Jan Brett: Illustrations Around the World

It’s the twelfth day of Christmas, and I am reluctantly thinking about packing away ornaments, curbing the cookie and candy indulgences, and moving seasonal books from the bookshelves. Stacks of old and new favorites about winter celebrations will move to make room for others. A few of these books stay on the shelf longer (okay, all year round); Jan Brett’s beautifully illustrated stories. The detailed scenes of animals in their habitats, colorful depictions of clothing and cultural items from other countries, along with stories or folktales adapted from around the world, make these keepers in every season.

Jan Brett is an author and illustrator, as well as a teacher and speaker who encourages creativity and drawing for children. Her detailed watercolor painting draws readers into the story, as if they were there. The central picture depicts the text with minute attention to the tiny details – one square inch of painting takes an hour to create, according to Brett. In the sidebars we see an embellishment of the main story, sometimes a hint of what is to come next, or perhaps a view of what is happening to another character off the page.

Her careful research, usually involving travel to the country involved, gives us a window into a country’s culture. She explores costumes, architecture, folklore, habitat, animals, and the creative arts so she can share the details with us in her books, setting a scene that invites to a new place, and often features animals from a particular area. Fun fact – Jan Brett has hedgehogs as pets, along with chickens and ducks, and a hedgehog is hidden in nearly every one of her books, in addition to being featured in Hedgie’s Surprise and The Hat.

Many of her winter books are set in Norway; The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Christmas Trolls, Trouble with Trolls, and Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve? From Switzerland come Gingerbread Baby and Gingerbread Friends. Here are a few of the others from other parts of the world.

Illustrations Around the World

Ukraine

The Mitten, one of her most popular books, was derived from a Ukrainian folktale. A boy loses a white mitten in the snow, and a variety of animals from a mole to a bear climb in to keep warm. In the sidebars we find an old-fashioned spinning wheel for the wool for the mittens, baskets for holding the wool, the homes of the animals that use the mitten, embroidery of the country, a preview of the next animal to come along, depictions of the boy hiking, sliding in the snow, resting on a stump, and finally discovering that his mitten is lost. The last page shows the grandmother puzzling over the mittens, one small and the other stretched out by the animals. The detail is really extraordinary.

Africa

Want to know something about the animals in Africa? On Noah’s Ark Brett details many of the animals from Africa. The papyrus plants she saw on a boat ride there prompted illustrations set on papyrus paper. Honey Honey…Lion! introduces us to the honey badger and the honeyguide, a bird that partners with the honey badger to find honey. Both are set in the Okavengo Delta of Botswana. The 3 Little Dassies is set in southern Africa, and is a Three Little Pigs style tale with rock dassies and its predator the eagle. Her illustrations feature the bright colors, patterns and beads from the area in the borders.

Caribbean

the owl and the pussycat illustrations by jan brett

The Owl and the Pussycat takes place around Martinique. Edward Lear’s poem is illustrated with the lush flowers and fruits of the Caribbean, with a dazzling underwater seascape. Watch for the secondary love story that takes place under the boat.

China

From China comes Daisy Comes Home, which tells the story of a chicken who runs away, is captured, and finally returns to her own home, braver and stronger than before. We see the cormorants, water buffalo, red tailed monkeys, houseboats, unique hats and straw patterns that take us to life by the water.

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, we see the tree frog, toucan, baby tapir, kinkajou, Quetzal, monkey, and jaguar all invading the umbrella of a boy in the Monteverdi Cloud Forest. The rich illustrations in The Umbrella really showcase Brett’s love of animals.

Alaska

Her newest book, Cozy, is about a musk ox (umingmak), an arctic animal in Alaska with very soft fur. During the storms of winter, a variety of animals including the snowshoe hair, snowy owl, lemming, wolverine, arctic fox, and a team of huskies cozy up in the warmth of the musk ox. Take a look at the detail of the fur on the animals, and the sense of humor the author displays about the animals getting along together.

If you love animals, like to learn about different countries, and appreciate details, this author/illustrator’s books are for you. Jan Brett has published over 34 books, all both an education and a delight. For more books with beautiful illustrations, check out The Best Wordless Picture Books For Toddlers.