Jan Brett: Rock Star of Children’s Books

Last weekend I had the pleasure of interviewing Jan Brett.  She’s the author of over 30 children’s books and has more than 37 million books in print.  Wait, I just want to type that one more time.  She has more than 37 million books in print.  Some people would get a little cocky with numbers like that, but this is Jan Brett we’re talking about.  She’s a children’s author, an animal lover, and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. 

Not to say that her success is entirely hidden.  She just completed a tour of the US on the type of bus that rock stars use, complete with two drivers so that Jan and her husband could visit as many cities as possible in a few weeks time.  Brett’s name in gigantic letters and illustrations from one of her latest books cover the bus, though her fans could surely find her without the added promotion.  All ages lined up to meet her at a grocery store on a Sunday morning.  Mothers used their strollers to jockey for position in line, and a dozen Fred Meyer employees hovered proctectively nearby, almost as security at a rock concert. 

Lucky enough to have some one-on-one time with Brett, I learned that there’s more to her than intricate illustrations and their accompanying texts.  She runs marathons, raises chickens, adores Africa, and is perhaps even more of a fan of Alexandra Fuller (Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness) than me.  When our time was up, Brett’s husband came to retrieve her and usher her to the next interview. 

“Can I just have five minutes?” she asked.

“No,” he said kindly.  “We have to go now.”

Her shoulders slumped for just a moment before she smiled and thanked me.  I was taken aback.  Not by the bus or the crowds or the idea of 37 million books in print, but by her graciousness.  Not every rock star deserves their success, but Jan Brett surely does.