About this episode
Ever wondered how authors conjure up the worlds that enthrall us? Today, we have the pleasure of welcoming Ann Diament Koffsky, an award-winning author and illustrator, who brings a wealth of experience and heartfelt stories. From teaching art in a bomb shelter in Israel to confronting the omission of women's faces in ultra-orthodox media, Anne's journey is as inspiring as it is impactful. In today's conversation, Anne peels back the layers of her creative process, influenced by her roles as a teacher and a parent, and shares her approach to embedding valuable lessons into her books. We'll also delve into her American Jewish family's story of achieving the dream across generations, her rally against anti-Semitism, and her efforts to give back to the community. Anne's relatable struggle with her creative muse during tough times, her gratitude for parental support, and her mission to preserve legacies through storytelling promise to resonate with many of our listeners. We'll also uncover how Anne instills Jewish pride and strength within her work, amidst discussions of current geopolitical issues and generational trauma. So, let's dive in and learn from Anne's journey of nurturing creativity, facing adversity head-on, and the importance of crafting stories that speak to both the young and young at heart. Get ready, dads, daughters, and everybody in between – it's time to Better Call Daddy! Ann Diament Koffsky is the award winning author and illustrator of more than forty picture books for children. Her newest book, “Ping Pong Shabbat” will be out in 2024 from Little Bee Books, and is the story of Ping Pong champion Estee Ackerman, who chose to not play on Shabbat. Ann has also created artwork for products by Hallmark, Costco, Great Arrow Graphics and Rite Lite Judaica. Previously, she was an editor and art director at Behrman House Publishers and an adjunct professor of art at Yeshiva University. Ann also creates free, Jewish coloring pages for kids that you can print from her blog at www.annkoffsky.com . Links to share: https://annkoffsky.com/ My Author page on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ann-D.-Koffsky/author/B0056QJW98?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MDAyOTk0Mjg3MzgxMzU3?story_media_id=3307870929761035627&igsh=MzE0YjBicmx0Zmxh Jeremy’s channel on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@baseballheirlooms Video interview of her Dad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS8rHCq6Mvs Connect with Reena bettercalldaddy.com linkedin.com/in/reenafriedmanwatts twitter.com/reenareena instagram.com/reenafriedmanwatts instagram.com/bettercalldaddypodcast Me and my dad would love to hear from you, Drop us a review, reviews help more people find the show, and let us know what you like and what you'd like us to change, Please share the show with one friend who you think would be helped by the show ratethispodcast.com/bettercalldaddy podchaser.com/bettercalldaddy Castmagic is the AI tool I use for show notes and podcast title ideas, it has helped save me tons of time. I talked about it in this episode. Please use my affiliate link if you sign up. https://get.castmagic.io/bettercalldaddy Are you a popular podcaster or a rising influencer? Or do you have a great idea for an online business? Then you should know that every great website starts with an awesome domain name. Namecheap offers hundreds of domain extensions, from the traditional dot com to creative extensions for podcasters like dot fm, dot live, or dot space. Namecheap is the world’s 2nd largest domain registrar, with nearly 17 million domains under management and a top web service provider for everything you need to launch an amazing website. Namecheap offers hundreds of domain extensions from the traditional .com to creative extensions like .fm, .live or .space Namecheap is offering Better Call Daddy listeners 20% off any non-premium domain name for its first year of registration with the code REENA20. The offer cannot be combined with any existing sales but can override any current sale if its discount is less than 20%. The code is valid for all new and existing Namecheap customers. You can register up to 10 domains per account with this code. To get a domain name with a 20% discount (including .com and 455 other extensions). Go to namecheap.com , search for your desired domain, and use the code REENA20 at checkout.