Evan-Moor is celebrating its 40-year anniversary – and July 10 marks the company’s founding! Evan-Moor employees will celebrate with a company picnic on Friday, July 12.
Sitting in his office on Ragsdale Drive in Evan-Moor’s Monterey, California, headquarters, Bill Evans reflects on the early days and the company’s homegrown beginnings:
“My parents’ garage was our warehouse, and we sorted orders and mail on their living room floor. My dad packed boxes, and my mom created invoices on her typewriter. My sister, Joy, and friend, Jo Ellen, continued teaching while they wrote educational materials in the evening, and I practiced law while visiting schools to drum up sales.”
Evan-Moor’s very first book, Art Moves the Basics Along, was handwritten and illustrated by Joy Evans and Jo Ellen Moore to motivate struggling students in their classroom. These teaching partners found that incorporating basic drawing techniques into lessons helped to engage young children and make the lesson come alive.
With persistence, the help of teacher book clubs, and a grassroots effort, Evan-Moor Educational Publishers gained momentum!
Forty years later, you can find Evan-Moor resources in more than 90 countries and an estimated 30 million classrooms in the United States.