In this grand col­lec­tion, the authors pro­file one hun­dred Jew­ish women who have lived extra­or­di­nary lives and accom­plished extra­or­di­nary things. Some are from ancient times, while oth­ers are from mod­ern times; but they all have fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ries that exem­pli­fy accom­plish­ment, per­se­ver­ance, and hard work. These wom­en’s names and deeds will live on and inspire a new gen­er­a­tion of girls to make the most of their own tal­ents and abil­i­ties. The book embraces a wide spec­trum of Jew­ish iden­ti­ties — Sephar­di, Ashke­nazi, Mizrahi, Per­sian, Ethiopi­an, Indi­an, and Bukhar­i­an Jew­ish women all appear with­in the pages.

A few high­lights include Abi­gail the Prophet­ess, Anne Frank, Ruth Bad­er Gins­burg, and May­im Bia­lik, but lit­tle-known names also abound, each with a fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ry of per­sis­tence. We read about sci­en­tists, activists, lit­er­ary fig­ures, sports­women, doc­tors, fore­moth­ers, and many, many more inspir­ing Jew­ish women. Each is a role mod­el in her own unique way; it is impos­si­ble not to respond to their sto­ries with awe. The essays are well-writ­ten and focus on achieve­ment, per­son­al back­ground, and the abil­i­ty to over­come obsta­cles that at first seem insur­mount­able but that ulti­mate­ly lead to success.

A brief time­line of Jew­ish his­to­ry helps keep us root­ed in these icon­ic women’s own eras. The illus­tra­tions are evoca­tive, and there is a spe­cial sec­tion in which girls can record their own sto­ries, achieve­ments, and moments of chutzpah.

This live­ly book will be a valu­able resource in class­rooms, libraries, and homes alike.

This delight­ful and engag­ing book appeals to read­ers across ages. Below is a review focus­ing on the adult per­spec­tive from Beth Rica­nati. 

An ancient prophet­ess, a culi­nary anthro­pol­o­gist, a com­put­er sci­en­tist, and a prime min­is­ter are just a few of the one hun­dred hero­ines who share space in this gem of a book by Julie Esther Sil­ver­stein and Tes­sa Schloss­berg Pruw­er. Chutz­pah Girls: 100 Tales of Dar­ing Jew­ish Women is a time­ly and inspir­ing col­lec­tion of short biogra­phies of excep­tion­al women who span dif­fer­ent cul­tures and eras. Each vignette is accom­pa­nied by a vibrant por­trait illus­trat­ed by a Jew­ish female artist. 

Mer­ri­am-Web­ster defines ​“chutz­pah” as supreme self-con­fi­dence, nerve, or gall. The women show­cased here have all this and more. Some of the women may be more rec­og­niz­able to mod­ern read­ers than oth­ers: Anne Frank, Gal Gadot, Gol­da Meir, and Ruth Bad­er Gins­burg are just a few. They are cer­tain­ly more well known today than Ada Yonath, Chani Lif­shitz, Helen Suz­man, and Shey­na Gif­ford. Yet each is remark­able in her own right. All of their sto­ries remind us of our poten­tial, encour­ag­ing us to reach fur­ther than we might oth­er­wise. These are women we should know, and know now.

By choos­ing to fea­ture remark­able women, and not mere­ly women of renown, Sil­ver­stein and Pruw­er are exem­pli­fy­ing their own chutz­pah. Ordi­nary women can and will do extra­or­di­nary things. And should you ever doubt this, just open up this gor­geous book to any page and begin reading.