Bøger af Michelle Houts

"This folkloric tale is rich with depth and tradition and full of a child's wonder of the natural world. . . . A timeless story." - Kirkus ReviewsChristmas has come, and with it a sparkling white winterfrost. When Bettina's parents are called away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the house, the farm, and baby Pia, Bettina neglects to set out the traditional bowl of Christmas rice pudding for the tiny nisse. No one besides her grandfather ever believed the nisse were real, so what harm could there be in forgetting this silly custom? But when baby Pia disappears, the magic of the nisse makes itself known. To find her sister and set things right, Bettina must venture into the miniature world of these usually helpful, but sometimes mischievous, folk.

A scarecrow stood in the garden. Tall, proud, and smiling. Every day a girl brought her favorite books to the garden and she read to him. He heard tales of courage and of hope. And when she said, "The End," the scarecrow always felt a little bit taller and braver. Year after year, she came and she read to him. Until one spring, two different hands picked him up from the garden shed and placed him in the garden. He waited, but she didn't come to read to him. With poignant words from Michelle Houts and lush illustrations by Sara Palacios, Hopefully the Scarecrow is a tender distillation of the enduring power of friendship and a heartwarming look at the ways stories connect us.

Author Michelle Houts and illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline explore the magic of one of the seaside's greatest wonders and the bonds that link us through time.One summer, a boy named Thomas visits his grandmother at her seaside cottage. She gives him a magnifying glass that once belonged to his grandfather, and with it Thomas explores the beach, turning grains of sand into rocks and dark clamshells into swirling mazes of black, gray, and white. When his grandmother shows him a piece of sea glass, Thomas is transfixed. That night he dreams of an old shipyard and the breaking of a bottle. Could the very piece of sea glass on his nightstand have come from that bottle? For the rest of the summer, he searches for more sea glass and hopes to have dreams that will reveal more of the sea's secrets. A stunning ode to stories and the seaside, this picture book invites readers to imagine the ocean of possibility that lives in every small or forgotten treasure.

"When you grow up on a farm, adventures happen all day long--even at night! On a cold winter evening, a father and daughter go out to the barn and are welcomed with a warm scene. Who is awake, who is asleep, and who is just making their first appearance in the barn? Michelle Houts' lyrical poetry paired with Jen Betton's glowing watercolors create a warm and wonderful bedtime story--best shared together."--Provided by publisher.

After years of waiting, it is finally Libby Ryan's turn to shine at the Practical County Fair. Libby is filled with excitement as she and her granddad pick out two calves for her to raise on her family's cattle farm, in hopes of winning the annual steer competition. Against her father's advice, Libby gives the calves names, even though both steers will eventually be auctioned off. After a few months of preparing for the Practical County Fair, Libby finds that she is growing closer to her steers with each passing day, and the pressure to win Grand Champion is mounting.Luckily, Libby can count on her best friend to get her through most of the county fair chaos. Yet once reality sets in and she realizes that her steers will soon be sold to the highest bidder, the chaos in Libby's heart becomestoo much to bear.Michelle Houts lives on a grain and livestock farm in West Central Ohio with her husband and three children. This is her first novel.

"Lucy learns all about states of matter, and a school field trip and the Fall Harvest Festival gives her the chance to put her knew knowledge to good use"--

When you look at a bird, do you see feathers and a beak? Or do you see circles and triangles? Artist Charley Harper spent his life reducing subjects to their simplest forms, their basic lines and shapes. This resulted in what he called minimal realism and the style that would become easily recognized as Charley Harper's.

Dorothy Mary Kamenshek was born to immigrant parents in Norwood, Ohio. As a young girl, she played pickup games of sandlot baseball with neighborhood children; no one, however, would have suspected that at the age of seventeen she would become a star athlete at the national level.

In 1955, sixty-seven-year-old Emma "Grandma" Gatewood became the first woman to solo hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one through hike. Michelle Houts and Erica Magnus bring us the first children's book about her feat and the unexpected challenges she encountered on the journey she initially called a "lark."

"When an owl chooses to make her nest in a dangerous location, the eggs are rescued by a bird rehabilitation specialist. Miraculously, one of the eggs hatches, and the owlet becomes an education bird--an ambassador for his species. This true story is about preservation, rehabilitation, and most of all, friendship"--