Jan Brett

Jan Brett (born December 1, 1949) is an American illustrator and author of children's picture books. Her titles include The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby as well as retelling traditional stories such as the Gingerbread Man and Goldilocks.

Life

Brett was born and still lives in Massachusetts. She studied at the Colby Junior College (now Colby-Sawyer College) before transferring to School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It takes her an hour to hand-paint an inch in gouache for her intricate artwork.

On August 18, 1980 Jan Brett married bassist Joseph Hearne, a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was the second marriage for both. The couple travel extensively, either with the orchestra or for Brett’s book research to Africa, the Arctic, China, Costa Rica, Japan, Martinique and Scandinavia. They embark on yearly nationwide bus tours for her books.

The couple live outside Boston and summer in an Adirondack-style log home on their 17-acres in the Berkshires. Together, they have three children.

Works

Illustrated

Source:

Happy Birthday, Dear Duck (1988) by Eve Bunting

Mother's Day Mice (1986) by Eve Bunting

Scary, Scary Halloween (1986) by Eve Bunting

Noelle of the Nutcracker (1988) by Pamela Jane

Written & Illustrated

Source:

Awards

Brett's works have been nominated for and won multiple awards over the years.

1990: Wild Christmas Reindeer was featured on the New York Times Bestseller list.

1991: The Mitten won the Kentucky Bluegrass Award. Berlioz the Bear was chosen for Newsweek Magazine Best Children's Book and New Yorker Magazine Best Children's Books.

1994: Trouble with Trolls won the Black-Eyed Susan Book award from the Maryland Library Association.

1995: Trouble with Trolls is honored as a Little Bluestem picture book and the Nebraska Golden Sower Award from the Nebraska Library Association.

1998: The Hat wins the American Booksellers Association's Book of the Year Award.

1999: The Hat wins Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award. Gingerbread Baby was chosen as one of the Best Children's Books of the Year by Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature's Children's Book Committee.

2001: Gingerbread Baby wins one of the Triple Crown Awards, (specifically the Children's Gallery Award) from the National Christian School Association.

2003: Daisy Comes Home wins National Council for Social Studies & Children's Book Council's Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People for the cultural diversity present in her book.

2008: The Three Snow Bears helps Brett make it as a finalist for the Children's Favorites Awards' and the Kids' Book Choice Awards' Illustrator of the Year.

2010: The 3 Little Dassies wins the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids' Award in the Folk and Fairy Tales and Poetry division. The Easter Egg wins Oppenheim Toy Portfolio's Gold Book Award.

2013: Mossy wins Best Children's Books of the Year for the Five to Nine category by Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature's Children's Book Committee.

2014: Brett's adaptation of The Night Before Christmas wins the Libris Award's Children's Picture Book of the Year.

2019: The Snowy Nap is the third book of Brett's to win the Best Children's Books of the Year by the Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature's Children's Book Committee.

2021: Cozy wins two awards: the Massachusetts Book Award and the Best Children's Books of the Year by the Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature's Children's Book Committee. Brett was awarded the Regina Medal from the Catholic Library Association.

Reception

Many of Brett's books have been positively received by libraries and parents alike.

In May 2023 at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, an exhibition was hosted dedicated to Brett's Illustrations.