Name: Maryellen Coughlan Gregoire
Occupation/role at Stone Arch Books:
Director of Product Planning and Public Relations. I work with Michael Dahl to determine what types of books we should publish and make sure they are appropriate for elementary and middle-school kids. I also work with the sales channels to make sure they get what they need, and I am in charge of any ancillary pieces we create to support the use of our books in the school.
Years at Stone Arch Books:
I’ve been here since the beginning, but that’s only three years. Prior to launching SAB, I was in product development for Capstone Press, our sister company, focusing on nonfiction for grades 3-5.
Education:
It’s a joke in my family: How many degrees can Mom get before she dies? I have a BA in English, a BS in Elementary Education, a Masters in Elementary Education, and I am currently working on my MLIS degree.
What's your favorite SAB book?
I like the quirky stories. This is a draw between two books: I loved Steel Eyes from the first season! It just caught my interest from the start. My other favorite is Trapped in Space. I had never read anything like it before.
What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
I loved Dr. Seuss, especially Horton Hatches an Egg and Are You My Mother? My mom loved to read those two. She would repeat phrases like "I meant what I said and I said what I meant; an elephant's faithful, 100 percent” in a very funny way.
What were you like as an elementary/middle-school student?
As the youngest of 8 kids, I was always compared to my siblings. While I was smart enough, I could never be as smart as some of the older kids! I tried to please my teachers until about 7th grade, and then I was a quiet rebel. Let’s not talk about high school!
What's your favorite thing to do in your free time?
There are a few things that I like to do: knit, read and go to movies. I made my son an ugly Christmas sweater this year, and I’m in the process of making my daughter an ugly Christmas vest. I read mostly kids/YA books, and thank goodness for my book club so I can read an adult book once in a while! I didn’t realize that I went to movies so much until I went through the award list and I had seen too many of them.
Tell us a memorable Stone Arch Books moment from the past year.
The day I remember most is our holiday party. We sponsored a family for the holidays whose dad had been diagnosed with brain cancer. The mom works as a paraprofessional in a local school district and they have three teenage kids. Our staff pulled together and bought over $600 worth of food and presents. Then we wrapped the presents at our holiday party. Our staff is pretty young, so every penny counts to them. For them donate as much as they did was amazing to me. The family was extremely grateful!
What’s the best part of your job?
I never have a boring day. The best part is being able to read kids books for my job! Plus, I didn’t know that I would enjoy working with my sister (Joan Coughlan Berge, the SAB president) and brother (John Coughlan, the SAB publisher) so much…it’s a lot of fun!
What’s the hardest part of your job?
Not having enough time. I have so many pieces I want to get out and so many projects to do for both marketing and sales on top of choosing good books to publish. It’s all fun and I just don’t have enough time to get to everything I want to do!
This is the second post in a multi-part series, which spotlights the members of the Stone Arch Books staff. Drawing of Maryellen Gregoire by Brann Garvey.
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By: Stone Arch Books,
on 2/27/2008
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By: Michelle Lana,
on 5/27/2007
Blog: Michelle Lana (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Stone Arch Books,
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By: Michelle Lana,
on 5/27/2007
Blog: Michelle Lana (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: IF, Cars, Childhood Memory, Playing, Boxes, Children, Add a tag
You live in DC too? Cool!
I'm loving this, it's cute and fun!
dunno how you do it everytime :D this is lovely - the story as well as the ilo.
I thought I was the only one who bemoaned that kids only sit in front of screens these days... I didn't, and I'm ok, seems you are too... I love your illustration, has funny memories attached to it.
http://blog.benconservato.com
Wonderful illustration, I'm sure that your creativity came of your childhood. That's evident : the games with your brothers continue to exist in all your drawings... These moments of happiness will give you for always the talent to create beautiful images
Have a nice day : )
great job as always we had a refrigarator box so we could seat 6 kids ...i wish my kids had the freedoms we did at there age..ahh to bea kid again
very cool work!
Cool, Michelle! The idea is great! During my childhood, we used a coconut tree branch as the car!
Excellent work, very funny, nice colors!
No matter how much stuff Liam has, he always loves the box more. So true!
Great idea, excellent take on the topic. Me and my older brother used to do stuff like that all the time. I remember when we got a new dryer and were able to use that big box. Great stuff.
oh michelle! I LOVE that so much! It just grabbed my heart and squeezed it. I grew up just like you! That is such a sweet, wonderful illustration and i love the typography on it, too!
It'd be a swell poster!
Wow! Great illo! Congratulations!
I love your cute style!
I like the way the type interacts with the illustration. It becomes part of the feel. Cool!
oh so cute. I love your illo!
Oh, waw, wonderful idea and illustration, Michelle!
Yep, you've captured my first car beautifully!
Oh man... we WAITED for all the fruit cups to be used up so we could Nab that big box.... and yep this is one of the uses! GREAT illo.
Great concept! I really like it..I used to play with one of those too!
the type play is fantastic! :))
I really like this one Michelle. How cute. And imagination is the best gift we can give our kids.
Good job ;)
Hi Michele! Great take on the subject. Beautiful shades of brown--fun illustration.
Boxes and sheets (tent city)! I remember those days ... wonderful illustration and memories, Michelle, thank you!
Great image!
Very cute!
Oooooh it reminds me my childhood ^^ Sweet illo and nice memories !
I wish I had had the joys of playing in a box when I was younger, instead I shall experience it vicariously through your illustration of awesomeness!
There is nothing like a plain brown carton, it can be anything. Another fabulous idea. I like how you add the story to the illo.
When the inspiration comes to the heart the illustrations are poetry for my soul!
Bellissima!
Cata.
A box can be so many things! I think our favorite was a little fort hideaway in the garage. Great spot for reading & being left the hell alone!
so cute! reminds me of my childhood as well. today's kids are growing up in a different world, that is for sure.
Great illo Michelle - Love it! Still true today as I have a huge cardboard box in my living room currently - for the kids of course!
Hey! I remember that! That is good! Diggit!
Great again!!!
I used the couch and a frisbiee for a car- even though growing up I had some of the non-imaginative toys, etc..
your post is great! luv it! reminds me of when i was growing up.. i got a chance to play computer games on a green-colored screen and atari. but the best part was playing tag with my neighbors and "make believe house" (we call it bahay-bahayan)
Brilliant!! Love the concept!!
Hi Michelle! How are you? jeje this is a great car!
Great illo and wonderful sentiment! I miss those days too.
I have these wonderful memories, too! We would turn chairs on their sides and line them all up to pretend like we were on a bus. (I don't know why we turned them on their sides, it certainly would have worked if they were upright, too.) Fun for free!
ah, lovely memory! nice writings too!
I like this - it's such a great take on the them too.
OMG my kids do that a lot. We have many pictures of them playing with boxes hanging on the door of the toilet. It is such fun to have kids play with things that are not considered toys.
I like your style, very nice.
thanks for visiting!
i can relate to the piece...we used to create things out of boxes all of the time (boxes are more fun than the toys themselves)!
thank you
mariella
Amen to that, cute illo:)
Very very cute!
I love the colors and the idea, used to play the same way with my cousin! :)
too wonderful Michelle, the color is perfect, what a fantastic illo!
Awwww... I used to do that too, Michelle hehehe... It was very funny.
Lovelly your illo as always, very inspirational :D
Muak!
Man, I'd comment more here but it takes SO long to scroll down all these comments! ;)
Fantastic illo, Michelle! Nothing beats a box. My daughter loves them too.
I hope you got to drive that thing too. :)
aaahhh yes! those were the days! wonderful, clever and magical idea and illo!!!
I agreee, and the box car tradition is played by my daughter too, it's a never-be- old- fashioned plaything :D!
My friends and I were airplane nuts growing up. We built a fighter plane mostly out of cardboard boxes. Simpler times.
Tasty-rific! I do this with my son, too!
Great Illu!
Good job.
Oh! that is SO great! Ah, the good old days when electronics didn't rule the world (and our brains!)
this is such a great message...i'm with you on that. the car is pretty cute too!
This is so rich! Wonderfuly captures those chilhood flights of fancy!
You are so right Michelle- this is the best car in the world!
aww I love the facial expressions and the gestures.
Great memories. Boxes can be so many fun things. I had a dishwasher box that became a fort.
Wonderful illo Michelle
Wow, great job on this pic. I love your style and the caption is great.
Cute picture, Michelle, and thanks for bringing back my childhood memories too. Just put two girls in there and you'll have me and my sister :) Although sometimes the box became a spaceship rather than a car.
Amazing what inventive minds can do with a cardboard box... or a broom, or a bedsheet...
This is a really pleasing illustration and says so much about childhood days.
Oh yes!! I do NOT heart computer games. But I love cardboard boxes...:-)
This is, as always, wonderful Michelle!
this is great!! all your works are!
always get to be fun and a bit melancholic and your illustration tell a whole story. Congratulations!
Oooo, I did this! It is nice to remember good and old days. Thanks!
oh yeh what fun could be had in a box for the afternoon anything from outter space to the wild west. makes u wonder do kids know wht an imagination is today
That is so my childhood too... cardboard boxes make the best toys!
Great fun illustration!
Love love love your style!!
hehe this is cute and so true! V cool illo
ken :D
Interesting narration. Good work as usual!
OMG!!! My brother and I used to do that too!!! That was so much fun! I have to find a large cardboard box now!