I think there are very few professions as important as teaching.”Īfter achieving tenure as a teacher, LaRochelle decided to take a leave of absence to determine whether or not he could make a go of writing books-that was 25 years ago. “It was a way you never go about getting a book published! But the editor listened and said to send it in, and that became my first book.” Though she did read it to her class, she also called an editor at Carolrhoda and read it over the phone. One year, a friend and colleague asked for a copy to read to her first-grade students. One such piece was a short story entitled A Christmas Guest, which he would read to his students every year. On the side, LaRochelle had been doing some writing and illustrating and sending his pieces out to local children’s magazines and to contests. It was during his time as a fourth-grade teacher that LaRochelle was discovered by an editor at Carolrhoda Books. I think there are very few professions as important as teaching, and I wanted to do something important like that which would impact kids in a positive way.” So when his Hallmark dream was crushed, LaRochelle returned to school as an elementary education major and eventually made his way back into the classroom as a full-time teacher. As the years passed, he was always drawn to elementary school. “They said ‘no, we’re sorry but we don’t think you can draw well enough.’” When his future career ambitions were thwarted, he despondently wondered, “What am I going to do next?”Īs a child, LaRochelle was the one who would go back to class after school to see if the teachers needed help. With a bachelor’s degree and a portfolio in hand, LaRochelle made his way to Hallmark for an interview. In pursuit of his cartooning dreams and the hope of working for Hallmark cards, LaRochelle majored in art and English at St. Finally, I decided I wanted to be a cartoonist like Charles Shultz.” Then, after that, I moved to balloon man. Then I realized that was not a possible career choice, so I chose something more realistic: I wanted to be a dinosaur. “When I was very young, what I wanted to be was a dragon.

David LaRochelle, an award-winning author and illustrator, didn’t always want to be a writer.

Moo! by David LaRochelle