Maryann Cocca-Leffler

I grew up on a bus route in Everett, Massachusetts in an Italian family, where dinnertime was always a major feast. Many days you could find my mother, Rose, in the kitchen, rolling meatballs or my father Ted, in his garden, picking tomatoes. There were 5 kids in the family. I have three brothers and one sister. I am the second oldest.

As a kid, I liked to play school, listen to the Beatles, draw and paint. I remember doodling and painting on anything...notebooks, rocks, and even clam shells. By the time I was in fourth grade I knew I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I remember my 4th grade teacher, Sr. Isabel Thomas, gave me my very first set of pastels. (I still have them!).

In Jr. high, I continued to paint on anything and everything! My doodles got bigger... I painted a mural on our garage door that looked like a country road... (I still can't believe my parents let me do that!)

Somehow, my artwork (including the garage door and lots of other stuff from High School art class) got me into the Massachusetts College of Art, where I majored in illustration. I cleaned out a small corner of my parents' dark cellar and turned the space into my very first studio... (I painted a mural on the oil tank to brighten it up a bit!). And there I worked, for 4 years, with dreams of someday illustrating children's books.

My dream came true in 1981 when I illustrated my first book, Eileen Spinelli's Thanksgiving at the Tappletons. Soon after, I married Eric Leffler and moved to Saugus, Massachusetts. Since then, I created two daughters, Janine and Kristin, and over fifty books for children. There were many things that inspired me along the way…
Some of my books where inspired by my own childhood;
Bus Route to Boston is about me as a little girl, living in Everett and taking the bus into Boston, where I experienced it's sights and sounds in places such as the North End, Filenes Basement and the famous Baileys Ice Cream Shop. In Wednesday is Spaghetti Day I show my love for Italian food.

Clams All Year is based on one summer in Hull, Massachusetts, when a big storm brought in lots of clams... everyone went clam digging with Grandpa. And you guessed it...we ate Clams ALL Year!
I learned in second grade that lies can grow after I told my classmates that my father owned the Coca-Cola Company (he didn’t).

That memory sparked the idea behind Princess K.I.M and the Lie that Grew and its sequel, Princess Kim and Too Much Truth. I’m currently working to bring the Princess Kim books to the stage as a full length Musical! (Stay tuned!) Many of my books where inspired by my children. Missing One Stuffed Rabbit was based on an experience my daughter, Janine, had in first grade. The idea for the tie-loving character in, Mr.Tanen's Ties, Mr. Tanen's Tie Trouble and Mr. Tanen's Ties RULE! was sparked after meeting Mr. Tanen, principal of my daughters' former elementary school.

My daughter Kristin (Kristinella, as she was known) had a "Princess" fourth birthday party, which was the inspiration behind Princess for a Day.
Much later, as I sat through her long dance recital watching the very little ballerinas, I wrote an designed My Dance Recital, my very first pop-up, flap book. Recently, Kristin’s departure to college led to a book about separation and loving from a distance called A Vacation for Pooch, which will be published soon.

I haven’t changed much since I was a kid... except I got older! I still think like an eight-year-old, which really helps when you write for kids! I still love Italian food and paint an occasional mural! I now live in New Hampshire with my husband Eric and two daughters, where I work in a big BRIGHT studio, (no more cellars for me!)

When I’m not in my studio working on a new book, you may find me digging in my flower garden or visiting school near you.