Published: October 09, 2007 10:37 am      

Children’s illustrator brings new book to Edmond

EDMOND — A tour bus bearing giant-sized illustrations of three polar bears, a wolf and a walrus will arrive in Edmond Oct. 21 when famed illustrator Jan Brett comes to town.

Brett is scheduled to sign books at 10 a.m. at Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road. She will sign copies of her latest book, “The Three Snow Bears,” a whimsical retelling of the classic “The Three Bears” story.

In a recent telephone interview, Brett said she’s looking forward to the visit — her third to the Edmond area.

“We have really happy memories of Edmond,” she said.

Julie Hovis and Kathy Kinasewitz, owners of Best of Books, are excited about the visit, too.

“We’re delighted she chose to come back to our store and our community,” Hovis said. “We’re just thrilled — we love her new book.”

Brett, who lives in Massachusetts, has published 32 books, with more than 30 million copies in print.

Brett has one of the most popular author Web sites in existence, www.janbrett.com, which features thousands of pages of free activities for children, video segments and footage from her book research trips.

It takes about a year to produce each book, Brett said. Once the book hits store shelves, Brett and her husband Joe Hearne, a bassist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, hit the road in their specially designed tour bus, painted with large-scale illustrations.

Brett said whichever book she’s working on is her favorite, and that’s true for “The Three Snow Bears” as well. When she planned the characters for the classic tale, she said she thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to have it be polar bears?”

Brett and her husband took a trip to Nunavut Territory and Bathen Island, near the Arctic Circle, to research the book, and she said she cherishes her experiences with the Inuit people there.

During her months of research, Brett also got “up close and personal” with a real polar bear that was anesthetized for dental work at an American zoo.

“I wanted to smell it and touch it,” Brett said. “I wanted to see if the hair felt crinkly. I knew their skin was black, but did you know their tongues are black, too?”

That attention to detail is what breathes life into Brett’s famous artwork, beloved by children and adults alike.

Brett said she hopes children, parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else who is interested will attend the Edmond event.

“They can come and not buy a book,” she said. “I just want to have everyone come and see us.”

She encourages children to bring their drawings; she said she loves to encourage young people’s creativity, and she gives helpful hints to aspiring artists.

The illustrator will present a 20-minute talk at the local bookstore and create a drawing on her own easel.

Her husband Joe will give away 100 posters to attendees.

Hovis said 275 free tickets will be given out, guaranteeing ticketholders an autograph opportunity and photo opportunity. The number of attendees is not limited, however.

Doors will open about 9-9:15 a.m., Hovis said. There is no charge to attend.

Hovis and Kinasewitz are a-tiptoe with anticipation.

“She’s just timeless, and her work is as high-quality as it ever was,” Hovis said. “We’re looking forward to seeing her again.”



The Details

The story of “The Three Snow Bears”

A curious Inuit girl named Aloo-ki comes upon an igloo and goes inside to find no one at home. That’s because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking. While they’re gone, Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots and crawls into a bed for a nap. There’s even a surprise ending involving Aloo-ki’s sled dogs and the three bears.