All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown Read online

  OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY:

  ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY, Sydney Taylor

  ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY DOWNTOWN, Sydney Taylor

  MORE ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY, Sydney Taylor

  ELLA OF ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY, Sydney Taylor

  BLAIR’S NIGHTMARE, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

  THE CHANGELING, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

  THE EGYPT GAME, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

  THE FAMOUS STANLEY KIDNAPPING CASE, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

  THE HEADLESS CUPID, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

  THE VELVET ROOM, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

  YEARLING BOOKS/YOUNG YEARLINGS/YEARLING CLASSICS are designed especially to entertain and enlighten young people. Patricia Reilly Giff, consultant to this series, received the bachelor’s degree from Marymount College. She holds the master’s degree in history from St. John’s University, and a Professional Diploma in Reading from Hofstra University. She was a teacher and reading consultant for many years, and is the author of numerous books for young readers.

  For a complete listing of all Yearling titles, write to

  Dell Readers Service, P.O. Box 1045,

  South Holland, IL 60473.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 1958 by Sydney Taylor; copyright renewed 1986 by Ralph Taylor

  Illustrations copyright © 1958 by Mary Stevens

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Previously published in paperback in the United States in 1989 by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in hardcover by Follett Publishing Company, Chicago, in 1958.

  Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web! randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-82928-3

  First Delacorte Press eBook Edition 2013

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Yearling Books You Will Enjoy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Food’s on the Table

  Tea Party

  Ella Takes Over

  Sabbath Without Mama

  Dining Out

  Out of the Frying Pan

  A Good Week

  P’Idyon Ha-Ben

  Round and Round

  The Naughty Nickel

  The Red Boogey Man

  Play for Shavuos

  The History Prize

  Homecoming

  Food’s on the Table

  “This is the school block, so the house can’t be on this one,” Ella said.

  “What number is it again?” asked Charlotte.

  Ella glanced at the slip of paper in her hand. “725. It must be the next block.”

  Directly ahead, the children could see a tall woman coming through the school gate.

  “Look!” cried Sarah. “Here comes Miss Brady. She’s my history teacher. Gee, it’s pretty late, almost supper time, and she’s just getting out.”

  “I thought teachers were only supposed to work till three o’clock,” Gertie said.

  “Well, sometimes they have special things to do which keep them late,” Ella explained.

  At that moment, Miss Brady saw Sarah. “Hello, Sarah. What brings you here at this hour?”

  Shyly Sarah looked at Miss Brady. Teachers look so different when you meet them outside, she thought to herself. “Hello, Miss Brady,” she replied. “Our aunt and uncle just moved to the next block. They want us to see their new apartment, so they invited us for supper.”

  “I didn’t know you had so many sisters and brothers, Sarah,” Miss Brady said.

  Sarah grinned. “No, only one brother—little Charlie here. But we’re five sisters. This is my oldest sister, Ella. She’ll be graduating from high school next year, same time as I graduate from here. Next comes Henny, then me, then Charlotte, and this is Gertie.”

  “Quite a family. I’m very pleased to meet all of you. Tell me, are any of you girls as good in history as Sarah?”

  Sarah blushed.

  “Not me!” Henny answered promptly. “That’s one subject I don’t like!”

  “Did Sarah ever tell you what I say to my class about that? ‘You don’t like it because you won’t like it, and you won’t like it because you don’t like it.’ Well, now, I mustn’t keep you from your supper. Good-by all.” She gave Sarah a pat on the shoulder. “Keep studying,” she remarked, and walked on.

  “History—ugh!” Henny made a face. “Names and places and dates to remember. It’s so boring.”

  “Oh, but it’s not!” Sarah shot back indignantly. “Not the way Miss Brady teaches. She makes it so exciting you almost wish you lived in the olden days. Since I have her, I think I like history better than any other subject! I’m going to try for the history prize when I graduate next year.”

  “Atta girl, Sarah!” Ella said. “Now, let’s see. 721—723. Here it is—725. It’s a nice-looking building.”

  Ella glanced at the paper again. “Third floor, apartment 4,” she announced.

  The children trooped after her up the stoop and into the vestibule. “Shouldn’t we ring the bell first?” asked Gertie.

  “The buzzer’s out of order,” Ella replied. “Lena said we should go right up.”

  “Come on, Charlie, we’ll swing you up the stairs,” said Henny. “Take his other hand, Sarah.”

  Whooping with delight, Charlie was borne up the stairs with his feet never once touching the ground.

  Henny tapped on apartment door number 4.

  There was no answer. She tapped again, louder, but still there was no answer.

  “That’s strange,” Ella said. “I know Lena is expecting us.” She touched the doorknob. “The door’s open.”

  “I guess she means for us to come right in,” Henny said.

  “Maybe she’s in the bedroom getting dressed, and she can’t hear us,” suggested Gertie.

  “Well, let’s go in and find out,” Ella said, pushing open the door. “Lena! Lena, we’re here!”

  There was no reply.

  They went through a small hall leading into a big square kitchen. “Is anybody home?” Charlotte shouted.

  The house was still. The children looked around, not knowing quite what to do.

  “Anyway, the food’s on the table,” Henny said cheerfully. Her eyes feasted on a slab of juicy homemade corned beef. “Mmm, doesn’t that look good!”

  “And potato salad! And cole slaw!” rejoiced Gertie. “Lena sure knows what we like.”

  “Look, Ella.” Sarah pointed. “There’s a note on the table.” She picked it up and read aloud.

  I had to do some more shopping. I’ll be a little late. Don’t wait for me. Go ahead and eat.

  “Well, that’s that,” declared Henny. “Let’s eat.”

  “Oh, I don’t think that would be very nice,” Ella said. “Let’s wait a little while.”

  “We could finish setting the table in the meantime,” suggested Sarah. “Lena must have been in an awful hurry. No plates, and just three settings of silverware.”

/>   Henny opened the door of the pantry. “Pretty dishes. Lena must have gotten a new set.”

  “And these kitchen chairs—they certainly are pretty, too,” added Charlotte.

  “Uncle Hyman must be doing well,” Ella said.

  In no time at all, the table was properly set. Now all that was left to do was to sit around and wait.

  “I’m glad Lena has moved near to us,” Gertie remarked. “Now we’ll be able to see her so much more often.”

  “I’m hungry!” Charlie piped up. “I wanna eat!”

  “We have to wait till Lena comes, Charlie,” Ella told him.

  “But I’m hungry now!”

  “We’re all hungry, Charlie,” said Henny consolingly. “Couldn’t you wait just a tiny bit longer?”

  “Awright,” Charlie said, pouting. Suddenly he spied the curtain of long, thin strands of rainbow-colored beads which hung across the doorway leading to the parlor. Off he skipped to investigate.

  Grabbing a fistful, he watched gravely as the smooth beads slithered through his fingers. Before long, he was hopping in and out, giggling as the long, slippery strings fell over his face and body.

  “He’ll have it torn to pieces if Lena doesn’t get here soon,” Henny said. “Charlie!” she called out warningly. “You be careful with that curtain!”

  “I wonder how long Mama will be at the Red Cross knitting club,” Ella said. “I hope she gets here in time to eat with us.”

  “I bet she’s enjoying herself,” said Charlotte. “Nobody can knit like Mama—so fast and with such even stitches. No wonder all the women on the block made her join.”

  “We’ve only been at war with Germany for a month, but the Red Cross will need lots more knitters, because the boys will be called up for service any day now,” added Ella.

  “Will Jules go, too?” Gertie asked.

  “I don’t think he’s old enough yet.”

  “Oh, where is that Lena? I’m starving!” Henny cried.

  “So am I,” Charlotte chimed in. “Gee, Ella, couldn’t we at least get started? Lena said we should.”

  “I don’t know. It’s not very polite. What do you think, Henny?”

  “She left a note, didn’t she? So I say we should eat.”

  “There isn’t too much of this stuff, so let’s be careful,” Ella cautioned as she spooned out the salad.

  “Maybe it’s because Lena’s not used to cooking for a big mob like us,” put in Charlotte. “There are only two of them.”

  “That’s so, but I don’t quite understand it,” Ella said, as she finished slicing the meat. “You know how she and Uncle Hyman are about food. Usually their table positively groans with all they serve. Well, help yourselves. I’ll put on the water for tea.”

  “I want another corned beef sandwich,” Charlie yelled.

  “It’s a lucky thing corned beef comes in one big piece. Otherwise we wouldn’t have had enough of that either.”

  “Well, take it easy. Let that be the last,” Ella said. “There’s hardly anything left.”

  Someone was at the door. It opened, and a short, stout woman sidled in, her arms piled high with assorted shopping bags. “Hello,” she said, looking around uncertainly.

  The girls all turned and inspected the newcomer curiously. “My aunt isn’t here yet,” Ella volunteered politely.

  The woman looked puzzled. She gave a quick glance at the door. “You’re expecting your aunt?”

  “Yes,” Henny replied. “Don’t go away. She should be here any minute. Here, let me help you with the packages.”

  “Thank you, but …”

  Her packages set safely on a chair, the woman folded her arms and regarded the children. “Now tell me, who are you?”

  “We’re the nieces, and this is the nephew, Charlie,” Ella told her.

  The woman smiled and gave a nod. “That’s nice. I’m pleased to meet you.” Then her eyes fell on the table. A look of dismay passed over her face. “Oh, my goodness! I see you ate up the whole supper!”

  “I’m awfully sorry,” Ella said contritely. “Were you invited too?”

  “Who’s invited? The supper was for my husband and my son.”

  “Good gracious!” Henny exclaimed, astonished. “How many people were supposed to eat here tonight?”

  “My dear child, you don’t understand. The supper was just for the three of us—my husband, my son, and me. After all, this is my apartment.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence. None of the children could think of anything to say. Finally it was Ella who found her voice. “Your apartment! This is your apartment?”

  “Yes, darling,” the woman assured her.

  “But isn’t this apartment 4?” added Sarah.

  The woman smiled. “Yes.”

  “And isn’t this the third floor?” Ella asked.

  “No. The third floor is downstairs underneath my apartment. This is the fourth floor.”

  “But how could that be?” Ella asked, confusedly. “We walked up three flights.”

  “Oh, I see.” The woman nodded her head. “You didn’t realize that the ground floor is called the first floor. You should have walked up only two flights more.”

  Ella could feel her cheeks turning scarlet. “Oh, we made such a dreadful mistake! I’m terribly sorry! You see, we thought we were in our aunt’s apartment—then we read the note—” she ended lamely.

  The woman shrugged her shoulders and chuckled. “Well, it’s all right. What’s done is done. Don’t worry. A mistake can happen.”

  “But we ate up all your food!” Henny cried.

  “Well, as long as you enjoyed it,” the woman replied. By now she seemed rather amused.

  Slowly the children started edging toward the door. Gertie and Charlotte were the first to slip out. Awkwardly they stood around in the doorway, wanting to get away yet unable to do so.

  “We didn’t know—” continued Sarah, apologetically.

  “We feel just awful,” Ella went on. “And you’ve been so kind about it, too.”

  As if out of nowhere, Mama and Lena appeared. “What’s the matter?” Mama demanded. “Where have you been?”

  Lena interrupted. “I was all ready to call the police station. I kept opening the door to see if you were coming. Then we heard your voices, and we came upstairs to see. What are you doing here?”

  Everybody began explaining at once. “Oh, Mama!” “Oh, Lena!” “It was all a big mistake!” “We thought this was your apartment, Lena!”

  “Quiet a minute!” Mama ordered. “I don’t know what you’re saying! Ella, tell me what happened.”

  Ella looked embarrassed. “Well, Mama, I know it sounds dreadful, but we went into this lady’s apartment, and then we ate up her supper.”

  “The whole supper, Mama!” Gertie burst in. “It was supposed to be for her husband and her son, too.”

  Bit by bit, with everyone taking part, the whole story came out.

  Mama was horrified. “How could you do such a thing?” she scolded. “What happened to your manners? How could you sit down and eat with nobody there?”

  “But, Mama, it said in the note we should,” Charlotte pleaded.

  Mama turned to the woman. “I must apologize for my children. They never did anything like this before, I assure you.”

  The woman waved it away. “Don’t take it to heart. So they ate a supper in my house. What’s wrong with that? Believe me, it was a pleasure to see so many nice young faces around my table.”

  “It was very wrong of them.” Mama frowned. “They had no right—”

  Lena wouldn’t let her finish. She placed a plump arm on Mama’s. “Oh, you children! You ate up the lady’s supper! Oh, Mama, they ate up the whole supper! Don’t you see how funny it is? Oh! Oh! Oh!” She threw back her head and shrieked with laughter. Soon everyone was laughing, and no one was laughing harder than the woman herself.

  “Next—time—” she wheezed between gasps, “next time—children—let me know—when you�
��re coming—so I’ll prepare enough.”

  “Well, neighbor,” Lena said, wiping her eyes, “what is your name?”

  “It’s Mrs. Shiner—Molly Shiner.”

  “This certainly was a comical way for us to meet, Mrs. Shiner. Listen, please. I got plenty food downstairs. Enough for twenty people! Leave another note on the table for your husband and your son and come downstairs with us. Everybody is invited for supper!”

  Tea Party

  Henny was singing at the top of her voice. “It’s a long way to Tipperary. It’s a long way to go!”

  Ella rattled the bathroom doorknob. “Henny, come on out of there!”

  “Why? Don’t you like my singing?”

  “The singing’s fine, but do it outside, please. You’re not the only one going out tonight, you know.”

  “Oh, what’s your hurry! You’ve got plenty of time before that slow-pokey Jules shows up. And besides, I promised Rose I’d come over early.”

  “I thought you didn’t even want to go to her party,” Ella said teasingly.

  The bathroom door was flung open, and Henny bounced out. The hot, steamy air had tightened her blond hair into curly ringlets, and her impish face was all pink and glowing. “I don’t,” she retorted, “but the girls are making me! They said if I didn’t come, they wouldn’t either. So how could I refuse? I don’t want to spoil their party!”

  “Oh, sure!” Ella replied sarcastically.

  Henny went on. “I still don’t see why they had to invite boys. It’s all that Millie’s fault. She started it. We used to have such a lot of fun just by ourselves. Now she’s got the whole bunch of girls acting so silly. A party with the boys—that’s all they talk about! And if you could see the fuss they’re making about what they’re going to wear! It’s positively disgusting!”

  Ella grinned.

  “What are you doing tonight?” Henny asked casually.

  “Nothing special. We’ll just go for a walk and maybe stop at an ice-cream parlor.”

  “Then you won’t be needing your white party dress. How about lending it to me?”

  Ella’s grin vanished. “The answer is no! N - O. NO!”

  “Aw, why not? You’re not wearing it yourself.”