Award-winning author MaryAnn Kohl has written 14 books for Gryphon House. Her philosophy, "It's the process, not the product," guides her writing as she provides open-ended art activities for young children. MaryAnn's activities focus on the experience of art, not the final product a child creates. MaryAnn presents at workshops and keynotes around the country for teachers and librarians interested in teaching art with young children. She has appeared on various television shows, including Home Matters on the Discovery Channel, Take Part! (Canadian children's television) as the 'Mudworks lady', and was a featured guest on 1, 2, 3 Grow! (Health Network). MaryAnn was also a consultant for a children's activity television show produced by the Jim Henson Company (Odyssey Network). In addition, she consults for Fisher-Price, and works with SUNY-Albany as one of their expert guests for numerous educational video conferences. MaryAnn enjoys being a columnist for Family Fun magazine, and writes for numerous other magazines including Parenting, Cricket, Scholastic, Early Childhood News, and Daycaring.

MaryAnn also writes books for her own publishing company, Bright Ring Publishing.