Written by: Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.

Illustrated by: Margeaux Lucas.

In this illustrated biography, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso tells the story of Judy Kaplan, the first girl to have a bat mitzvah ceremony in the United States in 1922. Judy was the oldest daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. When Judy was 12 years old, Rabbi Kaplan decided it was time for a girl to have a bat mitzvah. Why shouldn’t it be his own daughter? In spite of opposition from her two grandmothers and Judy’s anxiety over something going wrong, Judy stood up on the bimah, recited the blessing, read the Torah portion (in Hebrew and English), and recited the blessing afterwards. This curious and independent-minded girl had done it! One criticism: There is no mention in the text of the year or place where this milestone event occurred.

The endnotes include several intriguing questions for the reader to ponder, such as “Judy played the piano to calm herself when she was worried or anxious. What do you do to help yourself through changes in your life?” The endnotes also provide more details about Judy Kaplan’s successful life as a musician, teacher, composer, and musicologist. Margeaux Lucas created illustrations using a combination of hand painting in gouache and digital art. The clothing, shoes, hairstyles, wallpaper, and furniture of the period are drawn with flair and expression; however, the sash that the suffragettes wore is not depicted accurately. The layout is varied, with Judy’s questions written in freehand script that jump off the page. (From GoodReads.)