September Hedge a gram


little_spoo400Little Spoo our pet rabbit

Every month on the first, I stop what I’m doing to be in touch with all of you who are interested in the profession of an author illustrator, or anyone who is curious about how children’s books are made. It is highly individualized, and perhaps that’s why I am so intrigued by my work. Not only does every author have their own approach, but it seems like every book I do is different.
I am almost half of the way through the finishes for THE TURNIP, a Russian folktale that I have retold and modified a bit. At the moment I am coming back from a week in Okinawa, Japan where I was visiting with my daughter, son in law,  and two young grandchildren. I did bring some artwork with me to do at odd moments and during breaks in the travel. I need to use every minute available to get my book done on time.  Because of my very detailed style it takes me at least a week of steady work just to complete one page.  Sometimes I even bring a page in the car and paint as we travel, but I only work on simple designs.
Okinawa is a beautiful tropical island in the Japanese archipelago where the ocean is never far away. We took advantage of  the nice weather and water conditions to do some snorkeling. There are accessible coral reefs everywhere and it was wonderful to see the colorful reef fish, sea creatures and coral. The big excitement for us that day was a giant bristly maroon hermit crab with teal spots, teal being one of my granddaughter’s favorite colors.The kids have seen an octopus, a colorful moray eel, a lionfish and some brightly colored sea slugs. Another highlight was a huge baby blue sea star. Okinawa has one of the most celebrated aquariums in the world, and it was quite something to see many of the creatures in the wild, and then be able to take a closer look in the aquarium, besides seeing some of the rarer creatures such as their two beautiful whale sharks. The whale sharks are graceful and stunning with their milky white ventral side and blue dorsal side with a white tic tac toe pattern that is unique. All I could think of was the incredible beauty and variety of the color patterns. It made me feel daunted but inspired too.When we got home I drew some of the fish and my granddaughter, Torynn colored them in. I am on the lookout for a set of the sparkley gel markers which will help the fish look more realistic. Nothing can really capture their beauty.
I am looking forward to being home and doing my artwork full time, although I will miss my family. I can’t wait to see Little Snow the bunny we got last June. Kim, the woman who takes care of my chickens when I’m away, has kept rabbits for many years, and Kim and her son have been giving Little Snow lots of attention while we were away. He will probably be going on the book tour with us.
When I reflect on my job, in some ways it seems so simple.I sit down with a big piece of paper and paint. But the results are all a part of my experiences and time commitments. I don’t think I’ll ever figure out a formula for how much time and effort I should spend with all my loves and interests. One thing is very important to me though, I greatly look forward to meeting all the book lovers that will want autographed books on the book tour that will be coming up this December. My husband, Joe, and I were thrilled at how many readers have entered the Lunch on the bus contest. We’re looking forward to that chapter of our lives!
Happy Reading, drawing and creating,

Your friend,

Jan Brett

  1. #1 by Jocia Mellinger on September 22, 2014 - 10:19 pm

    Can you help me? I am trying to find copies of “The Mitten” in Norwegian. Do you know where I can get 4 copies? My dear Niece is getting married in December. One of her very favorite books growing up was this book. Since she is marrying a young man from Norway I would love to have the children’s favors to be this book along with little animals to play with while grown ups talk…I saw the idea on Pinterest. Thanks for any help you can provide. Kindly, Jocia

  2. #2 by Linda Smith on November 21, 2014 - 6:28 am

    Dear Mrs. Brett,
    We have only one, much loved Granddaughter, who is not yet four years old. Her mother and I have read to her since her birth. I wanted to share with you that not only does she love your books, while we were driving home last week, she observed that out of the 12 new library books she had selected, three of them were by you, “Jan Brett”! She can recognize your work, find your name, slide her finger under your name and read “Jan Brett”! So precious. She knows that you are the “author” of those books. I do wish I could bring her to see you on your tour. We live in Florida. Thank you for your wonderful gifts. Wishing you and your family a joyous Holiday season.
    Linda Smith

  3. #3 by Lisa Yang on December 4, 2014 - 7:57 pm

    Hello Jan,

    I am so happy to have come across your blog. Seems like it was just yesterday when my elementary librarian was reading a book of yours to us. Graduating college this Spring, I have not yet forgotten the magic of your story books. May one day we meet! Will you have a book signing any time soon?

    Best regards,
    Lisa

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