to the ice box or the early years of the Ford motor plant. Oddly enough, this book isn't very Jewish. Where "All-of-a-Kind Family" made certain to mention specific holidays, foods, and religious customs, "Brooklyn Doesn't Rhyme" just mentions that characters were forced to flee from different countries because of their religion. That's about the extent of their culture. "All-of-a-Kind Family" tackled questions of inter-religious marriage and the breaking of faith. This book is more interested in presenting the time period than it is handling the tough questions. As a result, it's nice but somewhat bland.

I suppose it's not particularly fair to compare this book to Sydney Taylor's classic. But in some ways, it's impossible not to. "Brooklyn Doesn't Rhyme" doesn't fill a void. It doesn't offer much of anything new to readers. And while I appreciated its inclusion of suffrage and unionism, these themes appear in stronger and more interesting books. This story is definitely interesting from time to time, but other books have told this tale better before. If you like the themes in "Brooklyn Doesn't Rhyme" then check out the "All-of-a-Kind Family" series. This is a nice book. But it's been done before.


Rating:
Summary: Spend some time with Rosie & Family.
Review: This book is a great look into family life at the turn of the century. It paints a vivid picture of the time in which it's set. Labor Unions, Votes for Women , Comming to America , the newfangled telephone , and more. All of these are woven into the stories Rosie tells about herself & her family. This book also encourages a love of writing and a understanding that some of the most interesting people can be found in ones own family.