“From the moment he wakes in the morning ...’I don’t want to get up.’ To the moment he goes to bed ... ‘I’m not tired.’ Kvetchy Boy always seems to find something to complain about.”

LOS ANGELES—Matzah Ball Books' fourth publication, Kvetchy Boy, makes its official debut October 22, 2006, in Los Angeles at the Skirball Cultural Center. This Family Day event will include a reading, signing and bookmaking craft. Matzah Ball Books’ events have been featured from coast-to-coast and all have been met with an overwhelmingly positive response.

Closely following the success of Shmutzy Girl, Noshy Boy and Shluffy Girl, the first three titles in the Matzah Ball Books’ series of Yiddish-inspired children's picture books, Kvetchy Boy is expecting the same warm welcome. The media has compared Shmutzy Girl favorably to the acclaimed Yiddish with Dick and Jane series (over 150,000 sold), and further praised its appeal to children. Due to high demand, Shmutzy Girl, Noshy Boy and Shluffy Girl have gone to press for second printings.

Matzah Ball Books’ titles are sold worldwide via barnesandnoble.com and matzahballbooks.com, and a line of merchandise, comprised of children’s plate sets, T-shirts, lap tees and baby hats, has been launched.

Consistent with an upsurge of endeavors to preserve Yiddish and Jewish culture, Matzah Ball Books was created to give children access to, understanding of and affinity for Yiddishisms. These fun and lively picture books, written and designed by Anne-Marie Baila Asner, put the joy and color of Yiddish into a form young people adore.

Written in English, each Matzah Ball book is named for a character with a Yiddish word that describes a central attribute of his or her personality. In each story, the protagonist learns a lesson connected with his or her namesake trait. For example, Kvetchy Boy learns when to complain and when not to; Shluffy Girl learns to schedule her life around her naps; and Noshy Boy learns which snacks are healthy and which are not.

Other titles in Matzah Ball Books’ impressive 30-book lineup include Kibbitzy Girl, Tushy Girl and Shleppy Boy, as well as those based on adult characters, Mrs. Mitzvah, Mr. Fedraid, and Bubbe and Zaide Kvelly. Look for Klutzy Boy this winter.

Author Anne-Marie Baila Asner was born in Toronto, Canada, and raised in San Diego. She has written for the Jewish Observer, the Jewish Family Life teen Web site, MzVibe.com, and the Anti-Defamation League, and her work has been featured on JewishAustralia.com. Ms. Asner holds a master’s degree in Psychology from Brandeis University, where she also taught Sunday school for the Brandeis Jewish Education Program. She is one of five grandchildren to her Yiddish-speaking bubbe. Ms. Asner resides in Los Angeles.

Matzah Ball Books
13909 Old Harbor Lane, #304
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
Email: info@matzahballbooks.com
Phone: (310) 306-7741
Fax: (310) 933-7723
Attention: Eran Benisty, Vice President, Marketing and Sales