author
Alta Halverson Seymour
b. 1893
A writer for young readers whose stories often traveled far beyond her Wisconsin beginnings, she brought history, holiday traditions, and everyday courage to life with warmth and clarity. Her books have been especially remembered for inviting children into other countries and times through vivid, accessible storytelling.
1 Audiobook
Arne and the Christmas star: A story of Norway
by Alta Halverson Seymour
About the author
Born in 1893 in Deer Park, Wisconsin, Alta Halverson Seymour studied at the University of Minnesota, earning both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. Before publishing books, she ran a stenography company in Pasadena and Los Angeles and wrote articles, serials, and operettas, much of them aimed at younger audiences.
Her first book appeared in 1939, and she went on to write many children's novels and stories. Several of her best-known works place young characters in moments of real historical change, including When the Dikes Broke, about the 1953 North Sea flood in the Netherlands, and Toward Morning, set against the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
Seymour is also fondly associated with her mid-century Christmas stories, many of which introduced children to holiday customs in countries such as Norway, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, and Ireland. Across her work, she had a gift for making distant places and difficult events feel personal, understandable, and full of heart.