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.
Jan Brett

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- Name
- Jan Brett
- Born
- 1 December 1949
- Birthplace
- Norwell, Massachusetts
- Occupation
- Illustrator, writer
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- School of the Museum of Fine Arts
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
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.
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Jan Brett (born 1949) is an American illustrator and writer. The illustrator was born in Norwell. Jan Brett studied at School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 30 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6148613 · wikipedia · Jan Brett
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jan Brett • Born — 1 December 1949 • Birthplace — Norwell, Massachusetts • Occupation — Illustrator, writer • Period — 1978–present • Genre — Children's picture books • Notable Works — * Annie and the Wild Animals • The Mitten • The Hat • Website — janbrett.com
Life
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.
Identity
Identity
Jan Brett is recorded with the occupation picture book writer. Recorded with the occupation illustrator. Recorded as a citizen of United States.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1949
Jan Brett was born on 1 December 1949.
Illustrated
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
Written & Illustrated
Source: • Fritz and the Beautiful Horses (Houghton Mifflin, 1981) • Annie and the Wild Animals (1985) • The Twelve Days of Christmas (Dodd, Mead, 1986), an edition of the English song published 1780 • Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1987) • The First Dog (1988) • The Mitten: a Ukrainian folktale (1989); issued as a board book in 1996 • The Wild Christmas Reindeer (1990) • The Owl and the Pussycat (1991), an edition of the 1871 poem by Edward Lear • Berlioz the Bear (1991) • Christmas Trolls (1993) • Trouble with Trolls (1994) • Town Mouse Country Mouse (1994) • Armadillo Rodeo (1995) • The Mitten (1996) • Comets Nine Lives (1996) • Gingerbread Baby (1997) • The Hat (1997) • The Night Before Christmas (1998), an edition of the 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore • Daisy Comes Home (2002) • Hedgie's Surprise (2002) • Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? (2002) • On Noah's Ark (2003) • The Umbrella (2002) • Honey, Honey, Lion! (2005) • Hedgie Loves to Read (2006) • Hedgie Blasts Off! (2006) • The Three Snow Bears (2007) • Gingerbread Friends (2008) • The Easter Egg (2010) • The 3 Little Dassies (2010) • Home for Christmas (2011) • Mossy (2012) • Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella (2013), an adaptation of Cinderella • The Animals' Santa (2014) • The Turnip (2015), an adaptation of the Russian folk story The Gigantic Turnip • Gingerbread Christmas (2016) • The Mermaid (2017), an under the sea version of Goldilocks and The Three Bears • The Snowy Nap (2018) • The Tale of the Tiger Slippers (2019) • Cozy (2020) • The Nutcracker (2021) • Cozy in Love (2022) • Alice in a Winter Wonderland (2024) • The Christmas Sweater (2025)
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.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Jan Brett”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6148613: Jan Brett
General reference · Wikidata
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.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."Jan Brett". Jan Brett. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- 2.This Children’s Book Legend Has Her Own Tour Bus, & We Rode Along. Romper. 2019-12-10.
- 3.Lawlor, Julia. Nest for a Children’s Author, Her Family and Her Flock. The New York Times. 2009-09-24. 0362-4331.
- 4.Edwards, David Noel. INTERVIEW: Double bassist Joe Hearne on six decades playing with the BSO. The Berkshire Edge. 2023-01-15.
- 5.Books by Jan Brett and Complete Book Reviews. PublishersWeekly.com.
- 6.Bunting, Eve. Happy Birthday, Dear Duck. Clarion Books. 1988. 978-0-89919-541-4.
- 7.Bunting, Eve. The Mother's Day Mice. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1986. 978-0-89919-702-9.
- 8.Bunting, Eve. Scary, Scary Halloween. Clarion Books. 1986. 978-0-89919-799-9.
- 9.Jane, Pamela. Noelle of the Nutcracker. Random House Children's Books. November 1988. 978-0-553-15673-7.
- 10.Jan Brett Author LibraryThing. LibraryThing.com.
- 11.Jan Brett Receives Regina Medal from Catholic Library Association. 15 February 2021.
- 12.Picture Book Review: The Mitten by Jan Brett. www.fulcolibrary.org. 2022-03-03.
- 13.Kirkus Media LLC. Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella. www.kirkusreviews.com. 13 November 2013.
- 14.PWxyz LLC. Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella. www.publishersweekly.com.
- 15.Kirkus Media LLC. Mossy. www.kirkusreviews.com. 22 July 2012.
- 16.Barry, Rebecca Rego. The Cozy, Homey, Intricate Illustrations of Jan Brett. Literary Hub. 2021-05-03.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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