Growing up, Santa Monica resident and children’s author Anne-Marie Asner recalled her bubbe speaking to her in fluent Yiddish. And yet, she couldn’t speak it herself. “I thought, what’s going to happen with Yiddish with the next generation?” Asner said in a phone conversation with the Journal.
So, she decided to write children’s books that incorporated the Yiddish language under her own company, Matzah Ball Books.
That was 15 years ago. Today, Asner has sold six titles in the series. They all center on original characters whose personalities are described with Yiddish words. The titles are: “Kvetchy Boy,” “Shmutzy Girl,” “Klutzy Boy,” “Noshy Boy,” “Shluffy Girl” and “Hanukkah With Noshy Boy and Friends.” She sells them on her website and they are also available online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, in Judaica and indie bookstores, and at the Skirball Cultural Center.
While each book is humorous, it also ends with a lesson. In the Hanukkah story, Noshy Boy hosts a Hanukkah party at his bubbe and zayde’s house. Bubbe and zayde read the story of Hanukkah and each child has his or her own take on it. Shmutzy Girl talks about how it must have been a big mess when the Temple was destroyed, while Kvetchy Boy says that King Antiochus sounded like a bully.
At the party, the characters learn how to refine their personalities. Klutzy Boy is always falling, so he learns to slow down. Noshy Boy, who eats all the time, discovers how to make good food choices. Even though every character has his or her own flaw, bubbe and zayde don’t mind.
“The grandparents only see the good in them,” Asner said. “The moral is that when you love someone, you look for the good.”
The books, Asner said, are not so traditional or outdated that kids won’t be able to relate to them. “This is not Sholem Aleichem. They aren’t from the shtetl. They are fun and sweet and kind and accessible to Jews and non-Jews. They bring some of the humor and joy and keep Yiddish alive. They’re hopefully an inspiration for kids as they get older.”
“Yiddish is in my children’s heads. There’s a different warmth that comes through the language and it’s one of the main transmissions of culture.” — Anne-Marie Asner
She added her books have rubbed off on her 13-, 12- and 10-year-old children. Her daughter will ask her for a bissel (a little bit) more rice, and will say she’s folding her zaken (sock). “Yiddish is in my children’s heads. There’s a different warmth that comes through the language and it’s one of the main transmissions of culture, along with food of course, which is why [my company is] called Matzah Ball Books.”
Asner actively tours with her titles. Locally, she’s been hosted by (the now closed) Zimmer Children’s Museum, the Los Angeles Times and the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. On Dec. 10 she took “Hanukkah With Noshy Boy and Friends” to the Federation’s Hanukkah at City Hall’s annual gift presentation to the mayor and council members.
Along with writing books, Asner creates shows for children’s television in her native Canada and the United Kingdom. She also co-founded Animation Israel, which she said “gives studios in Israel the training to do high-level animation work inside the country and [stimulate] economic growth.” .
Matzah Ball Books, though, is her passion. “This is a mission-based company to bring the joy, fun and funny of Yiddish to the next generation,” she said. “There’s an element of creating something bigger than me that serves our greater community and keeps alive something that has passed. I’m doing it in a fun, current and popular way that’s accessible to today’s kids.”
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Asner is the co-founder, not the founder of Animation Israel. The original article also incorrectly stated that Asner has partnered internationally with brands including Disney, Mattel, Nick Jr. and the BBC.
