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 My gift to you is a free cooperative board game I created called BEFORE THE BLIZZARD! A Winter Holiday Game. Enjoy! Encourages empathy, helps to develop critical thinking skills, fine motor control. Great for families, teachers, grandparents. Download PDF of the game board, rules, and game pieces here: https://www.houtsandhome.com/before-the-blizzard-freebie.html. Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
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My picture book, God's Protection Covers Me, was released by Beaming Books last year, but is an important reminder in this moment when families are struggling with illness, job loss, and stress. I would love to get my book into the hands of families, churches, and preschools, so I've decided to give away 3 signed copies on Goodreads from November 15-December 15. If you have young children in your life or would like to give a copy to your church nursery or public library, please enter! And please follow me if you have a Goodreads account. Click here to enter.
Great news! God's Protection Covers Me has won two awards!
"Acknowledging the good you already have in your life is the basis of all abundance." Eckhart Tolle Amy Houts is an award-winning author of over 100 children’s picture books, cookbooks, and board games that feature early learning concepts, family themes of love and friendship, and holiday celebrations. Amy’s numerous short stories, articles, and poems have appeared in Ladybug Magazine, Highlights Hello, and Pockets Magazine. Her books include: The Giant Book of Bible Fingerplays for Preschoolers (Group Publishing); Think Like a Scientist (Pearson Learning Group); and Dora the Explorer Safety (Learning Horizons).
 I snapped this photo looking out our front door! The water department came to fix a leak and brought this digger. I don't think I've seen one this close. I sent the photo to our grandchildren. They loved it! Three men worked for awhile, but they finally fixed the leak!
 My granddaughter started preschool. What a different school year! Our grandchildren are happy to be back at school. Everyone is wearing masks--teachers, staff, and students. No drinking from the water fountain or sharing supplies. I'm thankful they are taking precautions, and I'm praying for everyone to stay healthy and safe. Favorite Oatmeal Apple Walnut Muffins My husband and I started a healthy eating kick over a year ago. He was experiencing some health issues. It was time to rethink our unhealthy lifestyle. So, he bought a Fitbit and started exercising. I revamped our menus. And it worked! We still enjoy eating dessert, but I make healthier desserts, lower in fat, sugar, and refined flour. I enjoy baking muffins (instead of cupcakes) with fruit, nuts, and whole grains. Fresh and dried fruit make muffins moist and sweet. Nuts add crunch and flavor. Whole grains add texture. Healthy ingredients make these muffins more filling and more satisfying, too. I wanted to share our new favorite with you. It's brimming with nutrition--it's breakfast in a muffin, a perfect way to start a busy school day or break for mid-morning coffee. 1 scant cup milk or almond milk 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 medium-large apple 2 tablespoons oil 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 2 cups 1-minute oats 1 1/4 cup unbleached white flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup broken walnuts Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin papers. Measure milk. Add vinegar; set aside for 5 minutes. Core the apple. Grate into a cereal bowl; set aside. Measure oil, brown sugar, and egg into a large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir. Measure oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt an cinnamon. Stir just until mixed. Fold in nuts and grated apple. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from muffin tin and cool on wire wrack. Serve with butter. Yield: 12 muffins Do you have a favorite muffin recipe? Take a picture and tag me on Twitter or Instagram @AmyHouts. Book news! So excited to be one of the featured children's authors in this new book, WRITING & SELLING CHILDREN'S BOOKS IN THE CHRISTIAN MARKET, by award-winning author Michelle M. Adams and her literary agent, Cyle Young. Let's end with a school-related quote. Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. -- George Washington Carver Amy Houts is an author of over 100 children’s picture books, cookbooks, and board games that feature early learning concepts, family themes of love and friendship, and holiday celebrations. Amy’s numerous short stories, articles, and poems have appeared in Ladybug Magazine, Highlights Hello, and Pockets Magazine. Her books include: God's Protection Covers Me (Beaming Books); Think Like a Scientist (Pearson Learning Group); and Dora the Explorer Safety (Learning Horizons).
 The Missouri Ladies Military Band in front of the Capitol before the suffrage parade, March 3, 1913. Courtesy, National Woman's Party at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument. Today is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment giving women in the U.S. the right to vote! I have a special interest in women's voting rights--suffrage-- because of a local story related to Maryville, Missouri, the town where we have lived since 1990. But I wasn't always interested in suffrage. I didn't even know the meaning of the word. Years ago, I found out that my friend, Mary, was interested in women's voting rights. So, when I saw a headline in the newspaper related to it, I cut out the article and mailed it to her. Even though we live hundreds of miles apart, Mary is my closest friend. We often email several times each week. In 2013, it occurred to me that I should start reading the articles I was sending Mary before mailing them. One in particular caught my interest. It described a trip that a local ladies marching band had taken a hundred years earlier to a suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. I was hooked. I spent the next 7 years writing, revising, and submitting a manuscript featuring this fascinating event. While there was interest in the subject from both agents and editors, and I was nearly awarded a contract (twice!) I ultimately decided to publish it myself. My plan was to release it March 3, the day of the parade. When that date passed, I set today's date, August 18, as the release date. Due to delays, the pandemic, and issues beyond my control, my book has not gone to print--hopefully it will by the end of the year. I'll share the book cover soon! So, as we enter this contentious election season, being able to vote is more important than ever. It took many years, hard work, and dedication by both women and men to gain the vote. And while this was a huge victory for women, it didn’t include women of all races. It took many more years for Black, Native American, and Asian Americans to gain suffrage. Despite this, and despite the fact that people are still being disenfranchised, this is a day to celebrate! Amy Houts is an author of over 100 children’s picture books, cookbooks, and board games that feature early learning concepts, family themes of love and friendship, and holiday celebrations. Amy’s numerous short stories, articles, and poems have appeared in Ladybug Magazine, Highlights Hello, and Pockets Magazine. Her books include: God's Protection Covers Me (Beaming Books); Think Like a Scientist (Pearson Learning Group); and Dora the Explorer Safety (Learning Horizons).
 I look at this photo of myself, and I see it as a "before" picture. Before COVID-19, before my husband starting working from home, before I couldn't travel to New York City to see my mother. This photo was taken at a writers workshop in Iowa with the SCBWI (Society of Chidlren's Book Writers & Illustrators). I'm not going to writing workshops now, not this summer. Everything has been cancelled. Yet in this humid, Missouri heat--as strange as it feels to admit it--there are good things that have come from this pandemic. I enjoy having my husband working from home, and we've started a weekly FaceTime event with my mom, and I have been attending Zoom writing workshops online. What about you? What's new and different and good about this year, this summer? While I've worked at home for years writing children's books, having to stay home has put me in a decorating mood. Or rather, has put me in an un-decorating mood. We've lived in this ranch-style house since 1992. We decorated it nearly 30 years ago, and that's the way it has stayed. And now it looks dated and not quite who I am anymore. We have only one wall completed, three to go.
Time to Paint See the strip of a different color paint on our wall? That's where the wallpaper used to be. Our living room will need to be repainted. But that all has to be put on hold. I found out I have a health issue--nothing serious, but I still need surgery. I'll be unable to lift, or stretch, or stand on a ladder for 4-8 weeks. No more redecorating for a while for me! So, 2020 has been the year that I've thought about my mortality more than once. Nothing seems to matter when your health is at risk, or the health of those you love. What dangers are you facing this year? Yes, there is a "before." But I must remember that there is also an "after." I will look back on 2020 as a year of sadness, transition, and change. A year of hope for a vaccine, and truly a year of gratefulness for the relationships we have and the intangibles, for those are what is really important. Book News Writing fairytales for Compass Publishing, an educational publisher in South Korea from January through May, 2020, was a highlight of my writing career. So, I'd like to end with fairytale reference. My husband, Steve, planted pole beans and they are growing up to the sky. This photo shows him pointed to the pole, and he's over 6 feet tall! Makes us think of the fairytale, Jack-in-the-Beanstalk. Happy climbing!  We had a bag of marshmallows that were getting stale and hard, so I decided to make some Rice Krispie Treats using the original recipe. Instead of sorting through my file cards, I easily found the recipe online at the Kellogg’s® website: www.ricekrispies.com. Normally, I would say they were too sweet, but they tasted pretty good, especially when we topped it with nut butter. I’m allergic to peanuts, so I use almond butter. My husband uses peanut butter, and with him working at home during the pandemic, we have been stopping mid-morning for a snack. These are great with coffee. And more filling and a bit healthier, too, with the extra protein. Plus, they remind me of happy days when the kids were little. What snack brings back good memories for you?
Rice Krispie Treats Ingredients 3 tablespoons butter 1 package (10 oz., about 40) marshmallows OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows 6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal Topping: Nut butter (optional) Directions 1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. 2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated. 3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day. MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.
My writing journey
Milestones: One year since my book, God’s Protection Covers Me, was released from Beaming Books. Recently completed: Writing EFL (English as a Foreign Language) stories for early grades on assignment for Compass Publishing, a South Korean company. Announcements: I have an agent! Represented by Jessica Schmeidler of Golden Wheat Literary. I want to end with something uplifting. With everything that has been going on in our country, I’ve been thinking about the word compassion and found this lovely quote. I intend to be more compassionate. “Use your voice for kindness, your ears for compassion, your hands for charity, your mind for truth, and your heart for love.” Anonymous I hope you are well. I can't believe it's been months since my last blog (for Children's Book Scavenger Hunt in the fall of 2019). I intended to blog regularly and start a newsletter soon after. But you know how that is! Family, work, life happens! Now that my very intense (and wonderful!) writing assignment for Compass Publishing is complete, I'm ready to begin this journey with you again. I'm planning to be more intentional in blogging, and sending something similar a newsletter monthly [SIGN UP HERE] plus sporadic announcements whenever there's some big news. And I have some big news from my small publishing company, Houts & Home! I would love to get to know each of you better. Please tag me with photos, tell me what you are reading, and always, share your favorite recipes. It's a joy to write to you! Here's how to find me. Looking forward to connecting! Twitter and Instagram: @AmyHouts and @HoutsHome Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmyHouts/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoutsAndHome/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyhouts/
A NEW BOOK FROM HOUTS & HOMEI started writing years ago when my daughters were young. While I have had success publishing, there were a few manuscripts I loved that were not being offered publishing contracts. So, in 2011, I started my own small publishing company using my last name, Houts & Home Publications LLC. I've published a cookbook, picture book I wrote with my daughter, and a book of my mom's poetry. This month I'm releasing my talented, artistic cousin, Lester's, first picture book. Lester is more like an uncle than a cousin because he is older than my mother. Lester is a birder, that's a birdwatcher who travels to see birds. He's traveled all over the world and has seen hundreds of birds. As an artist, he draws the birds he has spotted. Are you a birdwatcher or birder? Want to get kids excited about birdwatching? This book is the perfect way to begin! Here's the description. This charming picture book for intergenerational birdwatchers will capture your heart. Based on a true story, Lester and his granddaughter, Hope, take a trip up the mountain to see the largest bird in North America, a condor. On the way down the mountain, they are surprised by another exciting sighting! A book to inspire the birder in all of us. For photos, use the tag @HoutsHome. I would love to see your birding photos! Lester Feldman, the author and illustrator, has been a Birder since he was Hope's age. He has seen 650 plus bird species in North America where he prefers to "Bird." A retired Advertising Art Director, he now birds mainly from the windows of his house. Bernice, Lester's wife of 70 years, created the typography for this book. Lester refers to Bernice as his "Creative Director." For more information, see my website, Houts & Home. I'll close with a bird quote. Take care and be safe until next time! “You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren.” Author and ornithologist William Henry Hudson  Welcome to the Christian Children’s Book Scavenger Hunt! If you are just joining us, please begin at Lisa Bergren's website to collect the clues in order, so you’ll be in the running to win one of three sets of books and a children’s Kindle Fire! The hunt runs from 9/13 at noon Mountain time until 9/15 at midnight Mountain time. This contest is open to international entrants.  I was inspired to write God’s Protection Covers Me because of the concern I feel as a mother and grandmother. I’m a worrier! But I longed to feel calmer. Looking to God for strength, knowing that He protects us, heart and soul and spirit, gave me comfort. Often, writing helps me work through my feelings. The comparison of an umbrella keeping the rain off and a roof overhead seemed to me to be the perfect symbol to explain to a child (and to myself) how God’s protection works. The soothing text reassured me, and I’m hoping that’s what it does for you.
Five Favorite Bible Verses |
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I love reading and reviewing picture books!
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