Based on the child­hood of the author’s grand­moth­er, this sto­ry fol­lows an Ortho­dox Jew­ish fam­i­ly in Lublin, Poland in the 1920s. The fam­i­ly, which includes nine chil­dren, is so large that they need two hous­es joined togeth­er — thus the title.

The book presents cus­toms that will be new to read­ers, like Beg­gars’ Day, when the fam­i­ly opens their door to hun­gry towns­peo­ple. Oth­er Jew­ish prac­tices will be famil­iar: tra­di­tion­al match­mak­ing for the old­est daugh­ter, bak­ing chal­lah, and more.

This is a charm­ing tale, sim­i­lar in style to the ​“All-of-a-Kind Fam­i­ly” and ​“Lit­tle House” series in its gen­tle­ness, fam­i­ly-cen­tered­ness, and air of kind­ness. No hints of what is to come in Europe in the fol­low­ing decades deflate this light souf­flé of a book.

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 8 to 12.