Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do To Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children by Marjorie Ingall is an excellent book about Jewish motherhood. Sometimes parenting books feel as though they are just a lot of commonsensical anecdotes, but Mamaleh Knows Best provides specific practical advice, such as different ways to get your child interested in reading from a young age.

Regardless of whether or not you are Jewish, the book is a great parenting resource, and Ingall draws upon the philosophies of psychologists, rabbis, and great teachers as she discusses her key points: nurturing a child’s independence, maintaining discipline, distrusting authority, encouraging geekiness, emphasizing education, telling stories, laughing, valuing money (but not too much), and cultivating spirituality. Ingall points out studies that demonstrate how IQ is not the strongest correlation of success; better indicators are persistence, confidence, and encouragement.

It is interesting getting a glimpse into Ingall’s life, and the stories she tells about her daughters Josie and Maxie are quite cute. Ingall’s wittiness gives her the ability to write about any subject and make it engaging.

You can find Mamaleh Knows Best here.