Amos says his father booked acts like Simon and Garfunkle and The Animals, but he wasn’t very present in his son’s life. Book cover courtesy of Little, Brown and Company.įor Amos, the novel was an exercise in reframing a challenging childhood.Īmos’ father, the entrepreneur William “Wally” Amos, opened the store after a career as the first Black talent agent for William Morris Agency, now called William Morris Endeavor. It follows a young boy named Ellis - named after Amos’ own son - as he helps his dad open a cookie store. Shawn Amos’ novel is loosely autobiographical. The loosely autobiographical story follows a young boy named Ellis - named after Amos’ own son - as he helps his dad open a cookie store. In “ Cookies and Milk,” his debut novel for young readers, Shawn Amos writes about his childhood and grapples with his own experience of fatherhood. Shirley and Wally’s witness was their son, Shawn Amos, who grew up behind the counter, serving cookies to the eclectic clientele of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.

Shirley Ellis, a beauty queen and nightclub singer known as Shirlee May, was privately struggling with severe mental illness. bought a run-down A-frame storefront, loaded up on flour and chocolate chips, and opened what would become one of America’s most beloved cookie stores: Famous Amos.īut as Amos’ star rose, his ex-wife’s flickered. In 1975, a talent agent named Wallace “Wally” Amos, Jr.

Cookies and milk book shawn amos