Jan Brett American Children s Author and Illustrator Creator of The Mitten, Hedgie s Surprise, and Daisy Comes Home

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1 Jan Brett American Children s Author and Illustrator Creator of The Mitten, Hedgie s Surprise, and Daisy Comes Home JAN BRETT WAS BORN on December 1, 1949, in Hingham, Massachusetts. Her parents are George and Jean Brett. Her father was a salesman and her mother was a teacher. Jan remembers that they always encouraged her to be creative. 38

2 JAN BRETT GREW UP in Hingham. She knew she wanted to be an illustrator from the time she was in kindergarten. She knew the kinds of books she wanted to draw, too. She wanted to create books where the pictures come alive. A picture is never finished, says Jan Brett, until I feel I can walk into a page. JAN BRETT WENT TO SCHOOL at the local public schools. She says she was very shy, but always loved drawing. After high school, she studied art at Colby Junior College. Then she took art classes at the Boston Museum Fine Arts School. FIRST JOBS: Brett started to make her living by selling her drawings. She created all kinds of things: pictures for greeting cards, restaurant menus, even science books. STARTING TO CREATE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: In 1978, Brett illustrated Woodland Crossings, written by Stephen Kensky. But she was determined to write and illustrate her own books. What I really wanted to do was to create the kind of book I had always been looking for when I was a child. A story that has characters who develop and with pictures that create a whole place, pictures you could almost step into. She did that with her own first book, Fritz and the Wild Horses. THE MITTEN: One of Brett s best-loved books is The Mitten. It is a retelling of an old Ukrainian folktale. When 39

3 Nicki loses his mitten in a forest, a group of animals appear. One by one, they climb inside the mitten. The book s many readers love this warm and happy book. They especially love Brett s detailed animal drawings. From mice to moles, from bears to her beloved hedgehogs, the animals become funny, real characters on the page. The Mitten is one of more than 30 books that Brett has written and illustrated. Millions of copies of her books have been sold. Many of them have been translated into other languages. 40

4 Brett s books have a very special look. Each page has beautiful illustrations. And each two-page drawing has a border around it. These borders are full of extra illustrations that add detail to the story. They tell more about what the characters are doing. They also give clues to what will happen in the story. I also do borders because I have too many ideas, says Brett. RESEARCH AND TRAVEL: Brett s books are the result of hard work. She s traveled all over the world to research her stories. For example, when she wrote Christmas Trolls, she traveled to Norway. She took photos of the land. She also talked to the people of Norway to learn about the legend of trolls. When she wrote The Mitten, she talked to people from Ukraine, where the story takes place. They told her special things about growing up there. One woman told her to make the children s clothing extra big, because they would be wearing hand-me-downs. If you look at the pictures in The Mitten, you will notice that the children s clothing is too big for them. Brett spent time in Botswana to research On Noah s Ark. She visited Costa Rica to write and illustrate The Umbrella. And a few years ago she went to China, to do research for Daisy Comes Home. She traveled down the Li River, taking pictures of the animals, the land, and the 41

5 people. She took photos, drew sketches, and made notes to use later, when she created the book. QUESTIONS CHILDREN ASK JAN BRETT: Jan Brett is a very popular author. She gets thousands of letters and s from her fans. And she makes sure that every one of them gets answered. I ve never forgotten how exciting it was to get something in the mail, says Brett. 42

6 On her web site, she offers a newsletter that features information on all of her books. There s also instructions on how to draw animals, from hedgehogs to elephants. And there s many pages of activities for children to share with their teachers, parents, and librarians. Many children want to know how long it takes Brett to complete a book. A 32-page book takes her about one year. That s including all the time she needs for travel, research, writing, and drawing. Brett often travels to visit her many fans. Each year, she and her husband travel to many cities on a bus. The bus is decorated with art from her most recent book. Brett always enjoys visiting young readers. I like to show how I draw and pass on my own experiences of creating books, she says. I want to let kids know that this is something they too can do if they just sit down and use their imaginations. At the end of my talks I often ask who wants to be an author or illustrator. Virtually every hand goes up. JAN BRETT S HOME AND FAMILY: Jan Brett has been married two times. Her first husband was named Daniel Bowler. They married in 1970 and had one daughter, Lia. They divorced in In 1980, Jan married Joseph Hearne. He plays the double bass with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The 43

7 double bass is a large stringed instrument. It s also the instrument played by Berlioz, in Berlioz the Bear. She wrote that book with Joseph in mind. Jan and Joseph didn t meet through music or books. They met because they both love to fly. Jan still loves to go gliding. Recently, Jan got a chance to fly with the Blue Angels. That s a group of Navy pilots who are among the best in the world. On her web site, you can see a video of Jan flying as a guest in a Navy F-18 jet. The jet does some pretty incredible maneuvers. Jan even handles the plane at one 44

8 point. At the end of the video, the pilot praises her skills. She says it was like being in Star Wars. Jan Brett and Joseph Hearne live in a house in Norwell, Massachusetts. Jan s work area has plenty of windows that let in lots of sunlight for her work. She also has special lighting so she can work late at night. She uses a special type of painting called drybrush watercoloring for her pictures. There is very little liquid in the paint. It is more like drawing with a pencil. Jan Brett shares her home with many pets, including hedgehogs. If you notice, many of her books have pictures of hedgehogs. I like them, she says, because they are gentle. They have a nice shape, especially their noses. QUOTE A child is born intelligent and full of curiosity. For a child, a book is a very personal thing. There is a kind of communication with books that doesn t take place any other way. SOME BOOKS BY JAN BRETT As Author and Illustrator: Fritz and the Beautiful Horses Good Luck Sneakers 45

9 Annie and the Wild Animals The First Dog Beauty and the Beast The Wild Christmas Reindeer The Twelve Days of Christmas The Mitten Goldilocks and the Three Bears The Owl and the Pussycat Berlioz the Bear The Trouble with Trolls Christmas Trolls 46

10 Comet s Nine Lives The Hat Gingerbread Baby Hedgie s Surprise Daisy Comes Home Who s That Knocking on Christmas Eve? On Noah s Ark The Umbrella As Illustrator: Woodland Crossings The Valentine Bears The Mother s Day Mice The Enchanted Book FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JAN BRETT: Write: Jan Brett P.O. Box 366 Norwell, MA WORLD WIDE WEB SITES: 47