Scary, Scary Halloween
by Eve Bunting
from Clarion Books
Four pairs of eyes stare from the blackness to watch fearsome creatures trick-or-treat.
The Mitten
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
A Ukrainian boy named Nicki wants his grandmother Baba to knit snow-white mittens for him. She warns her grandson that a white mitten will be hard to find if he loses it in the snow, but of course he promptly does just that! What happens next is the surprising part, as a mole takes refuge in the lost mitten, then a rabbit, then a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, and a fox. If you think the mitten might be a wee bit stretched out at this point, just wait: "Then a big bear sniffed at the mitten. The animals were packed in tight, but the bear didn't care. He crawled in anyway." When a tiny mouse squeezes in, her whiskers tickle the bear's nose. He sneezes, and "Aaaaa-aaaaa-ca-chew!" all the animals fly out of their crocheted cave. As the mitten sails through the air, Nicki spots it, reclaims it, and takes it home to show his smiling Baba.
Jan Brett is the illustrator of many well-known folktales, fairy tales, and poems, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Owl and the Pussycat, by Edward Lear. Her special signature in her detailed artwork is the intricate borders, seen in this book as birch-bark panels with embroidered details and mitten-shaped vignettes offering additional insights into the story line. Brett is at her best when she illustrates animals, and the expressions on the faces of her creatures are a delight. She carefully researched the costumes, furniture, and house in this traditional Ukrainian tale--all are authentic. A fine story to read on a frosty night with a cup of hot chocolate, and if you ever get your fill of The Mitten, you can always try its delightfully original companion book, The Hat, winner of the 1998 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. (Ages 4 to 8)
The Three Snow Bears
from Putnam Juvenile
Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. ThatÂ’s because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby BearÂ’s bed.
Jan traveled to the far North to meet the Inuit people and see the amazing land where they live. Dramatic illustrations capture the shimmering ice, snow and deep blue seas of the Arctic, and when Jan adds a raven-haired Inuit girl and her appealing huskies, an endearing family of polar bears, and playful Arctic animals in the borders, the result is one of her most beautiful picture books.
The decorative Inuit patterns and clothing Jan uses throughout are sure to attract adult fans and collectors while children will want to listen to and look at this exciting version of a well-loved story over and over again.
Town Mouse, Country Mouse
from Putnam Juvenile
A story filled with suspense and humor, this classic tale of a town mouse and a country mouse takes a new twist in the imaginative and talented hands of Jan Brett. She introduces two engaging mouse couples eager to get away from their everyday lives. But when they agree to swap homes, they find unexpected adventures around every corner. Lush green scenes alternate with the elegant details of a fine Victorian townhouse to make a sumptuous and stunning picture book.
The Hat
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
Hedgie the hedgehog discovers the wisdom of the adage, "Don't go poking your nose where it doesn't belong" only after curiosity gets this prickly fellow in a pickle. When Lisa's red and white woolen stocking blows off the clothesline, Hedgie finds it and sticks his nose inside, only to discover his prickles prevent him from pulling out of it. Soon all the farm animals are coming around to chuckle at silly Hedgie's stocking hat. But in the end, nimble-witted Hedgie gets the last laugh.
This magnificently illustrated companion book to artist (and hedgehog owner) Jan Brett's classic The Mitten was the winner of the prestigious 1998 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Young readers can spend hours with this one short book, poring over the pleasing, spirited details of Brett's trademark picture borders. Throughout, Lisa can be seen in these artful frames, making preparations for the cold Scandinavian winter, never realizing that her clothesline is becoming more line than clothes. If it were possible to wrap oneself up in these warm, cozy illustrations, readers would be set for the winter. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
When Lisa's woolen stocking flies off the clothesline, Hedgie finds it and pokes his nose in. He tries to pull it out, but the stocking gets stuck on his prickles -- and the fun begins.
A mother hen comes by, then a noisy goose, a talkative barn cat, a playful farm dog, a mama pig and her piglets, and a pony. They all laugh at Hedgie, especially when he pretends he's wearing a new hat. But in the end, it is clever Hedgie who has the last laugh.
And where is Lisa when all of this is going on? She's in the borders, getting ready for winter, until she realizes her stocking is missing and she enters the story to look for it.
Jan Brett's luminous paintings of a Scandinavian farm and the forest around it are bathed in northern light, as the snow begins to fall and the story begins, in this delightfully original companion book to The Mitten.
Gingerbread Baby
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
"I am the Gingerbread Baby,That sassy cookie! When Matti opens the oven door just a little too soon, out pops a gingerbread baby instead of the gingerbread boy he was expecting. Eluding all efforts to catch him, the flat, becandied baby is chased around the village and into the countryside. He mercilessly taunts Matti's parents, a cat, the milk and cheese man, goats, villagers, a fox, and more. In a less traumatic twist on the classic Gingerbread Boy story, this Gingerbread Baby even outfoxes the fox. Sure he's bratty, but he doesn't deserve the gruesome end the Gingerbread Boy usually comes to. Matti makes sure this naughty but appealing little one ends up right where he belongs.
Fresh from the pan.
If you want me,
Catch me if you can!"
This fresh-baked version of the traditional nursery story is brought to you from the creative and award-winning ovens of Jan Brett. Best known for such favorites as The Mitten and The Hat, she has illustrated many other familiar folktales. Her intricately detailed paintings, with their pretty, illuminated borders, are a perfect fit for the Swiss mountainside setting of this cozy old tale. And don't miss the Gingerbread Baby plush! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
Remember how the Gingerbread Boy is eaten by the fox? Well, not this Gingerbread Baby in a delicious twist to a favorite old tale.
It all begins when Matti opens the oven too soon and out jumps a cheeky little Gingerbread Baby. He leads Matti's mother and father, the dog and the cat, and a whole colorful cast of characters on a rollicking chase through the village and into the forest, staying just out of reach, daring them to catch him all along the way.
But Matti's not with them. He's at home in the borders making what turns out to be a gingerbread house into which the Gingerbread Baby runs. Only Matti knows he is safely inside. And readers will too when they look under the lift-the-flap gingerbread house at the end of the story, and there he is!
The Umbrella
from Putnam Juvenile
Jan Brett, well-loved for her ornate, Scandinavian-themed picture books takes her talents deep into the Monteverde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica. A tropical twist on The Mitten, this story chronicles the antics of myriad animals that make themselves right at home in the handcrafted leaf umbrella that Carlos has left at the foot of a giant fig tree. As the tree frog, toucan, kinkajou, tapir, quetzal, monkey, and more pile into the umbrella, Carlos, who is visiting the cloud forest expressly to see these animals, doesn't see a single one. Things heat up when the impulsive monkey hurls the umbrella into the river: "'¿Qué pasa? What is happening?' Froggy asks as water starts to pour into the umbrella." Jaguar jumps in, adding to the confusion, but it's the addition of the tiniest of hummingbirds that causes the big "KER-SPLASH!" Brett's gorgeous, detailed watercolor and gouache illustrations steal the show here, from the exquisite endpapers to the vine-encased leafy side panels that reveal the tree-climbing boy on the left side and a sneak preview of the next umbrella-dwelling animal on the right side. Not Brett's best-crafted story, but her fans will want this lush offering anyway. (Ages 5 to 8) --Karin Snelson
Did You Know?
Fun Facts about Jan Brett
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For Young Writers and Artists
Tips from Jan Brett
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A walk through the Costa Rican cloud forest provides a wonderfully lush setting for Jan Brett's beloved animal illustrations. When Carlos drops his umbrella to climb a tree for a better view of the animals, they all cram into the banana-leaf umbrella as it floats by--from the little tree frog to the baby tapir to the big jaguar and more. It gets so crowded in the umbrella that there isn't even enough room for a little hummingbird! So over the umbrella tumbles, everyone falls out, and poor Carlos comes back wondering why he didn't see any animals all day.
In the spirit of Jan Brett's The Mitten and The Hat, this cheerful tale of escalation will have readers poring over every illustration for the world of details Jan packs in. With its classic story, exotic jungle setting, and brilliantly colorful menagerie, The Umbrella is sure to take its place among Jan's many family favorites.
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses (Sandpiper Books)
by Jan Brett
from Houghton Mifflin
Fritz, a pony excluded from the group of beautiful horses within the walled city, becomes a hero when he rescues the children of the city.
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
"Teeka was excited. And a little afraid. This year Santa had asked her to get the reindeer ready to fly on Christmas Eve." Teeka, an Arctic girl who lives "in the shadow of Santa's Winterfarm," knows it will be a struggle to round up the reindeer who'd roamed wild on the tundra since last Christmas. Reindeer training is not easy for the hard-working young girl: "Teeka looked at the tangled reindeer, once so bold and free, and began to cry. 'It's my fault,' she said. 'I've spent all my time yelling at you, instead of helping. I'm sorry.' And one by one she gave each reindeer a hug." On December 24, Teeka--who's finally learned how to be a gentle, effective trainer--brings her antlered team to meet Santa and all the elves who have loaded the sleigh. Teeka is asleep on the last page of the book, as Santa and his well-trained reindeer--Bramble, Heather, Windswept, Lichen, Snowball, Crag, Twilight, and Tundra--fly past her window for a night of magical surprises. (Ages 3 to 8)
Little Teeka thought she had to be firm with the reindeer to get them ready for Santa's important flight, but when her bossy yelling only got their antlers tangled up, she knew she had to try something different. "Beautifully conceived and finely wrought." -- Booklist (starred review) "Brett's precise, glowing illustrations, drawing on Swedish folk art, make this a beguiling Advent calendar of a book." -- Kirkus Reviews "[A] sweet Christmas fantasy that shows Brett at her best." -- Publishers Weekly "This tale with its humorous close-ups of stubborn reindeer and a sharp child protagonist should prove popular at story hours." -- School Library Journal
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
Children find the story of Goldilocks delightful for so many reasons. There's a trespassing little girl, for starters, who barges into the bears' house uninvited and not only snoops around, but eats the bears' food! The suspense of wondering whether she'll get caught only adds to the thrill of the trespassing itself, and the repeated lines about the three bears with their three distinct voices, bowls, chairs, and beds further endear this tale to the preschool set. In Jan Brett's Goldilocks, the bears and the slightly audacious flaxen-haired heroine all sport traditional (Black Forest?) costumes with detailed embroidery, and the wooden furniture is carved with bears, birds, and flowers. (Intricate borders--carved wooden panels in this book--are Jan Brett's special signature.) Brett is the illustrator of many well-known folk tales, fairy tales, and poems, such as The Mitten and Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. Of her exquisite interpretation of this beloved story, Booklist writes, "This is perfection." (Ages 3 to 6)
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