Daniel Larson:
All right, so hello everyone. I see we're having some people start filing into the room here. Thank you again for joining us. This is our first ever Brandeis alumni children's book reading event. My name is Daniel Larson and I'm a member of the Alumni Relations team, and on behalf of a Brandeis University's Alumni Relations team, welcome.
Daniel Larson:
We are really pleased to be joined by alumni author, Anne-Marie Asner, MA '96, who will be reading her book, Shluffy Girl. Anne-Marie's an author and illustrator of a series of Yiddish-inspired books. Picture books including: Shmutzy Girl, Noshy Boy, Shluffy Girl, Kvetchy Boy, Klutzy Boy, and Hanukkah with Noshy Boy and Friends. Her company, Matzah Ball Books, was created to foster love for and pride in Yiddish and all things Jewish in the next generation of children.
Daniel Larson:
Miss Asner tours annually reading, educating and entertaining thousands of kids throughout North America. Miss Asner holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and an MA in Psychology from Brandeis University. She's an alumni of the Jewish Federation Master's Class in Entertainment, and she lives to California.
Daniel Larson:
So Anne-Marie, thank you so much for joining us today. After the book reading, we'll have an opportunity to ask Anne-Marie some questions. We may even sneak in another story as well. So one final note of housekeeping is that this webinar is being recorded. It will be shared online afterwards, so please feel free to share that with others who you know who may be interested. And with that I will pass it off to Anne-Marie.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Thank you, Daniel, for the warm introduction. I'm very happy to be here and be helping to launch this series. I'm going to share my screen briefly so you can see the books we'll be referring to.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Okay. Daniel, give me the thumbs up if you can actually see my screen.
Daniel Larson:
Yeah, we can see it.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Okay, perfect.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So today we're going to be reading from Shluffy Girl, this book here. It's actually the third book to come out in the series. And I don't know if you can see if her eyes are open or closed, but she's meant to be sleeping, kind of yawning, because shluff is "to sleep" or "to be tired." It's "to sleep" in Yiddish.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So, all of these books were inspired by Yiddish. Each of the characters have a Yiddish name so we can help learn the words. Like, Noshy Boy, can you see what he has in his hand? So, Noshy Boy has a cookie in his hand. He's got chubby cheeks. He's always eating.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And Shmutzy Girl, the first book in the series, so she's a very good friend of Shluffy Girl. You can see how she's got some schmutz on her punim. She has some dirt on her face, so she gets into lots of messes.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And Kvetchy Boy. I don't know if you can see, he looks not so thrilled with life. So he's upset and he complains all the time. He kvetches and complains all the time, and he complains a lot about Shluffy Girl so we'll hear that in a moment.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And we have Klutzy Boy. Up on his cheek, he's got a bandaid. And what you can't see here ... Let me see if I can find it in the book, is that... See here? Not only is there a bandaid on his cheek, he also has a cast on his leg. He's so clumsy. He's always getting injured.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So those are some of the friends that are going to appear in Shluffy Girl's book. I have a super-big size one, so it'll be fun to be able to see the pictures. And there's one other character who's in Shluffy Girl's book whose book is not out yet. So, let me see if I can show that to you for a second.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So this is Kibbitzy Girl. See how Kibbitzy Girl's mouth is kind of open? Because she's always kibitzing or joking around. So those are the characters for this story.So, let me get started with the Shluffy Girl's Story.
Anne-Marie Asner:
For those of you who don't know, Yiddish is a language spoken by Jews all over the world. But it's a language made by Jews. It's a uniquely Jewish language. And some of the words are still around and they're even embedded into English, and they're fun and silly words. And they really sound like their name. Like Shluffy, "Oh, I'm so shluffy. I want to go to sleep." And that's exactly what she loves to do. So, let's visit Shluffy Girl. Let me get situated so you can see.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So, "Nap time, of course, is Shluffy Girl favorite time of the day. But for Shluffy Girl, nap time is almost all the time." Does anybody know anyone like that? I'm like that. I need to take a nap almost every day. I make my kids take a nap just so I can take a nap.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Eating, reading, and playing don't stop Shluffy Girl from taking a snooze. She can sleep pretty much anywhere and anytime." You can see she's even sleeping while she's playing baseball.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Shluffy Girl's favorite thing to do is to have slumber parties with her friends." See? There's Shmutzy Girl with her shmutz on her punim, and Kibbitzy Girl getting all ready to tell some jokes and kibitz around.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Last weekend, Shluffy Girl invited Kibbitzy Girl and Shmutzy Girl to sleep over."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Kibbitzy Girl, who loves to joke around, kept Shmutzy Girl awake most of the night. But Shluffy Girl managed to fall asleep just fine."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Sometimes, Shluffy Girl's love for sleep gets her into trouble. When she naps on the bus, Shluffy Girl misses her stop. 'Uh-oh,' said Shluffy Girl when she woke up. 'It's a long walk home from here.'"
Anne-Marie Asner:
"When she falls asleep in class, Shluffy Girl gets scolded. 'Shluffy Girl, how can you learn when you're always sleeping?' asked her teacher." And look at her paper. She's not writing much of anything, is she? "When she shluffs during recess, sometimes Shluffy Girl gets hurt. 'Ow!' she cried as Klutzy Boy tripped over here. 'Oops! I should have looked,' said Klutzy Boy, 'but people usually aren't sleeping in the middle of the playground.'"
Anne-Marie Asner:
Here we go with Kvetchy. "Shluffy Girl's biggest problem is here good friend Kvetchy Boy. Kvetchy Boy always complains about how much Shluffy Girl sleeps. 'Sleep, sleep, sleep! All you do is sleep!' said Kvetchy Boy." Doesn't sound very happy, does he?
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'Why does it matter so much that I love to sleep? Why do you always complain about it?' asked Shluffy Girl. 'Shluffy Girl, you're no fun to hang out with because you're always sleeping. You even fell asleep at my birthday party!' said Kvetchy Boy." So, remembering back. "'I'm sorry, Kvetchy Boy.' said Shluffy Girl, 'I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.'"
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'It's not just that,' said Kvetchy Boy, 'I'm a little worried. I don't know anyone other than my bubbe and zaide who sleep so much.'" Does anybody else have bubbe and zaides? Grandma and grandpa? I love the words bubbe and zaide. In fact, I'll show you after this that the next book coming out is called Bubbe & Zaide.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Oh, sorry. This is a big one. I'll move so you can see it. "The next day, Shluffy Girl's mother took her to the doctor to make sure nothing was the matter." Even at the doctor, she's asleep.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'Everything seems to be all right,' said the doctor. 'Maybe Shluffy Girl is growing and needs extra rest, or maybe she just likes to sleep.' 'But this much sleep? She sleeps all the time,' said Shluffy Girl's mom. 'Well, there's a time and place for most everything. Maybe Shluffy Girl could try sleeping only when she's really tired. Probably nap time and nighttime are enough.'"
Anne-Marie Asner:
"With lots of effort, Shluffy Girl stopped napping on the bus and she no longer misses her stop."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"She stopped sleeping in class, and she learns a lot more." Look, you can even see she can write Shluffy Girl now. "And she stopped sleeping during recess and she no longer gets hurt. Now Shluffy Girl saves her naps for nap time."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Shluffy Girl still loves to sleep and can't wait until her next slumber party." See? She's counting down. Do you sometimes count down to your next exciting event and mark it on the calendar? I know I sure do. I was counting down til today, very excited to read to you.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"And Shluffy Girl is happiest of all when each day comes to an end and she can finally snuggle under the covers, turn out the light, and say goodnight."
Anne-Marie Asner:
I know for you back on the east coast, it's very close to your bedtime, so hopefully you'll have a good shluff tonight. Thank you.
Daniel Larson:
Thank you so much Anne-Marie. If anybody has any questions, please feel free to ask them in the Q&A session and we'll have Anne-Marie answer any questions from any readers or their parents.
Daniel Larson:
In the mean-
Anne-Marie Asner:
In the meantime, can I show them the Bubbe & Zaide book cover that I just promised them?
Daniel Larson:
Go for it.
Anne-Marie Asner:
All right. So, I'll share. I actually go through here.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So, here's the whole set. The ones I showed you, the actual books for ... Oh, did I just lose you? Did I lose you?
Daniel Larson:
Yeah, we don't see your screen, Anne-Marie.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Did that work?
Daniel Larson:
Now we do.
Anne-Marie Asner:
But do you see all of my chaos, or do you just see ...
Daniel Larson:
Yeah, we see your books.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Okay. So, these are the ones that I showed you that are already out. But then, you can see that there are Shleppy Boy, he's a good friend of Klutzy Boy. He first comes out in Klutzy Boy's book. But Shleppy Boy likes to shlepp and carry and bring his whole life wherever he's going. And Kibbitzy Girl, who you just met, her book is ready to go. It's not out yet, but her debut is in Shluffy Girl's book. And then the Bubbe & Zaide, the grandma and grandpa book, is our first book featuring grown up characters.
Daniel Larson:
I have some questions for you coming in, Anne-Marie.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Oh, great.
Daniel Larson:
All right. So, what inspired you to start writing the Matzah Ball Books and how old were you when you first started writing?
Anne-Marie Asner:
Oh, two questions. Well, I've been writing for as long as I can remember. My first real recollection of my having this be a regular practice, maybe not daily but very often, was I was about 12 and my dad gave me a Judy Bloom diary, and inside the diary, there'd be quotes from her different books on each page, and it was just a very fun diary to fill in. And so, I started keeping a diary back then. And I've been doing it off and on ever since. So, that was really my first, "Okay, now, writing is fun to do." As opposed to something somebody else told me to do.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And then, in terms of these books, why I wrote them, my bubbe, my personal grandma, she spoke fluent Yiddish. And then my mom understand Yiddish, but can't really speak. And I know about 50 words. So, the thought was, "Okay, what are my kids going to know?" Or, "What's the next generation going to know with that level of dilution?" So I said, "Okay. Well, what can I do?" I can at least kind of keep the 50 words I know alive, and other people have too. Like, Seinfeld uses them all the time, or a lot of comedians use them, and many of these words have integrated into English, but this is a way to get these words familiar to very young kids from a very early age.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And I had the series ... I don't know if you guys know this series, The Little Miss and Mr. Men book series, and I thought it was so much fun, including this one, it's called Little Miss Fun. But there's Mr. Happy, and Little Miss Giggles. And I ... "Oh, wouldn't it be great to do characters like that and help the next generation have a fun, positive, silly reference for these Yiddish words?" And that's where it came from.
Daniel Larson:
So great. We have a question here from Danielle. Danielle is asking, "What made you decide in your layout to put the texts of the book underneath the pictures as opposed to side by side?"
Anne-Marie Asner:
Oh. Danielle, I've never thought of putting it side by side. I think with so many other books I've read, like picture books, the text is almost always underneath the picture or kind of on top of the picture even. It didn't occur to me to do it side to side, but it's a nice idea.
Daniel Larson:
We have a question here from Alana. Alana is asking, "What is the Bubbe & Zaide book about? Thank you in advance."
Anne-Marie Asner:
So, it's the best book right now because it's the newest one. So, I'm a little bit fickle and I always love the newest one the most for the day, and then I get back to loving everybody equally. It's kind of like a newborn baby. It's the one that needs the most attention, so it gets it.
Anne-Marie Asner:
So, the Bubbe & Zaide book, the kids actually ... All these kids are kind of cousins. So, a bunch of them go to Bubbe & Zaide's house for a visit. And they're doing all their stuff. Noshy Boy is eating everything, and Shluffy Girl is sleeping in the middle of the floor, and Shmutzy Girl is making art and has her paint everywhere, and Klutzy Boy is playing baseball and breaking windows. They're all doing exactly who they are, right?
Anne-Marie Asner:
And Kvetchy Boy is hanging out with Bubbe and Zaide. And every time Bubbe and Zaide see one of the other kids, they say something really nice like, "Klutzy Boy, you're so helpful." And Kvetchy Boy is like, "Huh, how is he helpful? All he's doing is cleaning up his own mess. He broke it. He's cleaning it up. That's not being helpful." Or they thing that Shluffy Girl is so independent. And Kvetchy Boy is like, "She's not independent. She just sleeps every where. That's not independence. That's just shluffing."
Anne-Marie Asner:
And so, basically, Bubbe and Zaide find the good in everything. They even say to Kvetchy Boy, they say, "Oh, Kvetchy Boy, you're so observant. You get everything. You see everything that's going on." He's like, "I'm not being observant. I'm kvetching!" And really, what's going on, the moral of the story that comes from Bubbe and Zaide is that when you love someone, you look for their good. They're not paying attention to Kvetchy Boy's kvetching. They're thinking how smart he is that he notices stuff. They're not paying attention to Shluffy Girl sleeping, they're thinking, "Oh, she knows her own head. She's so independent. She's willing to do what she thinks is right even if nobody else does."
Anne-Marie Asner:
Shmutzy Girl, they don't think, "Oh, she's so messy." They think, She's so enthusiastic. She's so excited. She can't wait to just take life by both hands." They look for the good. And that's really the message, is that particularly grandparents with their grandkids is that they see the good and that changes the grandkids.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And I know from my kids, they're having a really hard time right now because we can't go see their Bubbe and Zaide. And so, that's why I really want to get this book out because there's a warmth and a building of the next generation that really comes from grandparents to their grandkids. And that's what that book is about. But you get lots of the kids in it. Lots of the characters. Thank you for the question.
Daniel Larson:
Thanks, Alana. But another question here is, "Anne-Marie, do you do the illustrations for the books as well as writing them?"
Anne-Marie Asner:
I do. So, if they're not good, I don't want to hear about it. I'm just kidding. I do. And actually, you'll see a big difference. For the ones that have come out already, Shmutzy Girl, you can see in her book, they're pretty basic. This was the first book to come out, and they're simpler, and they don't have quite as much detail. Close, but not quite as much.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And then, the last book to actually be published ... Like I said, Shleppy Boy, Kibbitzy Girl and Bubbe & Zaide are ready to go to press, they just haven't gone yet. So, their art is actually really good, but you can see that the Hanukah book was the last one to come out, and there's more detail in the pictures. I got better as I went along, which happens with a lot of us with things, right? Where we get better as we do it.
Anne-Marie Asner:
But the story here is that I didn't want to do the illustrations. I'm a writer. I don't draw. And I worked with a couple of illustrators who didn't quite do the illustrations the way I wanted them done, or didn't finish them on time. And then, when I started out, honestly, I didn't even have a budget for any of it anyway. So, people were kind of doing me favors.
Anne-Marie Asner:
And my husband said to me, he said, "Why don't you just do them? How tough can it be?" And I was like, "Well, it looks pretty tough." And he said, "You know what you like. These are kids' books. Whatever you can draw will at least be accessible and nice for them to look at because you'll probably draw more or less like a kid." And he was right.
Anne-Marie Asner:
But really, he pushed me to do it, and years, years later, I found out that Mel Brooks, apparently, didn't want to write the ... Am I saying this right? I don't want to be ... The music to The Producers. He wrote the words but didn't want to write the music, and it was his wife who pushed him to write the music. She was like, "You're the only one who knows what you want." And there's an element of ... I guess I was the one who knew what I wanted, and I started, and I took a chance, and was patient with myself too knowing that it got better as I went.
Daniel Larson:
That's so great, Anne-Marie. We just had a comment here from Enid. Enid says, "I don't have a question, but I just wanted to say how delighted I am that this is available. I have a two year old grandson who now knows the word shmutz because I'll use it with him when I'm with him. I'll be sure to get these for him." And that's from Enid.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Thanks Enid. I'm so glad. That's exactly why I made the books. Thank you. You made my day.
Daniel Larson:
Now, Anne-Marie, do we want to see if anybody wants to hear another story, if anybody's interested?
Anne-Marie Asner:
Yes, for sure. For sure. Maybe you could ask them. And let's do a boy book because we just did a girl one.
Daniel Larson:
Okay. Do you folks want to hear another story?
Daniel Larson:
Should we do Klutzy Boy?
Anne-Marie Asner:
Oh, I'd love to. I would love to. Klutzy Boy is a lot of fun because it's when we get to meet Shleppy Boy. So, here's Klutzy Boy. Oh, I'm sorry. I have to stop sharing my screen, don't I?
Anne-Marie Asner:
Of course, he looks like he's at the nurse's office at school, right? "Klutzy Boy is the clumsiest kid on the block. If there's something to spill, 'Oh, no! I'm all wet.' Something to break, 'Oops, I didn't mean to hit the window.' Or an injury to be had, 'Ow! My leg hurts,' just leave it to Klutzy Boy."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Every day, Klutzy Boy walks home from school with Shleppy Boy. Shleppy Boy always has a lot to carry, but one day, he had even more than usual since it had been his turn for show and tell."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'Klutzy Boy, would you mind carrying my fishbowl?' asked Shleppy Boy. 'I just have too much to carry. I can't shlepp it all.'" You ever felt like that? You just can't shlepp it all?
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'Of course,' said Klutzy Boy." Sorry. "Who was happy to help. Shleppy Boy handed Klutzy Boy the bowl and said, 'Be sure to be careful.' As soon as the words left Shleppy Boy's mouth, the fishbowl hit the ground with a smash. 'Oh, no!' said Klutzy Boy, 'It slipped right out of my hands. I didn't mean to!' 'Klutzy Boy!' said Shleppy Boy angrily, 'You are so, so, so klutzy!'"
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Upset, Shleppy Boy left Klutzy Boy to deal with the mess and to walk home alone." That's not very nice, huh? Must have been really upset.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"The next day at school, Klutzy Boy's other friends could tell something was the matter. Kvetchy Boy," there he comes again, "who never misses an opportunity to complain advised, 'Maybe if you complain about your problem, you might feel better.' But Klutzy Boy was in no mood to kvetch. It wouldn't help him be less clumsy."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Noshy Boy, who loves to eat, said, 'Maybe you need a snack. Do you want one of my cookies?' But Klutzy Boy knew that noshing wouldn't make him less klutzy. Shluffy Girl, who is always sleepy, suggested, 'Maybe you need a nap. That always makes me feel better.' Klutzy Boy just shook his head. He knew that shluffing wouldn't cure his clumsiness."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'Well, Klutzy Boy,' said Shluffy Girl, 'if whatever if bothering you can't be fixed with a shluff, a nosh, or a kvetch, what could possible be the problem?' 'Shluffy Girl,' answered Klutzy Boy, 'I am the klutziest kid in the whole wide world. I even dropped Shleppy Boy's fishbowl.' 'That's it? That's why you're so upset?' asked Shluffy Girl between yawns. 'Yes,' said Klutzy Boy, looking confused."
Anne-Marie Asner:
"'Klutzy Boy, all you have to do is pay a little more attention to what you're doing and take your time,' said Shluffy Girl. 'You'll see. You'll be a lot less clumsy.'"
Anne-Marie Asner:
"At first, Klutzy Boy didn't believe that being less klutzy could be that easy, but he gave it a try, and soon, Klutzy Boy spilled a lot less, broke fewer things," look, the window is okay, "and got hurt less often." Look, his leg even got better. No bandaid. "A little extra time and attention left Klutzy Boy a lot less klutzy. Klutzy Boy even brought Shleppy Boy a new fishbowl without dropping it." Look, what's Shleppy Boy carrying now? Is that a basketball, a cooler, water, a backpack. He's prepared. Let's put it that way.
Anne-Marie Asner:
"Sometimes, when Klutzy Boy is excited ..." Whoops. Sorry. "Sometimes, when Klutzy Boy is excited, or in a hurry, or forgets to pay attention to what he is doing, 'Oops!' ... Boing. Klutzy Boy is reminded that he still can be a little klutzy just like most everyone else." Right? Slowing down made him a lot less klutzy. I guess Shluffy, even though she sleeps all the time, has some good advice.
Daniel Larson:
Thanks so much, Anne-Marie. Those stories were really, really great.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Thank you. The pleasure was all mine. I love Brandeis. It was one of the best years of my life, and I love being part of the Brandeis extended family.
Daniel Larson:
We really appreciate that a lot. And thank you to everyone for joining us this evening, whether you're on the east coast here where it might be time for some shluffing, or if you're anywhere else across the country or around the world. Any final thoughts from you, Anne-Marie?
Anne-Marie Asner:
No. It's just been a real thrill to be able to launch it. And anyone who wants to reach out to me, please. You can go to MatzahBallBooks.com and reach out through there, or @MatzahBallBook on Instagram. And I look forward to hearing from you.
Daniel Larson:
Thanks, Anne-Marie. And as we-
Anne-Marie Asner:
Oh. And there's a checkout code for my Brandeis family. If you put Brandeis in all caps at the check out, there's a discount for Brandeisians.
Daniel Larson:
As you can see from the slide that's up on your screen now, you can also see all upcoming virtual alumni events at alumni.brandeis.edu/events or you can be sure to follow us on social media. That's it from all of us, and thanks again to Anne-Marie.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Thank you, Daniel.
Daniel Larson:
All right. Have a good night everyone.
Anne-Marie Asner:
Bye. Get shluffing.