Sydney Taylor Popular Books
Sydney Taylor Biography & Facts
Sydney Taylor (October 30, 1904 – February 12, 1978) was an American writer, known for her series of children's books about a Jewish-American family in New York during the early 20th century. Her first book won the Charles W. Follett Award in children's literature. Early life and education She was born Sarah Brenner on October 30, 1904, in New York City to Cecilia (née Marowitz) and Morris Brenner, Jewish immigrants from Germany.: 6, 25 Her parents and eldest sister Ella had emigrated in 1901 to the United States and settled in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.: 23 Taylor was the third of the five daughters who would become characters in her later books: Ella, Henrietta, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertrude. She had three younger brothers. German was the first language of the Brenner children, although they spoke English among themselves and outside of the home.: 47 The Brenner family moved from the Lower East Side to the Bronx in 1916, where Taylor attended Morris High School.: 71 Correspondence saved by Taylor indicates that she requested to be called Sydney, or Sid, in high school.: 76 Early career Taylor left high school after two years to work while attending business school at night.: 98 In 1923, Taylor joined the Young People's Socialist League, motivated as much by social interests as political ones, where she met her future husband, Ralph Schneider.: 115–118 As a young adult, she attended Rand School of Social Science and vacationed several times at Tamiment, a socialist resort in Pennsylvania. Taylor and her husband, Ralph Schneider, joined the Lenox Hill Players, an experimental theater troupe, from 1927 to 1929. Taylor worked with publicity for the troupe as well as appearing on stage in several roles. When the troupe shut down for lack of funds, the couple joined the Impromptu Theater run by Jacob Moreno. Taylor then studied under Martha Graham for several years, appearing several times in Graham's dances, Heretic and Primitive Mysteries. She continued to earn a living as an office worker during the day.: 151–158 Her summers were spent as counselor and administrator at Cejwin Camps in Port Jervis, New York, where she was known as "Aunt Syd". Most of her sisters worked at the camp as well. Taylor and her sister Ella wrote, choreographed, and directed theatrical productions at the camp.: ch. 9 Taylor would spend summers working at Cejwin up until the summer before her death.: ch.12 Writing career Her stories based on life in her large, Jewish family are chronicled in a set of five books known as the All-of-a-Kind Family series. "During the second half of the twentieth century [the books in the series] were the most widely known books about American Jewish children." In 1950, her husband submitted one of Taylor's manuscripts of stories about her early childhood to a contest for children's literature. The contest sponsor, Wilcox & Follett, awarded Taylor the second annual Charles W. Follett Award in children's literature, which included a publishing contract. Although All-of-a-Kind Family was one of the first children's books specifically about Jewish children, initial marketing of the book avoided using the word "Jewish", as did the book reviews after publication. Child Life magazine selected All-of-a-Kind Family as one of the ten best children's books of 1951.: ch.10 Taylor submitted another manuscript to her editor at Wilcox & Follett, who advised her to put it away, saying "it might ruin your career". She then tried to write about teenagers, but her magazine submissions were rejected several times and her book editor again advised her against pursuing that avenue. A sequel to All-of-a-Kind Family was also rejected. Taylor then wrote More All-of-a-Kind Family, set in 1915, which was accepted for publication in 1954. All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, set in 1917, followed in 1956, but was not published until 1958 because the illustrator had other commitments. Meanwhile, her editor continued to reject other manuscripts from Taylor, such as a novel about dancers and choreographers.: ch.10 After publishing All-of-a-Kind Family, Taylor wrote All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown, which was set in 1915, however publishers rejected it initially. Chronologically, All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown takes place third in the series, but was published fourth. The Downtown book introduced more unpleasant aspects of Lower East Side life, such as poverty, disease, and hunger, to which Taylor's editor objected in a book for children.: 59 All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown would not be published until 1972, after Taylor's original editor at Wilcox & Follett retired.: ch.12 Taylor's book A Papa Like Everyone Else was written based on stories told to her by a close friend, as she was dying from cancer, about her childhood in Hungary. Reviewers gave it a generally lukewarm reception. The other books that she published in the 1960s, not part of the All-of-a-Kind Family series, were not particularly memorable. Now That You Are 8 was written by commission for a Now That You Are series through the Child Study Association and the Association Press/YMCA. Taylor's The Dog Who Came to Dinner included African-Americans in the illustrations at her editor's suggestion. Her publisher rejected both a sequel to Mr. Barney's Beard and another All-of-a-Kind Family book, and Taylor was reluctant to take her editor's advice to write problem novels. Taylor's magazine sales continued through the 1960s, but she was unable to find a publisher for a collection of her short stories. The collection, Danny Loves a Holiday, was not published until 1980.: ch.11 The final book in the series, Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family, was sold to E. P. Dutton in 1977, and was published in the spring of 1978, shortly after Taylor's death.: ch.12 Personal life and death Taylor married Ralph Schneider in July, 1925 at city hall. Because of their families' objections to the civil ceremony, Taylor continued to live with her parents until she and Ralph had a religious wedding two years later.: 142–145 Schneider changed his name to Taylor sometime after 1930.: 118 Their daughter Jo Taylor Marshall was born on January 25, 1935.: 169 Taylor died of cancer at age 73. Her husband established The Sydney Taylor Book Award in her honor.: 321–322 Awards Charles W. Follett Award in children's literature (1951) Isaac Siegel Memorial Award for best Jewish juvenile literature in English (1952) National Jewish Book Award for All-of-a-Kind Family (1952) Golden Pen Playwriting Contest of 1956, honorable mention for Taylor's play, In God's Hands Boys Club of America Junior Award for Mr. Barney's Beard (1961) Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries (1979) Works All-of-a-Kind Family (1951), illustrated by Helen John More All-Of-A-Kind Family (1954), illustrated by Mary Stevens All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown (1958), illustrated by Mary Stevens Mr. Barney's Beard (1961), illustrated by Charles Geer .... Discover the Sydney Taylor popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sydney Taylor books.
Best Seller Sydney Taylor Books of 2024
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The Book Rescuer
Sue MacyRecipient of a Sydney Taylor Book Award for Younger Readers An ALA Notable Book A Bank Street Best Book of the Year“Text and illustration meld beautifully.” The New York Times “Stu...
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Then There Was You
Sophie CachiaThen There Was You is the eagerly awaited followup to Sophie Cachia’s bestselling memoir Then There Was Her. In Then There Was Her, Sophie Cachia revealed how falling in ...
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Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire
Brenda A. FerberJemma Hartman knows that her first summer at beautiful Camp Star Lake is going to be amazing. There will be swimming, sailing, and overnight trips – not to mention her best friend,...
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See You Yesterday
Rachel Lynn SolomonA New York Times bestseller!From the author of Today Tonight Tomorrow comes a magical, “emotionally savvy[,] and genuinely romantic” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) story in th...
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Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World
Jacqueline DaviesBestselling author Jacqueline Davies tells the story of two unlikely friends: Sydney and Taylor, a skunk and a hedgehog who strike out to discover the great unknown, despite how af...
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Honey and Me
Meira DrazinFans of Judy Blume, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, and The Penderwicks will love this funny, charismatic story of a Jewish girl striving to forge her own identity in the shadow...
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Welcoming Elijah
Leslea Newman & Susan GalWinner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the National Jewish Book Award, Welcoming Elijah by celebrated author Lesléa Newman, unites a young boy and a stray kitten in a warm, lyr...
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Sydney and Taylor Take a Flying Leap
Jacqueline DaviesIn this laughoutloud early chapter book with charming fullcolor illustrations, bestselling author Jacqueline Davies continues the adventure of two best friends who chase ...
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Perfect-ish
Jessica SeabornPrue is about to turn thirty and feels like everyone else is living their best life. Her friends are posting online about their amazing relationships, exciting travel plans and new...
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The Flying Girl
Margarita EngleIn this beautiful picture book filled with soaring words and buoyant illustrations, awardwinners Margarita Engle and Sara Palacios tell the inspiring true story of Aída de Acosta, ...
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Sydney and Taylor and the Great Friend Expedition
Jacqueline DaviesA Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year In this laughoutloud early chapter book with charming fullcolor illustrations, bestselling author Jacqueline Davies follows hedg...
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Tropical Secrets
Margarita EngleDaniel has escaped Nazi Germany with nothing but a desperate dream that he might one day find his parents again. But that golden land called New York has turned away his ship full ...
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Equine Cervical Vertebral Compressive Myelopathy
Sydney TaylorAn interactive educational module for the pathology of Equine Cervical Vertebral Compressive Myelopathy (CVCM), more commonly known as Wobblers Syndrome. This iBook was made as a p...
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The Last Words We Said
Leah ScheierA Sydney Taylor Young Adult Honor BookAll the Bright Places meets If I Stay in this heartwrenching, romantic novel about a tightknit group of teen girls coping with a devastating l...
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One of a Kind
Richard Michelson & Sarah GreenFor fans of AllofaKind Family, here is the true story of how Sarah Brenner, a poor girl from New York City’s Lower East Side, became Sydney Taylor: dancer, actress, and successful ...
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Storm
Donna Jo NapoliA sixteenyearold stowaway discovers her destiny on Noah’s ark in this riveting reimagining from awardwinning author and “master storyteller” (SLJ) Donna Jo Napoli.The rain starts s...
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The Golden Treasury
Francis Turner PalgraveThe Golden Treasury is one of the most loved anthologies of English poetry ever published. The book was meticulously compiled by poet and scholar Francis Turner Palgrave, in collab...
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Here for the Right Reasons
Jodi McAlisterA hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedy that examines how the unlikeliest of loves can bloom in – well, the most likely of places. Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and The ...
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Wanderlust
Marc CardinalMeet Sydney Taylor who is born with what I call Wanderlust, which is the impulse to wander or, as they say in modern times, a strong desire to travel and explore the world. From hi...