News & Reviews
Summer/Fall 2010 -
My Challenge to Ohio Middle Schoolers:
THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY is a finalist for the 2010 Buckeye Children's Book Award! It was chosen along with 4 other awesome middle-grade titles. So, here is my challenge to you: Read all 5 books and VOTE for your favorite, even if it's not THE BEEF PRINCESS. To see the list, go to
and then vote from September 1 - November 10th!
June 2010 - Just found a neat new website called From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors
http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com
dedicated to MG books and those who love them! They are doing a huge give-away this month, too, so check it out!
April 19, 2010 WOW!
The Beef Princess of Practical County has won the 2010 International Reading Association Children's Book Award for Intermediate Fiction! I'm going to Chicago next week at accept the award in person at the IRA Convention!
Pinch me, please!
2/18/2009 It's here!
An addition to the website... a new blog! You can now link from michellehouts.com to my new blog site, where I will post random musings about reading, writing, and life in the country! Just click the bottom right window pane and walk A Country Mile with me!
10/12/2009 - Pat Zietlow Miller posted an interview with me on her awesome children's lit blog Read, Write, Repeat. Check it out at http://www.patzietlowmiller.com
8/12/2009 - THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY has its own AR Quiz! Quiz No. 129887 in case you really wanted to know.
7/31/2009 - Beef Princess is a Seventeen Magazine Summer Beach Reads pick! Click below to read how THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY is compared to apple pie!
Seventeen Magazine Summer Beach Reads
5/30/09 My Favorite Review thus far...
Not because it is positive (that helps, though!) but because this reviewer sees beneath the storyline and subplots to the underlying values of modern farm life. This review site also has a "What Parents Need to Know" section, warning of potentially controversial topics and providing suggestions for family discussions. I'll return to this site as a parent and educator! Check out the review at:
5/20/2009 A new review
A reader emailed to let me know that this review had been posted. It's a keeper! And, so is this blogspot .... very cute page! Check it out:
5/4/2009 Another enchanted evening!
Mark Twain Elementary school visit was a blast, and that evening, the Westerville Launch Party was unforgettable! Highlights: Seeing old school friends, former teachers, and having family and friends pack the library. Take a peek!
4/30/2009 Oh, what a night!
We had an awesome and overwhelming turnout for the Evening at the Fair, book launch party and fund raiser for the WSU-LC Reading Center! It was standing room only in the Community Building at the Mercer County Fairgrounds. Here are some photo highlights:
The Mercer Co. Beef Queen, Lydia Schwieterman, our special guest.... Yes, they really do exist, those Beef Queens!
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3/16/2009 - Whoa! My Booklist Review is in... and it's GOOD! Here it is:
The Beef Princess of Practical County.
Houts, Michelle (Author)
Booklist; circ: 23,280
April 1, 2009
“Calves don’t need names,” Libby’s dad warns as she chooses her first two steers to show at the Practical County Fair. Yet in her enthusiasm and determination to bring a ribbon home to Ryansmeade, the family farm and cattle ranch, Libby immediately names the animals Piggy and Mule—and falls in love. How will she ever sell them at auction now? First-time novelist Houts paints an idyllic yet authentic picture of farm life as she takes Libby and her family through the ups and downs of cattle raising and fair-showing with sly humor and a flair for description and characterization. Rural readers and their urban cousins alike will laugh at the Darling sisters—Precious, Lil, and Ohma—who are fine villains, all, and they will cry with Libby as she leads her prize steers to slaughter. Welcome another talented YA author to the fold.
- — Frances Bradburn
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See a blogger's review of The Beef Princess of Practical County on:
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Here we are at the ALA Midwinter Convention: the Random House middle grade first-timers. I was honored to be among this talented group. Read about their books on the What's on My Shelf page.
In front: Marilyn Taylor McDowell and Rosanne Parry
In back: Me, Tim Mason, Michael Beil, and Kurtis Scaletta