Jan Brett has met with occasional criticism from those reviewers who embrace a “less is more” artistic philosophy her illustrations fall under the category of realism, and indeed, they leave little to the imagination. Dramatic backgrounds filled with tapestries variegated outdoor landscapes., and complex architectural structures frequently reflect a specific setting or theme, but fade at moments of high drama in favor of close-ups or silhouettes. For her fairy tales She has carefully clothed her subjects in an accurate rendition Of traditional folk Costume, Often including jewelry, braid, embroidery, lace, feathers, and other finery when appropriate. She is known in particular for her illustrations of Scandinavian characters and settings. While always maintaining the same recognizable style of illustration, Brett has remained true to each story’s individual traits, such as nationality, class, time period, and character. Brett played similar artistic games in her rendition of Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat (1991), where a pair of fish carry on their own courtship in the waves under the pea-green boat.
Using an elaborate series of borders, the artist has framed the action detailed in the text with small pictures suggesting both a simultaneous and a future events a foreshadowing that provides the child observer with a delicious sense of anticipation. Brett’s adaptation of the Ukrainian folktale The Mitten (1990) is perhaps the best example of this format. Those she has written herself are based on established motifs, such as holiday stories, animal stories, or fantasy, and often employ a cumulative structure. The majority of Jan Brett’s most successful picture books find their subjects in folklore, whether traditional or modern. Using no models, she designs her intricate pages from memory, recalling objects from her past and transferring them to paint on paper. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jan Brett goes to a cabin in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, where she finds inspiration for her children’s books. Indeed, each page created by this artist is so lush with colorful objects, large and small, that it tells an entertaining story by itself.
A book illustrated by Jan Brett is many things: Vivid, rich, lavish filled with attention to detail often humorous.
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