In Love with Books
Amy Houts
I have always loved books. My mother and father valued, read, and purchased books. We lived near great public libraries, too. The bookmobile was a favorite of mine in Levittown, New York, where we lived until I was ten years old. Then we moved to Ballwin, Missouri, near St. Louis. I started writing while attending Parkway West High School, but didn't think of pursuing a literary career. Because I earned high praise from my family when I cooked and baked, I enrolled in a cooking school. I attended a year at the Culinary Institute of America and then worked at a hotel restaurant. I decided to go to a university, first at Memphis State and then the University of Missouri majoring in home economics.
I married and then stayed at home after our daughter, Emily, was born. I wrote during her long afternoon naps. Soon after our second daughter, Sarah, was born, my husband and I divorced. I married Steve Houts, a farmer, and we both completed our college degrees. My father (who had great insight) recommended I try library science. Being a librarian would marry my love for books with my writing life. Majoring in library science, I earned a B.S. degree from Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, and Steve earned a B.S. in education. Steve--the love of my life--has always supported my career choices. I worked as a children's librarian at the Maryville Public Library. After that, I taught preschool-age children at Head Start, but longed to be home writing. Currently, I am doing just that! Freelance writing at home is a dream come true.
I married and then stayed at home after our daughter, Emily, was born. I wrote during her long afternoon naps. Soon after our second daughter, Sarah, was born, my husband and I divorced. I married Steve Houts, a farmer, and we both completed our college degrees. My father (who had great insight) recommended I try library science. Being a librarian would marry my love for books with my writing life. Majoring in library science, I earned a B.S. degree from Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, and Steve earned a B.S. in education. Steve--the love of my life--has always supported my career choices. I worked as a children's librarian at the Maryville Public Library. After that, I taught preschool-age children at Head Start, but longed to be home writing. Currently, I am doing just that! Freelance writing at home is a dream come true.
Writing for Educational Publishers
I’m the author of over 40 books for children. My favorite age group to write for is three to seven. I write the text for leveled readers, both fiction and nonfiction, using Flesch-Kincaid and Lexile measures. Writing on assignment for educational publishers is a welcome challenge. I've worked with a variety of publishers. Compass Media and Korea Hermanhesse publish books to help children learn English. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and McGraw Hill (through the Bill Smith Group/QBS Learning) publish books for schools. David C. Cook publishes books for Christian education. I've written books on assignment for these publishers:
- Compass Media
- Korea Hermanhesse
- Stone Arch (a division of Capstone)
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (through the Bill Smith Group/QBS Learning)
- McGraw Hill (through the Bill Smith Group/QBS Learning)
- Pearson Learning Group
- Learning Horizons
- Dalmatian Press
- David C. Cook
Writing and Publishing Cookbooks
When our two daughters were growing up, we cooked together. I wrote about our experiences in a monthly column, "Preschooler in the Kitchen," for Parent & Preschooler Newsletter. After writing columns for a number of years, I wrote a cookbook, "Learning Through Cooking Activities," which taught children colors, shapes, cooperation, and more, through food. I love spending time in my kitchen, which is a bright and cheery room decorated with sunflowers. As years passed, I wrote two more cookbooks for children, Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids: Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun, and Cooking Around the Country with Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities. Recently, I published a cookbook, the first from my own publishing company, Houts & Home Publications LLC, Mealtime Magic: Delicious Dinners in Half the Time.
Click here to see a complete list of my publications.
Click here to see a complete list of my publications.
|
|
|
|
|
