She’s a Mensch: Jewish Women Who Rocked the World by Rachelle Burk and Alana Barouch, with illustrations by Arielle Trent; Seattle, Washington: Intergalactic Afikoman; © 2023; ISBN 9781951-365110; 56 pages; $19.99.
SAN DIEGO – Twenty-one Jewish women whose accomplishments spanned from 1883 to 2019 are accorded an illustration, a brief poem, and a biographical paragraph in this book intended for children between the ages of 5 and 10. The children will learn that future possibilities for girls are unlimited and that there are many Jewish role models to emulate.
In chronological order, the women whose accomplishments are praised are Emma Lazarus, Henrietta Szold, Marthe Cohn, Shari Lewis, Golda Meir, Vera Rubin, Devra Kleinman, Judy Blume, Nalini Nadkarni, Barbra Streisand, Marlee Matlin, Rusty Kanokogi, Judit Polgar, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Cheryl & Nikki Bart; Dara Torres, Annie Leibovitz; April N. Baskin, and Jessica Meir.
The women’s works fall into six categories. There are poets, writers and photographers: Emma Lazarus, Judy Blume and Annie Leibovitz; social activists and politicians: Henrietta Szold, Golda Meir, Ruth Bader Ginzburg, and April N. Baskin; spy: Marthe Cohn; entertainers: Shari Lewis, Barbra Streisand, Marlee Matlin; scientists: Vera Rubin, Debra Kleinman, Nalini Nadkarni, and Jessica Meir, and athletes and competitors: Rusty Kanokogi; Judit Polgar, Cheryl & Nikki Bart, and Dara Torres.
The stanza about Emma Lazarus reads:
Emma and Miss Liberty
beckon all to shore.
One with pen and one with torch,
They greet the tired and poor.
The biographical paragraph about Marthe Cohn tells that she “was a French nurse who became a spy during World War II. She was able to learn the secrets of the German Army because she could speak their language and pretend to be a German nurse. Marthe won France’s highest military honor for her role in helping to end the war.”
In the spread about Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi, who disguised herself as a man to compete in a judo tournament, at the time open only to men, there is also a “Fun Fact to Mensch’n: Fifty years after the tournament, Rusty was presented with the medal that had been taken from her.”
Included in the section about astronomer Vera Rubin was a question for the book’s young readers to ponder: “Q: What do you wonder about the universe?”
Burk and Barouch are a mother and daughter team. The mom, Rachelle, is a retired social worker who writes fiction, while the daughter, Alana, is a registered nurse who coordinates organ donations. Illustrations by Arielle Trenk have appeared in news media and alumni magazines. The unnamed person working at Intergalactic Afikoman who selected the typefaces also deserves compliments. The book is beautifully presented.
Another 18 Jewish women were accorded “honorable menschen” status by the authors. In alphabetical order, they are Blair Braverman, Angela Buchdahl, Gertrude B. Elion, Rosalind Franklin, Gal Gadot, Elena Kagan, Carole King, Clara Lemlich, Tomer Margalit, Emmy Noether, Maya Plisetskaya, Virginia Morris Pollak, Aly Raisman, Clara Raven, Beverly Sills, Diane Von Furstenberg, Naomi Wadler, and Susan Wojicicki.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
Thank you very much for this glowing review! Alana and I are honored. XO