The 241 Books Team
Experience + Purpose
Teachers helping teachers.
Like you, we know that the nation is in the midst of a decades-long literacy crisis. Nearly 2 out of 3 fourth-graders are not reading at grade level.
Like you, we have witnessed how social studies has taken a backseat to reading instruction. And we worry - as we know you do too - that the lack of civic education puts our democracy at risk.
Finding solutions that address these two crises is challenging. But we are confident that our combination of classroom experience and curriculum development expertise can make a difference for classroom teachers across the country.
Collectively, we bring over 60 years of teaching and educational publishing experience. We’ve created learning materials for some of the most innovative educational companies in the nation.
Our idea is simple: help elementary school teachers fit social studies into their busy school days by making reading-first social studies products.
Reading + social studies. It’s two-for-one. That’s what you get with 241 books and lessons.
Our story at 241 has just begun, but we’re excited to partner with teachers like you. The education system is plagued with challenges - no one knows that better than teachers. Which is why we believe that the people best equipped to solve those challenges are teachers.
Erin Fry
Erin began her career as a middle school educator but transitioned to full-time curriculum development in 2019. She has worked in a variety of roles in educational publishing and ed tech including writing lessons and activities, assessment items and passages, and hi-lo readers. Hired by companies such as Membean, Just Right Reader, Newsela, and Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, Erin loves the challenges of creating learning materials that make kids curious and engaged while building skills and knowledge. She is the published author of four novels for young readers, as well as numerous classroom readers, author interviews, and book reviews. She firmly believes that the best stories encourage kids to ask questions, connect with each other, and understand the world better. Her newest book, JOEY THE GOOD, comes out in May 2025.
When she isn’t writing, she loves to crochet and paint. She’s been known to spend hours online hunting for vintage furniture that she can refinish. She lives in southern California with her husband and two dogs - Berkeley and Fitzgerald - but travels often to visit her three grown kids.
To learn more about Erin’s books, visit her website: www.erinmfry.com.
Published Kidlit Author + Innovative ELA Teacher
Steve Seely
Steve Seely, a California Teacher of the Year and a 34-year veteran of the classroom, has a deep love for teaching. Known for his engaging style, Steve was most happy in Room H2 when it was teeming with students. However, the pandemic presented him with a unique opportunity to channel his passion into a new venture: 241 Books, a publishing company dedicated to bringing social studies back into elementary schools. A long-time curriculum developer for top educational publishers like History Alive! and Seesaw, Steve has presented to teachers across the country, sharing ways to make social studies more engaging and impactful. Now, he’s on a mission to support educators who want to teach social studies but can’t find the time.
Due to a successful first date over 40 years ago, Steve and his wife raised two kids - now both adults - and today live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada where he embraces the outdoors in running shoes, hiking boots, on skis or bikes, in kayaks or with racket in hand.
Passionate Classroom Teacher + Creative Curriculum Designer
Amy Hauck-Wilson
Amy has worked in media production since 2014. She started her career in TV broadcasting doing primarily video-editing and advertising but took a position doing educational and curricular media in 2020. This change helped her gain experience in many facets of media creation, including animation, videography, graphic design, and document design. She also discovered how fulfilling working in educational publishing can be and feels inspired daily to grow her knowledge and skills in order to create the best possible learning materials and content to engage a young and curious audience.
When she’s not animating lizards and designing books for 241 Books, Amy loves to bake, exercise, read, and watch movies in theaters. She resides in Phoenix, Arizona, with her spouse and their two dogs, Teddy and Nigel.
Amy keeps a personal animation account on social media where she shares colorful scenes and musings. Find her at TikTok (@amyanimates) and on Instagram (@amyanimates_ig).