The Arthur Tofte/Betty Ren Wright Children’s Book Award was given to the best children’s book published by a Wisconsin writer in the contest year. This contest is no longer active, however the Wisconsin Library Association presents the Elizabeth Burr/Sheridan Worzalla Award for the most distinguished work in children’s and young adult literature written and/or illustrated by a Wisconsin book creator.
We are so proud of the children's books we have championed over the years.
About its namesakes:
Arthur Tofte (1902-1980) enjoyed two distinctly different careers: one as a businessman and the other as an author of science fiction, fantasy, and the occult. He published his first story, “The Meteor Monsters,” for Amazing magazine in 1938 when he was a member of the Milwaukee Fictioneers, a group focused on the memory and style of influential science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum. Tofte then focused on his career as a business executive in Milwaukee. Upon his retirement in 1969, and with the encouragement of editor Roger Elwood, he began publishing again, eventually producing five novels, 18 short stories, and four essays. His most popular works include Crash Landing on Iduna (1975), Walls Within Walls (1975), and The Ghost Hunters. His The Day the Earth Stood Still (1976) is a full-length version of the short story made into the world-famous film.
Betty Ren Wright (1927- 2013) grew up in Milwaukee, graduated from Milwaukee-Downer College (now Lawrence University), and worked as an editor for Western Publishing Co. in Racine from 1949 to 1978 until turning to writing full time. Known for her mastery of mystery and suspense, her popular mysteries for middle-grade readers include A Ghost in the House, The Ghost of Mercy Manor, Too Many Secrets, and A Ghost Comes Calling. Her novel The Dollhouse Murders was a 1983 Edgar Award nominee in the best juvenile category and won the Texas Blue Bonnet Award. She also wrote 35 picture books, and her short stories appeared in Young Miss, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, and many other magazines.
Previous Winners:
2023 (Judge: Sandy Brehl)
Winner: Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes (Lee & Low Books), Patty Cisneros Prevo (Stoughton)
Honorable Mention: Mysterious Glowing Mammals (Lerner Publishing), Maria Parrott-Ryan (Madison)
2022
First Place: See You Someday Soon (Roaring Brook Press) by Pat Zietlow Miller, Madison, WI
Pat Zietlow Miller has published 20 picture books and has more on the way. Her first book, Sophie's Squash, won the Golden Kite Award, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor, and a Charlotte Zolotow Honor. Be Kind was on the New York Times bestseller list for 10 weeks, and In Our Garden was a Dolly Parton Imagination Library selection. Pat lives in Wisconsin. Find her at www.patzietlowmiller.com, on Twitter at @PatZMiller and on Instagram at @patzmill.
Honorable Mention: Crossing the Pressure Line (Orange Hat Publishing) by Laura Anne Bird, Madison, WI
A Milwaukee native, Laura Anne Bird graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in English. She lives in Madison with her husband, three teenagers, and little dog. When she’s not reading, writing, or reviewing books, she loves to exercise and explore the outdoors. Crossing the Pressure Line is her first novel. You can find her on Instagram at @laura_at_the_library.
2019
The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon: The True Story of Alan Bean (Scholastic) by Dean Robbins, Madison
Honorable Mention: Becoming American: A World War II Young Adult Novel (Written Dreams) by Callie J. Trautmiller, River Falls
2018
Capsized (Chicago Review Press) by Patricia Sutton, Madison
Honorable Mention: A Place for Pluto (Capstone Editions) by Stef Wade, Brookfield
2017
Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life (Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press) by Shelly Tougas, Hudson
Honorable Mention: Margaret and the Moon (Knopf) by Dean Robbins, Madison
2016: Hold (Interlude Press/Duet Books) by Rachel Davidson Leigh, Madison
Honorable Mention: Two Friends (Orchard Books/Scholastic) by Dean Robbins, Madison
2014
Double Exposure (Sky Pony Press) by Bridget Birdsall, Madison
Honorable Mention: Animal Teachers (Blue Apple Books) by Janet Halfmann, South Milwaukee
2013
The Great Cat Nap (Cornerstone Press) by A.M. Bostwick, Tomahawk
Honorable Mention: Moving Out and Moving On (Little Creek Books) by Rebecca Williams Spindler and Madelyn Spindler, Madison,
2012
Meet Caroline (American Girl Company) by Kathleen Ernst, Middleton
Honorable Mention: The Grimm Chronicles (Vol. 1) (Brew City Press) by Isabella Fontaine, Delevan, and Ken Brosky, Madison
2011
Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish (Henry Holt/Christy Ottaviano) by Janet Halfmann, South Milwaukee
Honorable Mention: My Wooden Wings (Rachel Callaray) by Rachel Callaray, Hartford,
2010
The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (Boyd’s Mills Press) by Jacqueline Houtman, Madison
Honorable Mention: Eye on Art: Grafitti (Gale) by Michael V. Uschan, Franklin
2009
Denied, Detained, Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigrations (National Geographic) by Ann Bausum, Beloit
2008
Mousetraps (Carolrhoda Books) by Pat Schmatz, Amherst Junction
Honorable Mention: Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move (Holiday House) by JoAnn Early Macken, Shorewood
2007
Muckrakers: How Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, and Lincoln Steffens Helped Expose Scandal, Inspire Reform, and Invent Investigative Journalism (National Geographic Society) by Ann Bausum, Beloit
Honorable Mention: Pennies in a Jar (Peachtree Publisher)by Dori Chaconas, Germantown
2006
Hearts of Stone (Dutton Children’s Books) by Kathleen Ernst, Middleton
2005
Mai Ya’s Journey (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) by Sheila Cohen, Madison
Honorable Mention: Planet Patrol (Two Can Publishing)
by Mary Beth Lorbiecki, Hudson
2004
Betrayal at Cross Creek (American Girl Company) by Kathleen Ernst, Middleton
Honorable Mention: Time of the Eagle: A Story of an Ojibwe Winter (Blue Horse Books) by Stephanie Golightly Lowden, Madison
2003
Ghosts of Vicksburg (White Mane Publishing) by Kathleen Ernst, Middleton
2002
Riding the Flume (Simon and Schuster) by Patricia Curtis Pfitsch, Gays Mills
2001
Understanding Buddy (Simon & Schuster) by Marc Kornblatt, Madison
2000
Retreat from Gettysburg (White Mane Publishing) by Kathleen Ernst, Middleton
1999
Restoration in the Barrens by Joe Riederer
1998
The Deeper Song by Patricia Curtis Pfitsch
1997
Bull Catcher by Alden Carter
1996
no award
1995
Out of the Dark by Betty Ren Wright
1994
Ellen Anders on Her Own by Karen Hirsch
1993
Sirens by Sheri Cooper Sinykin
1992
Imperial Ambitions: The Spanish American War by Alden Carter
1991
Trouble at Wild River by Lois Walfrid Johnson,
1990
John Glenn: Space Pioneer by Ann Angel
1989
Stonehenge by Peter and Connie Roop
1988
The Zebra Wall by Kevin Henkes
1987
Sheila’s Dying by Alden Carter
1986
Smoke from the Chimney by Kathy Kennedy Tapp
1985
Christina’s Ghost by Betty Ren Wright
1984
Growing Season by Alden Carter
1983
The Cardinal’s Snuffbox by Kenneth Roseman
1982
Only My Mouth is Smiling by Jocelyn Riley
1981
Sign Language by Laura Greene and Eva Dicker
1980
Alpha Centauri by Robert Siegel
1979
Major Corby and the Unidentified Flapping Object by Gene DeWeese
1978
Edward Troy and the Witch Cat by Sarah Sargent
1977
Grandmother Orphan by Phyllis Green
1976
Growing Anyway Up by Florence Parry Heide
1975
Icebergs and Their Voyages by Gwen Schultz
1974
Cross-Country Runner by Leon McClinton
1973
Road to Galveston by Beatrice Smith
1972
Sarah Jane by Marion Fuller Archer
1971
Caribou Crossing by Mel Ellis
1970
Night Coach to Paris by Rita Ritchie
1969
Supermarket Sleuth by Hope Dahle Jordan
1968
Nine Lives of Moses on the Oregon Trail by Marion Fuller Archer
1967
Haunted Summer by Hope Dahle Jordan
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