Happy February,

        February is like New Year’s Day, the first day of school, and my birthday all rolled into one, because I’m starting my new book HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.  I’d like to tell you about it in a thoughtful way so if you are thinking about writing a children’s book, you can follow along.  Keep in mind, every author has their own way of doing things.
     My story has been several years in the making, and I now have a short manuscript written that has been okayed by my editor, Margaret.  This will be revised many times, andusually even fine tuned after a year of working on the art.
     I think about the three elements in a story, character, plot and setting, although the big emphasis is on plot, because that’s the hardest for me.  Because my main character is a troll I know the setting will be Scandinavia, where trolls are mythological creatures.  I’ve been to Norway three times and to Iceland and Denmark, but Sweden will be the setting for my new book because our friends Gudrun  and Elof Eriksson have offered to show us the old family farm and bring us to some remote northern places.  We are planning the trip for late April.  My story about a runaway troll takes place from late summer until winter.  At the very least I’ll be able to ID plants and trees which I can supplement with Swedish books about flora and fauna.  For example, if runaway Rollo the troll eats acorns and mushrooms, what kinds of mushrooms grow in northern Sweden?  If he lives with an owl, is it a gray owl?  The owl must nest in a tree.  We will travel to snow-covered northern Sweden to get some ideas about how the terrain will look.  There is a unique environment that occurs near the Arctic Circle.  The stunted Birch trees and rich moss and lichen covered boulders found there I find beautiful and mysterious.  I hope I’ll find places like that to visit.  The moss and lichen on the rocks look like artwork.
     In Norway and Iceland I visited open air folk museums and I hope to visit Swedish museums like them.  A very old and typical farmstead is brought piece by piece to the museum setting, reassembled, and furnished with handmade tools, artifacts and textiles so the visitor can imagine life in the olden days.  Part of my book will take place in a trolls’ farmhouse/cave which is fairly civilized.  My trolls are not the traditional evil, mean-spirited scary trolls, but are scruffy slightly dim rustic trolls.  I admit they will be cutesified in order to make my plot work.  There are many stories and legends about trolls, and I plan to ask Swedes I meet to offer any family stories passed down to them about trolls.  Here is some troll history I’ve already dug up.  I will put a (Y) yes or a (N) no, after the troll tidbit which will tell you if I’m going to use it in my book.

Troll tidbits:

     — Trolls hair grows straight up because they cannot be bothered to brush it.  (Y)
     — Trolls often have missing or black teeth because they cannot be bothered to brush them.  (Y)
     — Trolls often wear one gold earring or a jewel in one ear.  (Y)
     — Trolls have cow-like tails which they loose if married in a church.  (Y, but in a modified version.)
     — Trolls live under mountains with a mining gold which they work into jewelry and armor.  (N)
     — Trolls are short and misshapen or tall and misshapen.  (N)
     — Trolls have ferocious black cats with red eyes.  (N)
     — Trolls ride pigs.  (Y)
     — Trolls burst when the light of the sun hits them.  (N)
     — Trolls have frogs and salamanders living in their hair.  (N but I’m still thinking about it.)

     I will post more troll tidbits when I returned from Sweden.  I will devote a section of my website to troll fun and friends can add to the list of troll traits.  I will post pictures of trolls I see in Sweden.  (That’s a joke!)  When I was little, my parents read us a bedtime story about a mother who left her child unattended.  A troll mother, watching from the forest and admiring the laughing sweet tempered human baby, seized the opportunity to switch it with her bad natured bawling one.  At the end of the story she got her baby back, but she had to pay a high price for it.  Whenever my sisters and I acted particularly bad by teasing and by being obnoxious, I often wondered if my mother thought I was a changeling!  I thought it was very funny that I might have spent some time with a troll mother where I may have picked up some bad habits.
     I don’t remember how I thought up my story, but I remember reading a traditional story about Lars who ran away after turning very small, small enough to ride on a goose’s back.  I did think of running away when I was little, and for very silly reasons.  I liked the adventure of it and the thought of skipping school.  I often will start with a cloudy idea and work on it when I’m running.  Sometimes my runs are a couple of hours long.  If I have a very big hurdle to get over in the storyline, I will solve it by thinking of it before going to sleep and then have the answer when I wake up.  This method is not foolproof and may take lots of tries.
     If you like to write stories, maybe you would like to start your book now and work on it with me.  It takes me a year to do a book.  For a children’s book, it should fit a 32 page format.  I usually have no more than 4 pages of typed manuscript.  The book dummy, which show sketches of the main scenes, and where I divide up the type, takes about three weeks to complete.
     Reading aloud your manuscript, or going from longhand to typewritten are two ways to get a clear notion of the story you have internalized.  I will put a story away for several months and not touch it and then read it to get a fresh look.  Of course, when the magic really happens, it’s as if the story writes itself.  When that happens, I just throw up my hands and enjoy the creative force that we lucky to tap into from time to time.
     Good luck, your friend,
    
            Jan Brett

Happy New Year!

     Here are several new projects for the new year,

~ Make a Coloring Mural for THE MITTEN
http://janbrett.com/murals.htm

~ Join the new School Visit Contest for a chance to win the Grand Prize visit to your school of library.  There are 99 other prizes too!
http://www.janbrett.com/contest_2010/free_school_visit_contest_2010.htm

~ Make a Hedgehog Coloring Calendar for 2010
http://janbrett.com/calendars.htm

It’s a pleasure to be in touch.

Sincerely,

Jan Brett

Happy January,
      This is a milestone year and we have a full moon too. It’s also immediately after an important birthday for me, and my thoughts are turning toward all the things I’m thankful for, and all the things I aspire to.
     I like to make New Year’s resolutions and this year I would like to pledge to myself that I’ll try harder to make my new book HOME FOR CHRISTMAS the best one ever. Not only do I need to be mentally agile and motivated but I need to put the hours into it. The pages that I am most proud of are when my sense of “me working on a page” disappears and like Alice going down the rabbit hole, a world appears on paper as I add one bit, another bit, revamp a character or explore with some new design or texture.
         If you like to create like I do, you may find that for some unexplained reason, some landscapes, colors or animals make all your senses alert and interested. It’s kind of a phenomenon that doing art explores. I’ve always loved the intrigue of prehistory, of the possibility of humanlike creatures or perhaps cultures that will never be known because they’ve been lost in time. Trolls seem to be linked to some of the traditional knowledge, told orally from back in the olden days. My new book tells about a troll boy. When one is little, it’s easy to make silly mistakes because you don’t know what’s expected. It’s part of childhood that I remember well. Having a troll character run away from home reminds me of when I had similar notions when I was little and it makes a story that brings time back to me. I’ve traveled to Norway three times, to Baffin island and to Iceland. All three places are in the far north and I’m very drawn to the stunted birch forests, rich with lichen, mosses and boulders shaped by the elements. Even the northern animals are intriguing – the polar bear, arctic fox, ptarmigan, a kind of feather footed grouse like bird, snowy and gray owl and of course caribou or reindeer.
      The compiling of ideas for new book is an exciting time. And although I’m not a great organizer, I like to plan the different elements I’ll need to see in real life so they’ll make my book authentic. On our trip to Iceland in the December we traveled by super-jeep which is an SUV on giant wheels.  We went through glacial rivers, to a white craggy landscape called Thor’s forest. It was on Thursday too! The trees were  birch twisted by the deep snows, and moss and lichen covered the ground.  We saw ptarmigan in their winter plumage, which are snow white, and a crafty bird-host appeared, a raven who keeps an eye out for camp fires, because when there is a campfire there is food! Our raven got some nice salmon tidbits. When I come across this kind of northern habitat I just want to walk forever. I’m looking forward to returning to Iceland to run the Laugevegur, a long-distance race over spectacular but difficult terrain. I have to gear up for it, So I can’t go this July, but I have my sights set on 2011. Luckily I live just south of Boston, which has a wonderful long-distance road race, and in the summer I’m a stone’s throw from the Appalachian trail which also would be a good training ground. I get a lot of good ideas when I’m running. My daughter jokingly says that running juggles all one’s ideas around like dice and you can always come up with creative solutions to life’s problems during a good run. I have to say that I’ve gotten a lot of good book ideas that way.
      On the subject of new prospects for the 2000 teens I would also like to keep some Onagadori chickens. The breed in the US is called the Phoenix. The tails are extraordinarily long. I’ll keep them alongside but not with my Polish crested chickens.
   I don’t know if a children’s book will evolve from my new interests but I know that trolls are very abundant in Icelandic folklore, although they are not the cute fuzzy kind. I would someday like to illustrate the Firebird, a folk tale set to music by the great composer Stravinsky. I’ve seen a ballot of it in London and was transfixed. An Onagadori fowl may have stirred the imagination of the tellers of the original tale many centuries ago. The Onagadori fowl was created in feudal Japan.
     I hope the beauty of our world enchants you to create and re-create wonderful stories and art, and that link that makes us so human, creativity will be a big part of your life in 2010!

  Love,

  Jan Brett

Happy December!
    
     This is my December hedge a gram – the time I take to reconnect with my website visitors. I relate what’s going on in my life as an artist so that aspiring illustrators and writers can gain a little insight on what it’s like to have children’s book author/illustrator as one’s job.
     In November, I spent eleven days traveling on my tour bus, going to bookstores for booksignings. Thank you so much if you came to one of my signings. It’s so gratifying and hopeful to see so many people that love books and read to their children. I love to see a child holding their book like its a treasured possession. I remember how much my books meant to me. When I was a kid, I had an un-quenchable thirst to learn about horses. Besides my best friend, Marla, the only people who understood my intensity were people in books. So I feel pure happiness that the little ones still make their books part of their serious interests. Sometimes when a child attaches themselves to a particular book, it is an insight into the person they will become, a scientist, animal lover, adventurer, or world traveler.
     Every year on the book tour, I am filled with admiration for the teachers and librarians who after spending a day on their feet teaching, will stand in line to have their book signed. I think they know what an impact they make on their students, who may or may not have been read to at home. I would like to say again thank you for our children.
     On our day off I got to visit my little grandchild who is two months old, and read to her from Tomie DePaola’s MOTHER GOOSE. It’s both soothing and stimulating to read babies those short curious rhymes with Tomie’s perfect illustrations. I am now on the look out for the annotated MOTHER GOOSE that gives the history of the rhymes. I’ll also be going to the Boston Symphony shop to buy her some CD’s. My daughter and her husband have a lot of CD’s in her room of crashing waves, woodland soundscapes and at their request, my grand daughter now will also have PETER AND THE WOLF by Prokofiev, EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK by Mozart, PEER GYNT by Grieg, and THE FIREBIRD by Stravinsky. And that’s just the beginning.
      Since it is holiday time, I can’t resist trumpeting some of the book treasures I found at bookstore during my trip. First there are the EXTRAORDINARY CHICKEN calendars with photographs of birds by Stephen Green Armytage I bought for me and friends. (Actually the first copy I received was a gift from our tour driver Rich Flood.) Then I bought multiple copies of the huge coffee table size book of exquisite photographs of birds by Andrew Zuckerman called BIRD. The jacket is a head shot of a favorite bird I’ve seen in Africa, the African Crowned Crane. We saw three or four in a highland meadow in a town called Wakkerstroom in South Africa. Another book I rejoiced in finding was PREHISTORIC LIFE published by DK Publishing. It has the most amazing illustrations of extinct reptiles, plants and mammals. Its one of those books I wish I could give to every child and adult too in America!
     Back to my working life…I just designed a carry bag for my 3 LITTLE DASSIES book. It will be used for promotions and we’ll give some away in our contest. I’m hard at work finishing THE 3 LITTLE DASSIES. Its definitely the most fun part, because I’ve done the planning and I paint from morning until midnight. There are deadlines to be met, so I’m curtailing all my other activities, except for a week that I’m taking off to go to Iceland for my sixtieth birthday, just Joe and me. There is a lot of folklore from that part of the world that I’m interested in, mainly trolls. I am eager to visit the folk museums and the troll forest. There will also be time to get to know the Icelandic horses.
     As Holiday time rolls around, I hope you’ll join me in finding books for the important people in your life. When I receive a book from someone, that has been thoughtfully chosen, I feel such a happy bond. There are places on earth I feel like I know although I’ve never been there, and people who have long since passed away I feel I know because I’ve read their memoirs. It’s fulfilling to add to one’s frame of reference.
     Happy reading! Happy drawing! Let’s be creative!

Your friend,

Jan Brett

Happy Holidays!

~ Email postcards
http://www.janbrett.com/vcards

~Gingerbread Baby printed cards
http://www.janbrett.com/pdfcards/pdfcardgenerator_gingerbread.htm

~ Christmas Gift Name Tags
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_gifts/christmas_gift_name_tags.htm

~ Christmas Picture Frames
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_gifts/christmas_picture_frames.htm

~ Interactive Trim a Gingerbread Baby House
http://www.janbrett.com/trim_a_jan_brett_gingerbread_baby_house.htm

~ Interactive Trim a Jan Brett Christmas Tree
http://www.janbrett.com/trim_a_jan_brett_christmas_tree.htm

~ Christmas Coloring Place Mat
http://www.janbrett.com/place_mats/christmas_coloring_place_mat.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Masks
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_masks_main.htm

~ Night Before Christmas Tree Topper
http://www.janbrett.com/night_before_christmas_tree_topper_main.htm

~ Make a Gingerbread Baby House
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_house.htm

~ Make Your Own Holiday Ornaments
http://www.janbrett.com/make_your_own_holiday_ornament.htm

~ Iron on Transfers
http://www.janbrett.com/transfers/iron_on_main.htm

~ Hedgie’s Basket
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgies_basket.htm

~ Hedgie Cross Stitch
http://www.janbrett.com/cross_stitch/hedgie_cross_stitch.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Recipe
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_recipe.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Icing
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_icing.htm

~ Christmas Tree Cone
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_tree_cone_main_page.htm

~ Jan Brett Artwork Date Calendar
http://www.janbrett.com/calendars.htm

~ Jan Brett Mobile
http://www.janbrett.com/mobile.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Board Game
http://www.janbrett.com/games/gingerbread_baby_board_game.htm

~ Annie’s Favorite Recipe
http://www.janbrett.com/annies_favorite_recipe.htm

~ Recipes (over 1,600 recipes)
http://www.janbrett.com/cgi/recipes.pl

~ Gingerbread Baby Bookmarks
http://www.janbrett.com/bookmarks/bookmarks_gingerbread_baby.htm

~ Night Before Christmas Tree Topper
http://www.janbrett.com/night_before_christmas_tree_topper_main.htm

~ Bake Hedgehog Cookies
http://www.janbrett.com/bake_hedgehog_cookies.htm

~ Smart Cookie Award
http://www.janbrett.com/awards/smart_cookie_award.htm

~ Christmas Treasury Advent Calendar
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_treasury_advent_calendar.htm

~ Bookmarks for Chistmas printed
http://www.janbrett.com/bookmarks/bookmarks_for_christmas_printed_manuscript.htm

~ Bookmarks for Christmas cursive
http://www.janbrett.com/bookmarks/bookmarks_for_christmas_cursive_manuscript.htm

~ Santa Winterfarm coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/reindeer_ornaments_coloring_page.htm

~ Happy Holidays Place Cards
http://www.janbrett.com/happy_holidays_place_card.htm

~ Bookmarks from THE MITTEN and THE HAT
http://www.janbrett.com/bookmarks/bookmarks_mitten_and_hat.htm

~ Happy Holidays Gingerbread Placemat
http://www.janbrett.com/place_mats/happy_holidays_coloring_place_mat.htm

~ Santa and his Elves coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/santa_and_his_elves.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_coloring_page.htm

~ Noah’s Ark Coloring Mural
http://www.janbrett.com/mural/on_noahs_ark_coloring_mural.htm

~ Dot to Dot Night Sky
http://www.janbrett.com/dot_to_dot_night_sky.htm

~ The Ice Bear and the Troll coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/ice_bear_and_the_troll.htm

~ Hedgie’s Cookies coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_cookies_coloring_page.htm

~ Sami Hedgie coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/sami_hedgie.htm

~ Santa and His Elves coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/santa_and_his_elves.htm

~ THE HAT coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/hat_coloring_page.htm

~ TROUBLE WITH TROLLS coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/trolls_coloring_page.htm

~ Design your own Hat coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/design_your_own_hat.htm

~ Design your own Mitten coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/design_your_own_mitten.htm

~ Happy Hanukkah coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/happy_hanukkah.htm

~ Hedgie Trims the Christmas Tree coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_trims_the_christmas_tree.htm

~ Interactive Coloring Page
http://www.janbrett.com/coloring_aplet_new/Color.html

~ The Bear from THE MITTEN coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/mitten_coloring_page_bear.htm

~ Hedgie’s Favorite Recipes
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_cookies_coloring_page.htm

~ Treva from TROUBLE WITH TROLLS coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/treva_coloring_page.htm

~ Hedgie Makes a Hedgehog Snowman coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_makes_a_hedgehog_snowman.htm

~ WHO’S THAT KNOCKING ON CHRISTMAS EVE bookmarks
http://www.janbrett.com/bookmarks/bookmarks_whos_that_knocking.htm

~ Santa’s Winterfarm coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/reindeer_towers_coloring_page.htm

~ CHRISTMAS TROLLS coloring page
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_trolls_coloring_page.htm

It’s a pleasure to be in touch.

Sincerely,

Jan Brett

How To Draw Videos!
~ How to Draw The Bear in the Mitten

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_the_bear_in_the_mitten_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_the_bear_in_the_mitten_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Dolphin

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_dolphin_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_dolphin_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Baby Polar Bear

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_baby_polar_bear_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_baby_polar_bear_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Hedgehog

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_hedgehog_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_hedgehog_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Lion

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_lion_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_lion_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Stork

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_stork_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_stork_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw Gingerbread Friends and Peppermint Puppy

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/peppermint_puppy_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/peppermint_puppy_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Creature of the Deep

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_creature_of_the_deep_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_creature_of_the_deep_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw Horses

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_horses_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_horses_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a rare African Okapi

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_an_okapi_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_an_okapi_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Chick

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_chick_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_chick_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Rhinoceros

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_rhinoceros_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_rhinoceros_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw an Elephant

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_an_elephant_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_an_elephant_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Bunny

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_bunny_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_bunny_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Gingerbread Baby

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_gingerbread_baby_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_gingerbread_baby_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Chicken
 
High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_chicken_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_chicken_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Siberian Husky Dog

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_dog_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_dog_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw a Train

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_train_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_draw_a_train_low_bandwidth.htm
~ Dots and Stripes How to Draw Two AFrican Animals – the Zebra and the Guinea Fowl

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/dots_and_stripes_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/dots_and_stripes_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Draw Hedgie in a Spacesuit

High Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/hedgie_blast_off_high_bandwidth.htm

Low Bandwidth
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/hedgie_blast_off_low_bandwidth.htm
~ How to Make and Awesome Viper Fish

Drawing Instructions
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_a_make_a_viper_fish_puppet_main_page.htm

Assembly Instructions
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/how_to_assemble_your_viper_fish_puppet_main_page.htm

It’s a pleasure to be in touch.

Sincerely,

Jan Brett

I hope you can come to visit,

   This Friday I’m starting my book tour for the 20th Anniversary edition of THE MITTEN and the new JAN BRETT’S SNOWY TREASURY.   I’ll be visiting cities in Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Indiana.   If I’m at a bookstore near you, I hope that you’ll come, I’d love to see you!  You can find information on all of my tour visits in the Tour section:
http://janbrett.com/2009_fall_tour.htm

    New this week is the complete 2010 Jan Brett artwork date calendar featuring artwork from my 2010 spring book THE EASTER EGG.   Download a free calendar and get a sneak preview of the next book:
http://janbrett.com/calendars.htm

     Get a start on your Christmas cards.   You can download as many free personalized Jan Brett Christmas card as you would like:
http://janbrett.com/pdfcards/main_page.htm
It’s a pleasure to be in touch.

Sincerely,

Jan Brett

Winners!

     Congratulations to all of the schools and libraries who have on a free copy of JAN BRETT’S SNOWY TREASURY.  I’ll be mailing everyone’s books this coming week.   Here is a list of all of the winners:
http://www.janbrett.com/contest_2010/free_book_contest_fall_2009_winners.htm

     I’m looking forward to meeting the Grand Prize winner of the Lunch on the Bus contest.   You can find out the Grand Prize winner and all 100 THE MITTEN tote bag winners at:
http://www.janbrett.com/contest_2010/lunch_on_the_bus_contest_winners.htm

Happy Halloween!

~ Halloween Place Mat
http://www.janbrett.com/place_mats/halloween_place_mat.htm

~ Halloween Book Marks
http://www.janbrett.com/bookmarks/bookmarks.htm

~ Halloween Email Postcards
http://www.janbrett.com/vcards/gbrowse.php?cat_id=45

~ Hedgie Carves a Halloween Pumpkin Coloring Page
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_carves_a_pumpkin_coloring_page.htm

~ Hedgie’s Costumes Coloring Page
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_costume_coloring_page.htm

~ Hedgie as a Pirate Coloring Page
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgie_as_a_pirate.htm

 It’s a pleasure to be in touch.

 Sincerely,

 Jan Brett