www.shefelmanbooks.com
www.shefelmanpaintings.com

JANICE SHEFELMAN, daughter of a German professor and his wife, grew up in a university neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. Her father read to her from an early age which began a love affair with children’s books and led to careers as teacher, librarian, and writer. Books opened the door to a big world and gave her the desire to see it. She spent one summer bicycling around Europe and another traveling in North Africa and the Middle East.

After Janice married Tom, they set out on a trip around the world for a year, traveling by freighter and living several weeks in a Buddhist temple. Along the way she wrote articles for newspapers and magazines, which Tom illustrated. This journey gave them an empathy for other cultures and changed their lives forever.

It was not until Janice put her abilities to work on children’s books that her writing career began to blossom. Her first book, A Paradise Called Texas, was a Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee. The Shefelmans have collaborated on books ever since and have won many awards, including the New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age, Children's Book Council Notable Book, and Reading Rainbow Book.