About Us
The mission of Matzah Ball Books is to foster love for and pride in Yiddish and Yiddishkayt in the next generation of kinder.
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Consistent with an upsurge of endeavors to preserve Yiddish culture, Matzah Ball Books was created to give young children an affinity for the joy and funny of Yiddish.
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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. For example, Shmutzy Girl is always dirty and Kvetchy Boy is always complaining. In each book, the protagonist learns a lesson connected with his or her namesake trait (e.g. Shmutzy Girl learns to accept herself shmutz and all, and Kvetchy Boy learns when to complain and when not to do so.)
These fun and lively picture books put the joy and color of Yiddish into a form young people adore - and will make any bubbe or zaide kvell (proud).
About the Author
Anne-Marie Baila Asner was born in Toronto, Canada, and raised in San Diego, California.
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She is the author and illustrator of a series of Yiddish-inspired picture books, including Shmutzy Girl, Noshy Boy, Shluffy Girl, Kvetchy Boy, Klutzy Boy, Bubbe & Zaide and Hanukkah with Noshy Boy & Friends. Asner tours annually reading, educating and entertaining thousands of kids throughout North America.
Asner holds a BA from the University of California Santa Barbara and a MA from Brandeis University. She is an alumna of the Jewish Federation’s Master Class in Entertainment and the UCLA Writers' Program.
She is one of five grandchildren to her Yiddish-speaking bubbe.
Asner resides in Los Angeles.