Berthe Amoss What does a children's book depend on? The plot? The interaction? Berthe Amoss, a southern children's writer and poet, believes more than half of a children's book depends on the pictures, "maybe completely". She also believes a children's book should not teach a moral, but let the child have fun. From her point of view, the purpose of a children's book is to expand their horizon, not to teach them a lesson.
Born on September 26, 1925, Amoss was born and raised in New Orleans. This influenced her writing in books such as A Cajun Christmas. She went to school at Tulane University, where she taught children's writing in recent years. At Tulane she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. Additionally, Amoss received education in places like the University of Hawaii (5 yrs.), Kunstschule, Breman, Germany, and the Academic des Beaux Acts in Antwerp, Belgium. Her wide experiences lead her to want to explore the arts and children's books worldwide.
Like many other authors, Amoss' best training, in her opinion, was reading books. She read all the books she could get her hands on, from toddler to teen to picture books to classics. Another distinction of Amoss' is she didn't start writing until she was an adult.
One day she had a birthday party for her 10-year-old son. Tom, her five-year-old son, started to cry. When asked why, he replied it was because he didn't receive an presents. From this she was inspired to write her first book, It's Not Your Birthday. Other books based in New Orlans are Secret Lives and Mockingbird Song.
Amoss now lives with her husband, Walter J. Amoss, Jr. and her six sons: Jim, Bob, Billy, Mark, Tom and John. Continuing to write for the scope and content for all ages, Berthe Amoss is a great Children's author.