Janet Balletta

Janet was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Colombian and Puerto Rican parents. She was raised Catholic, grew up in Queens, and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1993. She graduated from Barry University with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and American College of Education with a master's degree in Educational Leadership. Janet worked as an Administrative Assistant and K-2 ESOL Teacher for Palm Beach County Schools from 1993 to 2006. She currently works as a bilingual first-grade teacher and lives with her family in Port St. Lucie, FL. In 2013, inspired by her family, Janet wrote her first children's book, The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid, a story about Holy Week & Easter. Janet won the Mariposa International Latino Book Award for her book, The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid translated into Spanish by Maritza M. Mejia as La Leyenda de la Sirena Colombiana in June 2015. It also won 1st place in the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards for Cultural Diversity from Five Star Publications in June 2016. Janet wrote her second children's book, The Legend of Roberto Cofresi - A Puerto Rican Hero, a story of the famous corsair from Puerto Rico, in August 2015. It also won an award for Best Latino Focused Book from the International Latino Book Awards in June 2016. This book was translated into Spanish by Ana Morris and won 1st place in the International Latino Book Awards for Best Translation in June 2017. Most recently, Janet wrote her third children's book, Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Oceans, which teaches environmental awareness themes and won the 2018 International Latino Book & Purple Dragonfly Book Award. Janet is passionate about literacy, particularly legends and fictional works on the environment. She hopes her books will inspire children to develop an appreciation for bilingual and multicultural literature and care about the environment.