Jan+Brett

We recently wrote an email to Jan Brett. We were really excited when she wrote us back!

Friday November 15, 2013 > >Dear Jan Brett, > >We are in Grade One at.... There are 22 children in our class. We have two teachers, Mrs. >Lysitza and Miss Gervais. Mrs. Johnson helps us work too. We like >your books! Your writing is fabulous! Your pictures are great! We >have some questions to ask you. >How many books have you written? (Wyatt) How many days have you written >your books? (Kieran) How much pages do you put in your books? (Sean) >When did you make Armadillo Rodeo? (Jesse) How did you make the >pictures? (Darren) Who are the characters in The Mitten? (Emma) How did >you write the title of a book? (Ellie) Why did you make the books in >the first place? (Alex) How many countries did you go to? (Braiden) How >long does it take you to make a book? (Thomas) When did you start >writing books? (Nathan) How many stories have Bluebell the chicken in >them? (Ryan) How much have the hedgehog in them? (Kasen) When did you >get your pets? Do you still have them? (Tom) When was the last time >you wrote a book? (Isaiah) Out of all of the books you have written, do >you have a favorite? (Mrs. >Lysitza) >What was the first book you saw in your life? (Jennalee) > >We hope you can answer our questions. If you have anything you can >send us for our Jan Brett wall, please mail it to our school at 566 >McIntosh Drive, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada S6V 7T2. >Thank you for reading our letter! And thank you for writing books! >Have a great day! >The Grade One Class, WJB School > >Class >Grade One WJBerezowsky School > >Dear Mrs. Lysitza students,

Thank you very much for writing to me. You can find all of my books listed in Books section of my Home Page. Since I was six I wanted to illustrate children's books. But I had to wait until I was 29 years old to see my name on a book jacket. It took much longer that I thought it would. I went to college and then to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School. Have you ever wanted something so much that you were willing to work extra hard for it? That's what happened with my books. The thing that spurred me on was the idea that I could balance my story with just the right pictures. The pictures that I created myself. I've always liked to tell stories, and I keep a notebook of little experiences that are I find interesting. It's funny, but many ideas come from things that happened to me when I was a kid. When I write, I change things around and tinker with them, which comes naturally to me. If you ask my sister Sophie, who's a sixth grade teacher now, she'll tell you not to believe a word of my tales. Since making books is my profession, my answer to "how long each book takes" may seem complicated. The idea for a book might go half finished for years. Another way to describe it is a puzzle with a few pieces missing. When I find the pieces - it's full steam ahead. Then I write the story in a few days. Doing the final artwork is the best part for me, I always look forward to working on my new book. Thank you for asking about my animals pals. Right now, I've about twenty pets, mostly chickens and ducks. We've had number of hedgehogs over the years, I think my favorite was Buffy, she was the inspiration for Hedgie in my book, THE HAT. It's a pleasure travelling our country meeting everyone at booksignings. I'm spending most of November visiting with everyone. I hope that you enjoy my new November hedge a gram which tells a bit about the trip and my new book. I'm looking forward to sending you my teacher's pack in the mail. It has questions and answers about my books and artwork and contains many fun activities for children and their teachers. My mail is quite busy at this time of year, it will be a little while before I can send you my pack.

Sincerely,

Jan Brett