Janet Halfmann and Janet Mary Sinke
Moonbeam Awards for Children’s Books has announced that Janet Halfmann’s “Fur and Feathers” won a Gold Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for best
preschool picture book.
“This year’s Moonbeam award winners confirm that books can change children’s lives,” said Moonbeam Awards founder Jerrold Jenkins. This is the fourth annual Moonbeam Awards, which are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to celebrate children’s books and life-long reading.
Each year’s entries are judged by expert panels of youth educators, librarians, booksellers, and book reviewers of all ages.
“I am so excited about winning this award because it will bring the book to the attention of many more readers,” Halfmann said. “Nothing makes me happier than having a child read and enjoy a book that I have written.”
“Fur and Feathers” is a story of creativity, friendship, and animal coverings. Halfmann, with the help of Laurie Allen Klein’s vibrant illustrations, tells the story of a young girl, Sophia, who dreams that howling winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends. She offers to share her clothes with them, but her outfits don’t work well for the animals. So she comes up with creative ways to help them, thanks to her grandma’s huge sewing box.
Janet Halfmann is the award-winning author of more than thirty children’s books, including “Little Skink’s Tail,” “Good Night, Little Sea Otter,” and “Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story.” She was at the Briggs Library in St. Johns earlier this fall to launch the publication of this book and “Good Night, Little Sea Otter.”
Before becoming a children’s author, Janet was a daily newspaper reporter, children’s magazine editor, and a creator of coloring and activity books for Golden Books. She is the mother of four and the grandmother of four. When Janet isn’t writing, she enjoys gardening, exploring nature, visiting living-history museums, and spending time with her family. She grew up on a farm in Michigan and now lives in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Another author with St. Johns ties, Janet Mary Sinke, also won. She won a Silver Moonbeam Award in the 4-8 picture book category for “My Grandpa’s Coaching Third.”
The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to celebrate children’s books and life-long reading. Each year’s entries are judged by expert panels of youth educators, librarians, booksellers, and book reviewers of all ages. Award recipients receive gold, silver and bronze medals and stickers depicting a mother and child reading and silhouetted by a full moon.
This year’s awards attracted over 800 entries from throughout North America and the English-speaking world. Medals will go to a diverse group of authors, illustrators and publishers from 34 U.S. states, 5 Canadian provinces, and 2 countries overseas.