Houts & Home's picture book, WHAT DO MOMS DO?, by Amy Houts and Emily Bush, illustrated by Lisa Thiesing, earned the highest marks in the Writer's Digest 23rd Annual Self-Published Book Awards.The judge's comments were very positive. We are very proud! See following for rating and judge's comments:
Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 meaning “outstanding."
Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5
Production Quality and Cover Design: 5
Plot and Story Appeal: 5
Character Appeal and Development: 5
Voice and Writing Style: 5
Judge’s Commentary (in entirety):
Great choice in colors, with the teal in the background providing the perfect contrast to all the detail shades. Well done.
Authors [editor's note: actually the illustrator, Lisa Thiesing] have made the characters ultra-cute, and have given the little characters realistic child attributes. It’s completely realistic that a child will dress herself creatively for school, and we see here that the little mouse is dressed up in a tutu and boa. Young readers will identify. It adds to the nice, modern narrative kids will relate to, and it does a wonderful job of letting young readers see themselves in the story, identify with the lesson of appreciating what moms do, many of which center on allowing the child some autonomy, and not having to be perfect to try many things. It’s a big topic, one the authors handle expertly and relatably. Well done.
Sentence structure and word choice are age-appropriate, and the narrative is paced well. Authors have decided on just the right number of entries for a book that holds this age group’s attention and plants a seed of acknowledging the many gifts and talents of their own moms. It’s a book about gratitude, stepping back from receiving to see the dedication and unconditional love there. Beautiful balance of big topic and lovely details.
All of the examples are relatable, with play in the tub and lets me cook being the top standouts.
A lovely book. Well done.
Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 meaning “outstanding."
Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5
Production Quality and Cover Design: 5
Plot and Story Appeal: 5
Character Appeal and Development: 5
Voice and Writing Style: 5
Judge’s Commentary (in entirety):
Great choice in colors, with the teal in the background providing the perfect contrast to all the detail shades. Well done.
Authors [editor's note: actually the illustrator, Lisa Thiesing] have made the characters ultra-cute, and have given the little characters realistic child attributes. It’s completely realistic that a child will dress herself creatively for school, and we see here that the little mouse is dressed up in a tutu and boa. Young readers will identify. It adds to the nice, modern narrative kids will relate to, and it does a wonderful job of letting young readers see themselves in the story, identify with the lesson of appreciating what moms do, many of which center on allowing the child some autonomy, and not having to be perfect to try many things. It’s a big topic, one the authors handle expertly and relatably. Well done.
Sentence structure and word choice are age-appropriate, and the narrative is paced well. Authors have decided on just the right number of entries for a book that holds this age group’s attention and plants a seed of acknowledging the many gifts and talents of their own moms. It’s a book about gratitude, stepping back from receiving to see the dedication and unconditional love there. Beautiful balance of big topic and lovely details.
All of the examples are relatable, with play in the tub and lets me cook being the top standouts.
A lovely book. Well done.
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