Star of the Sea
Janet Kloeckner Halfmann’s nonfiction picture book, “Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish,” has won the Wisconsin Writers Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award.
The Council for Wisconsin Writers announced the award March 22. Halfmann will receive $500 and a week-long writer’s residency. Awards were decided by out-of-state judges and will be presented at a May 12 Awards Luncheon.
Halfmann was inspired to write “Star of the Sea” because of her long-time fascination with sea stars.
She is the award-winning author of 35 children’s books. Other recent titles include “Home in the Cave;” “Fur and Feathers;” “Good Night, Little Sea Otter;” “Little Skink’s Tail;” and “Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story.”
Before becoming a children’s author, Halfmann was a daily newspaper reporter, a children’s magazine editor, and a creator of coloring and activity books for Golden Books. She grew up on a farm in rural St. Johns, and now lives in South Milwaukee, WI.
Signed copies of “Star of the Sea” and several of Halfmann’s other books are available at the Clinton County Council of the Arts Gallery in downtown St. Johns. The books also are available at local and online bookstores.
More about the winners is at the Council for Wisconsin Writers website at www.wiswriters.org. CWW is a non-profit organization founded in 1964 to promote awareness of Wisconsin’s literary heritage.