From Sarah to Sydney

I've been waiting all my life for this book, and that expectation was really more than the book itself could hold up under.

I've been wondering since childhood about the life of Sydney Taylor. I don't know if I was told or just figured out for myself that her All-of-a-Kind Family books were pseudo-biographical (à la Laura Ingalls Wilder) but I always knew that they were. I loved those books so much, rereading them often throughout my childhood (and then again at the beginning of the pandemic). And I always wanted to know "what happened next" after the end of the series. But there was almost no information about Taylor's life out there. Five or so years back I stumbled upon some genealogical information about her and her family (basic find-a-grave stuff with dates of birth and death) and was excited to find even that. So when I found out that a biography was finally being released, I was over the moon.

And in fairness, I do feel like I know much more about "what happened next" and also "what happened before" in the life of Sydney Taylor née Sarah Brenner. This book was very deeply researched and was full of a lot of factual information that was both interesting and, after so many years of wondering, satisfying to know about. As an adult, I could guess that growing up as the child of Jewish immigrants in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century was probably a lot less pleasant than it was portrayed in the book, and sure enough: there was a lot more deprivation and family strife in Taylor's real life than there was in the books. But I could never have guessed that was passionate about modern dance and studied and performed with Martha Graham or that her husband bought and ran Caswell-Masey with his brothers or that a Jewish summer camp was the place where Taylor could explore her love of drama and theatrics. I'm so glad I know all of that now! Thank you, book, for telling me that!

But unfortunately the book is lacking in anything like style. Mostly it feels like reading a report, maybe an extended obituary. The historical/literary context feels tacked on in a way that reminded me of a paper written by a college student. None of the characters ever felt "alive" to me. (If you asked me to describe Taylor's husband Ralph, for instance, I could tell you that their courtship was rocky and that he was supportive of Taylor's career and that he worked hard and he liked music and performing, but I don't know that I ever got a sense of his character.) It just wasn't...enjoyable to read.

I guess I've just been lucky to read so much wonderfully written nonfiction in the past few years, but I'm spoiled enough now that I don't enjoy reading nonfiction that feels like a textbook.

June Cummins, who researched and wrote most of the book, died long before the final draft. The manuscript was cleaned up and finished by Alexandra Dunietz. That probably explains a lot about why it's an underwhelming read. In light of Cummins' death, I feel a little bit mean, criticizing the prose and style. I want to restate that I am very grateful that this book exists and that I know now so much more than I could have imagined about the events of Taylor's life.

In conclusion: if you've always been curious about Sydney Taylor and her life, this book is worth reading and I would recommend it. If you are particularly interested in female writers of children's literature or significant but underrated Jewish-American figures from the early 20th century, it's worth checking out of the library. But for readers who are just looking for interesting biographies of under-explored people, I don't know that it will hold your interest.