Jan Brett - Illustrator and Author of Children's Books
One of my most favorite illustrators and authors of children's books is Jan Brett. Her illustrations are amazingly beautiful! The traditional and original stories she illustrates have all become favorites to many children. Mrs. Brett has a very contagious energy that her fans can not resist. My children and I have read her books frequently and enjoy the humor and art. As a teacher and a homeschool mom, I'm always looking for fabulous reading materials for my students that are not only fun to read, but which contain something that the students will take with them, learn, and remember. Jan Brett's books do that and more. Find out about this talented artist / writer and her literature in this lens along with lesson plans ideas to create a fun Christmas literature unit study!
A Jan Brett Christmas Unit
- Jan Brett Resources ~ About Jan Brett, Teaching Resources, Blogs, Teaching Materials
- The Night Before Christmas ~ The Book, "A Visit From St. Nick" Background, Lesson Plan Suggestions, Lesson Materials & Lapbooks, Clement Moore Bio, Related Lenses
- Gingerbread Baby ~ The Books, Lesson Ideas, Lapbooks, More Gingerbread Unit Materials, Gingerbread Craft Video
- The Wild Christmas Reindeer ~ The Book, Teaching Materials
- The Mitten ~ The Book, Teaching Materials
- The Three Snow Bears ~ The Book, Lesson Suggestions, Teaching Materials, 3 Snow Bears Lens
- Look Who's Knocking on Christmas Eve? ~ The Book, Lesson Suggestions, Teaching Materials
Jan Brett (born December 1, 1949) is a best-selling American author/illustrator of children's books. Her books are known for colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures ranging from Scandinavia to Africa. Her best-known titles include The Hat, The Mitten, The Three Snow Bears and Gingerbread Baby.
She was awarded the Boston Public Library's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Her books have been chosen as "Best Children's Books of the Year" by Newsweek, The New Yorker, Parents magazine, and Redbook.
Jan Brett Books ~ Teaching Resources
Because children and adults love her books so much, many lesson plans and ideas have been shared over the web. Here are some of the ones I found the most useful.
- **Hedgie's Holiday Workbench**
- Hedgie is Jan's adorable main character in many of her books. You will want to bookmark this page to find activities for all of her Christmas books here.
- *Teaching with Jan Brett Books*
- "Piggybacks for Teachers" has a fantastic list of Jan Brett resources for teaching. You will find: projects, interviews, curriculum enrichment, vocabulary and reading comprehension activities, and web projects for Christmas and rest of the year literature units.
Gingerbread Friends Lesson Plans
Gingerbread Baby Reading Comprehension & Vocabulary
The Wild Christmas Reindeer Web Project
The Mitten Web Project
Internet Author Study
Several resources for other Jan Brett books. - Christmas Tree Topper
- Print, cut-out, and make this simple but beautiful tree topper with the template.
- Christmas Postcards
- Create these postcards from images of Jan's Christmas books!
- Jan Brett Author Study
- Scholastic has created an author study with a biography, study resources, and lesson plans for "Christmas Trolls", "Comet's Nine Lives", "Wild Christmas Reindeer", "Gingerbread Baby", "The Mitten", and some of her other materials.
- Integrating the Internet into the Curriculum
- Learn NC has another Jan Brett author study with activities for research, science, language arts, social studies, art, and computer for grades K-2.
- Podcast Interview with Jan Brett
- Enjoy listening to this 25 minute podcast of Jan discussing the National Book Festival sponsored by Barnes & Nobel!
- Jan Brett Author Study
- Six lessons in this unit cover materials for The Hat, The Mitten, Berlioz the Bear, Trouble with Trolls, and Gingerbread Baby. Activities for every subject are covered along with worksheets and links for them.
- Jan Brett Coloring Pages
- Find pages and activities for her Christmas stories and others. These pages may be used for an assortment of things besides coloring.
~Try making them into a shape books of story facts, character lists, literary info, story summaries, illustrations, and more. Use them to make a cover to a notebook or lapbook.
~Have the children pick a character out of a story and write a new story about it. The pages may be placed within their story books. - Jan Brett's Free Activities
- These are wonderful! There are so many teaching materials to supplement her book that I don't even know where to start! All of the student manipulatives contain Jan's beautiful artwork and characters!
You will be delighted when you see the numerous alphabet, number, addition & subtraction, colors, shapes, and sight word flashcards, calendars, puzzles, games, murals, signs, posters, borders, cards, certiicates, crafts, days of the week and months of the year cards, stationary, picture frames, charts, teacher supplies, postcards, and recipes. Enjoy! - Jan Brett's How to Draw Videos
- We have really enjoyed watching these! Even someone like me who can't draw at all is able to follow the directions in these art lessons from Mrs. Brett! There are videos for a variety of her books, but the Christmas related ones are:
Jan Brett reads and draws Gingerbread Baby
How to draw Gingerbread Friends and Peppermint Puppy
How to Draw a Gingerbread Baby
All About The Hat
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
The Night Before Christmas
How to Draw a Baby Polar Bear - Christmas Treasury Advent Calendar
- What a beautiful calendar to print out from Jan Brett. Search around her website. If you click on "Activities" from her main home page, you will find a variety of other Christmas materials such as gift tags, photo frames, place mats, basket, cards, ornaments to make, and other fun projects.
- Jan Brett's Winter Books
- Teacher Vision has an article with ideas for Annie and the Wild Animals, The Night Before Christmas, The Mitten, and Trouble with Trolls. (Teacher Vision allows you to view three free pages before subscribing.)
Blogs about Jan Brett
- November 2009 Hedge a gram
- This is Jan Brett, and this is my November Hedge-a-gram, the time I take every month to tell you what is going on in my life as an illustrator and children's book storyteller. In a few days, my husband Joe and I will begin our fall book ...
- Author/Illustrator 11: Jan Brett: Outstanding Animal Art
- Jan Brett travels the world, ensuring that her locations, creations, animals and people are accurate in her books. She has written and illustrated a couple of dozen books along with illustrating another half dozen or so other books. ...
- Library Dad: Jan Brett Appearance
- As I've recently discussed, my wife is a bit nutters over Jan Brett. And rightfully so since Brett is an amazing storyteller and illustrator. So when my wife finally made it to the head of the line to get her book signed, ...
- The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett - Children's Books - Reviews ...
- Cover Art - The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett If you have children, you probably already know about popular picture book creator Jan Brett, who has more than 33 million books in print. Her picture book, The Three Snow Bears, ...
Jan Brett Teaching Materials
Teaching With Favorite Jan Brett Books: Engaging Activities That Build Essential Reading and Writing Skills and Explore the Themes in These Popular Books
"Includes profile of Jan Brett; before- and after-reading discussion ideas, activities that help kids build vocabulary, learn about genres, and explore story elements. Extensions in science, social studies, math, poetry, and more."
Amazon Price: $9.59 (as of 11/22/2009) 
Jan Brett
"Provided are sample lesson plans, author's picture and biography, book summaries, lots of activities for the author's books, culminating activities and an extensive bibliography."
Amazon Price: (as of 11/22/2009)
Teaching Story Elements With Favorite Books (Grades 1-3)
"Inspire a love of literature in young readers. Students learn to identify and explore the story elements essential to every good book. Includes reading, discussion ideas, reproducible graphic organizers, and hands-on cross-curricular activities geared toward diverse learning styles."
Amazon Price: (as of 11/22/2009)
Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury
"Celebrate the joy, beauty, and magic of Christmas with this giant treasury of Jan Brett's best-loved, bestselling books. This glorious collection includes seven of Brett's snowy classics: The Mitten, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Trouble with Trolls, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Hat, Christmas Trolls, and The Night Before Christmas. What a treat! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter "
Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 11/22/2009)
The Night Before Christmas
The Night Before Christmas
This wonderful version of The Night Before Christmas was given to me by one of my students over a decade ago as a Christmas present. My two oldest children were only 3 and 1 at the time, and I had never seen or heard of a Jan Brett book before. When I brought it home and opened it for the first time with my children, I new it was something extra special. Besides having the classic story that we all love so dearly, the illustrations were the most beautiful that I had ever seen. The wide array of colors, the liveliness of the characters, and the intricate details of every item including the borders were breathtaking! While my then 3 year old bounced around wanting me to read faster through the story, I sat staring in awe, absorbing the whole essence of each precious page. Since then we have read, and reread, and reread, ... making it one of our favorite books in our home library. We started collecting other books by Mrs. Brett through the years as my children started to appreciate the artwork more and more. Now it fun to watch my older children read to the youngest sharing the same mystic of that first day that I brought it home. What an amazing present it was to recieve this book!
"A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and '"Twas the Night Before Christmas"' from its first line) is a poem first published anonymously in 1823. It is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and the tradition that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the Anglosphere and the world.
The Night Before Christmas Lesson Suggestions
Written by Clement Clarke Moore or ???
Since it contains many literary elements, why not make a unit based around this classic piece. Here are some ideas to get you started. The lapbooks are especially wonderful containing a variety of activities.
- Language Arts
~ Some historians believe that the poem was written by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. instead of Clement Moore.
~ Older students could research the two men and the poem (possible research links are provided below) and write a summary of their findings.
~ Write an opinion or persuasive paper on who they think wrote the poem.
~ You may also want to discuss plagiarism, its moral aspects, and the problems it causes.
~ Read, compare, and contrast two or more versions of the story using a venn graph.
~ Create a new version of the story with modern people, themselves, a certain place or time period or whatever your students imagine. There have been many serious and silly adaptations of theis poem, so why not come up with your own? *Would the story have been different if the mom was the one who saw Santa? What if Santa used the front door instead of a chimney? What might be different if the story took place in another part of the world or a different climate? How might the story sound if it was the night before St. Patrick's day instead of Christmas? You get the idea ~ use your imaginations to create something really fun!
~ Learn about parts of speech and write a "mad lib" of the story (see link below for worksheets).
~ Use the cover, notebook pages, and mini books in a lapbook or notebook (see link). - Art, Drama, & Music
~ Students will enjoy acting out the story, make some simple props and costumes, and adding background music that they pick or compose themselves!
~ Design puppets and perform a puppet show with them.
~ Adapt the poem into a rap song, classical piece, rock song, or?
~ Illustrate the poem either with one overall picture that each students feel summarize the story to them.
~ Create a class mural of the story.
~ Assign a separate section of the story to each student to enhance with art. Use a variety of mediums. These could be used to make a class book, or the cover to a notebook, lapbook, or copy work pages. - The three lapbooks listed below have numerous related activities for almost all subject areas. Even it you choose not to do a lapbook, I would highly suggest checking out their wonderful ideas! :D
'Twas the Night Before Christmas Lesson Materials
- *'Twas the Night Before Christmas Lapbook
- This lapbook unit is made to fit with Jan Brett's version of the story. It includes activities for Bible / character, geography, history, writing, reading, poetry, art, music, and cooking.
- *'Twas the Night Before Christmas Lapbook
- Read the story, study vocabulary, write a letter to Santa, put reindeer words in alphabetical order, do a word search, draw a picture, put the story cards in the correct order, and more. Many lapbook components are included at Happy Hollow Homeschool.
- *'Twas the Night Before Christmas Lapbook
- This excellent one from Homeschool Share is based on the one above with some additional resources. It includes alphabetical order, creative writing, vocabulary, research, biography, word find, story sequencing, art, social studies, math, science, and fun stuff!
- *The Night Before Christmas
- View a video of Mrs. Brett discussing her creation of this loved storybook!
- All About the Night Before Christmas ~ Jan Brett's Newsnotes
- Read three pages of background notes taken by Jan when she was creating the book.
- *Interactive Power Point
- Use this template to create your own version of the poem! (Click on the box on the second row of the left.)
There are many wonderful Christmas lesson ideas found on this site, also! Check them out at Christmas Technology Lessons & Resources. - "With Apologies to Clement C. Moore"
- Enjoy these creative parodies of the famous poem! These would be great to get ideas how to create your own version.
- 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
- Enjoy this famous poem - NASA style!
- 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
- Listen to the story with this recording from Internet Archive.
- "History of Santa Claus"
- Have fun reading this background page.
- Major Henry Livingston, Junior
- Is Livingston the true author of this famous tale?
- Selected Poetry of Clement Clarke Moore
- Did Moore write this poem?
- Author of "Night Before Christmas"
- What do you think ???
- Language Translations
- For those of you studying a foreign language, why not translate the poem into the language you are studying? Translate either the whole poem, or just certain terms depending on your level of study. Here is a Spanish version to use as an example. Also, check out Evelyn's lens "'Twas the Night Before Navidad or Christmas?" for another Spanish version.
Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 ? July 10, 1863) is the credited author rewritten of A Visit from St. Nicholas (more commonly known today as Twas the Night Before Christmas).
Clement Clarke Moore was most famous in his own day as a professor of Oriental and Greek literature at Columbia College (now Columbia University). At General Theological Seminary he compiled a two volume Hebrew dictionary.
He was the only son of Benjamin Moore, a president of Columbia College and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and his wife Charity Clarke.A Woman Ready to Fight, New York Newsday, by George DeWan Clement Clarke Moore was a graduate of Columbia College (1798), where he earned both his B.A. and his M.A.. He was made professor of Biblical learning in the General Theological Seminary in New York (1821), a post that he held until 1850. The ground on which the seminary now stands was his gift.New International Encyclopedia
From 1840 to 1850, he was a board member of The New York Institution for the Blind at 34th Street and 9th Avenue (now The New York Institute for Special Education). He compiled a Hebrew and English Lexicon (1809), and published a collection of poems (1844). Upon his death in 1863 at his summer residence in Newport, Rhode Island, his funeral was held in Trinity Church, Newport, where he had owned a pew. Then his body was interred in the cemetery at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Hudson St., in New York City. On November 29, 1899, his body was reinterred in Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in New York.
Fetching blurbs now... please stand by
Thomas Kinkade Night Before Christmas Story House NEW
"For the FIRST TIME EVER, watch and listen as every meticulously detailed room in this extraordinary Thomas Kinkade Christmas story house comes to life with light and sound! Thomas Kinkade narrates the beloved "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem, and as the story progresses each room in this glorious snow-draped Victorian story house fills with light, revealing handcrafted and hand-painted scenes and figurines! Look, there's Santa in the parlor, and his reindeer and sleigh are waiting on the roof!You'll love watching the rapt expressions of your family and friends as they experience this exclusive limited-edition Thomas Kinkade Christmas decor, "The Night Before Christmas," from Hawthorne Village. It's destined to become a treasured Christmas decoration, an heirloom to bring lasting joy throughout the years."
Check out these wonderful related lenses from my fellow Rocket Moms!
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The Night Before Christmas
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This timeless classic, 'The Night Before Christmas', is magical tale that has brought excitement and wonder to millions of people. This is a tale that my family reads every Christmas Eve. It keeps us young and still fills each one of us with a child...
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'Twas the Night Before Navidad or Christmas?
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'Twas the night before Christmas and all through la casa Not a creature was stirring, Caramba! Que pasa?... My cousins were Costa Rican so learning Spanish was always important to my family. While looking for activities to teach my children Span...
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Did you know that Santa once moved to Louisiana and that there is a book called, the Cajun Night Before Christmas by Trosclair and James Rice, that tells the tale? Since the 1970's James Rice has delighted readers with his fanciful illustrations...
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Well I do and it is "Twas The Night Before Christmas". This book is a true favorite and such a well know for us all. The holidays brings us so much joy and so do the traditions they bring. Every family has that little something they do on the holiday...
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Twas The Night Before Christmas - A Holiday Tribute For Our American Soldiers
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'Twas The Night Before Christmas
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Another Rankin/Bass Production, 'Twas the night before Christmas is a classic tale of two families trying to right a terrible wrong. Released in 1974, this heartwarming story is a holiday favorite.
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Twas the Night Before Christmas
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Twas the Night Before Christmas A Visit from St. Nicholas By Clement C. Moore With Pictures by Jessie Willcox Smith Houghton Mifflin Company - Boston Copyright © 1912 by Houghton Mifflin Company (Copyright has expired, this is now public domain.) INTRO...
Gingerbread Baby
&
Gingerbread Friends
Gingerbread Baby
Another darling book by Jan Brett is Gingerbread Baby. Written with the original gingerbread man story in mind, this version is sure to delight children of every age with its eye-catching graphics. It is one we have read while we have done complete gingerbread unit studies. Lessons and materials from Mrs. Brett's website make everythiing in a unit tie together well. Try some of the activities here with your studies. Of course, you know, you must assist the children in baking some fresh gingerbread cookies before reading it so you may enjoy the ginger smell in the air and taste those yummy warm bites with some milk! Enjoy!
Gingerbread Baby & Gingerbread Friends Lesson Ideas
- *"Gingerbread Friends" Educator's Guide
- Use this lesson plan to add learning activities to your unit.
Language Arts: making predictions, rhyme, descriptive writing
Social Studies: community, friendship, self
Science: weather
Art: colors, artistic elements, imagination
Math: counting activities, details, recipe - Gingerbread Baby Unit
- 11 lesson plans for the book at A to Z Teacher Stuff
- Gingerbread Man Lesson Plans
- Enjoy this series of lesson plans by Laurie Patsalides!
The Gingerbread Man: Make a Mini Book Using Story Elements
Bake Gingerbread Cookies: A Lesson in Measurement
Gingerbread Cookies: Create a How-to Book
Gingerbread Friends: A Lesson on Making Friends - Gingerbread Man Theme Unit
- This 5 day theme unit for preschool - 2nd grade contains activities for language arts, math, art, and geography: bake gingerbread cookies, recipe, story sequencing, templates, felt board characters, booklet cover and writing page, coloring page, craft pages, paper chain, math theme sheets, mini book, poem, graph, glyphs, phonics worksheets, "an" book
- How to Draw a Gingerbread Baby
- View this step by step video by Jan Brett to learn how to draw his picture!
- Gingerbread Baby Board Game
- Use this magnificent gameboard for a variety of games for fun or review of your lesson.
- Gingerbread Baby Masks or Shape Books
- Have fun roll playing the story with these beautiful masks of the characters from Gingerbread Baby!
These may also be used to create shape books to use in writing summaries, listing vocabulary words, drawing illustrations, making character trait mini books, finding and listing adjectives from the story, creating your own stories about the characters (lined paper may be taped inside to the shape book for neater writing), copying math tables in, or whatever else you may need a mini book for. - Gingerbread Baby House
- Create and decorate your own gingerbread house with online decorations.
- Gingerbread Baby Coloring Page
- This would also make a wonderful cover for a lapbook or notebook of your unit!
- Gingerbread House Coloring Page
- Use this for coloring, cover for a notebook or lapbook, mural, or mini book.
Wilton's Gingerbread Cookie Kit
Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is! I think I'll have to try to catch the gingerbread man, too! The children like to bake in the kitchen and each decorate with their own individual styles. But, we all know that children in the kitchen can create a lot of extra work for mom, so, why not make it a little easier with this kit that comes with 8 pre-baked cookies and all the supplies for decorating fun!
Gingerbread Lapbooks
- *The Gingerbread Baby*
- I love this unit study and lapbook from Homeschool Share! This well done unit has lessons for home economics, science, geography, history, language arts, drama, critical thinking, vocabulary, comprehension questions, fairy tales, play dough, ornaments, games, and reading list.
Lapbook components included: My Gingerbread Family Pocketbook, Patterns, G is for... Sorting Game, My Story Pocket, Copywork Simple Fold, One Yummy Gingerbread Man Book, My Gingerbread Recipe, Vocabulary Shape Book, Gingerbread House Word Find, Story Sequencing Cards and Pocket, Character Comparisons, Setting Comparisons, Uses for Ginger, Venn Diagram Mini Book, Plot (4 mini books), Photo Book Accordion, What I Know About Ginger, Memory Matching Game with Pocket, History of Gingerbread Hansel and Gretel Simple Fold - Gingerbread Baby Lapbook
- This one has pictures and directions how to make a lapbook for this story.
- Gingerbread Lapbook
- Enjoy these colorful pictures of a lapbook done by "Walking by the Way".
- Gingerbread Mini Book
- Print out this seven page book for your students.
Gingerbread Friends
Gingerbread Baby wants to make some new friends. As he wonders around town searching, he finds himself in a grand adventure!
More Gingerbread Unit Materials
- *Gingerbread Theme
- Pratt's Educational Resources has collected tons of resources, activities, and worksheets to complete your unit!!
- Gingerbread Mini Unit
- Find out about the history of gingerbread, cook some yummy foods, make cool crafts, do some creative writing, and take a quiz at Easy Fun School.
- Gingerbread Fun!
- Try some of the ideas in this unit from Homeschooled Kids.
- Annie's Gingerbread Page
- Many recipies and ideas are found in this unit.
- Christmas Gingerbread House Pop-Up Card
- Download, save, and print this fun decorative project.
- Gingerbread Playdough
- Students will have fun with this scented playdough!
- Gingerbread Boy
- Download the unit for a variety of activities in every subject.
- Gingerbread Man
- Lesson Plan, Printable Activities, and Coloring Pages for Preschool
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The Gingerbread Boy, A Children's Book By Paul Galdone
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Paul Galdone's The Gingerbread Boy was a favorite of my boys when they were growing up. This gingerbread boy runs "as fast as he can" to avoid all of the characters in this book including the bakers, the farm animals, the threshers and...
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The Gingerbread Man
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Is a sweet biscuit made of gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized human, as per the name. Most gingerbread men share the same roughly humanoid shape, with stubby feet and no fingers. Many gingerbread men have a face, though whether the featu...
curated content from YouTube
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
""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) "
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
- Lesson Plans from Piggybacks for Teachers
- General Activities, Science, and Art.
- The Wild Christmas Reindeer Lapbook Unit Study
- Fabulous lessons for geography, human relationships, reading comprehension, creative writing, compare & contrast, vocabulary, arts and crafts, math, cooking, science: biomes, reindeer, and lapbook ideas by Homeschool Share.
- Wild Christmas Reindeer Lesson
- Find a few lesson ideas at Easy Fun School.
- Wild Christmas Reindeer
- Try these lesson plan ideas from Scholastic.
- Wild Christmas Reindeer
- This three page pdf lesson plan contains several reading comprehension questions and activities.
- Newnotes by Jan Brett
- Six pages of illustrated personal notes about the story are found here.
- All About the Wild Christmas Reindeer
- A short video interviews Mrs. Brett about this story.
The Mitten
The Mitten Book and Audio CD Set (Paperback)
"Baba, Nicki's grandmother, knits pure white mittens for him, even though she is afraid that he will lose them in the snow. Sure enough, the first time Nicki is out, he drops one, and some animals promptly move into its snug wool interior. First comes a mole, then a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear, and finally, a mouse. That mouse tickles the bear's nose and he sneezes, dislodging all of the animals at once. Nicki finds his mitten, and takes it home, but Baba is left to wonder about how it became so enormously stretched out. Brett's magnificent paintings feature her usual array of folk details, and this time, intricate knitting tracks, ornate embroidery, the crusty, peeling texture of the birch bark borders, and the exquisite patterns found in Baba's homey rooms. Readers will sit back, suspend belief, and welcome this tall tale from the Ukrainian tradition. "
The Mitten
- The Mitten from Piggybacks for Teachers
- A Teacher Cyber Guide
- The Mitten Unit Study & Lapbook
- Another fantastic unit from Homeschool Share with lessons for story sequence, drama, folktale, sayings, Ukraine, cooking, math, counting, size and measurement, science - animals, art, and copywork. Several mini books are ready for download.
- Winter Lapbook
- Fantastic lapbook materials for 'The Mitten' and other winter topics by Lynn.
- The Mitten Resources at Enchanted Learning
- EL has mini books to read, craft projects, reading comprehension, cloze activities, story sequencing, spelling activities, unscramble words, phonics, vocabulary questions, story word webs, verbs, synonyms, writing prompts, color words, sentence writing, word search, sorting, and tons of animal research and worksheets.
- Tell Your Own Mitten Story Form
- Use this blank mitten form to write a story or summary, make a shape book, or whatever your imagination tells you! Click on "click here for the animals" for animal coloring or cut-outs. Wouldn't it be fun to make tiny character cards to stuff in the pocket of a lapbook, create a card game, or for children to create a puppet show with these?
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Jan Brett created a delightful verision of this song / story! There will a complete lens just for this book and song in the hopefully near future for you. :)
The Three Snow Bears
The Three Snow Bears
"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 Three Snow Bears Lesson Suggestions
- Language Arts
~ Compare & Contrast this version with other versions of the story on a venn graph.
~ Write a comparison about the versions you read.
~ Write a summary paragraph about the story.
~ Creative writing: make up a class or individual version of the story.
~ Make a character sketch of a favorite character.
~ Use some of the graphics below to make character info cards or mini books. - Social Studies
~ Study about the Inuit People, their lifestyles, foods, and more.
~ Geography: polar regions, the arctic circle.
~ Research different types of homes around the world: igloo and others.
~ Family Relationships
~ Learn about Canada, her provinces and territories. - Science
~ Great time to study about polar bears and other arctic animals. (Enchanted Learning has tons of wonderful animal information and worksheets!)
~ Discuss weather, temperature, land forms, snow, icebergs, glaciers, and climate. - Mathematics
~ The number 3! What comes in threes? Name and list them. Discuss the prefix tri- and think of as many words as possible that contain it. Count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide by 3's.
~ Measure distance (tie in with geography): measure distance from your home to the north pole or arctic circle. What is the circumference of the earth and the arctic circle.
~ Make a shape picture using triangles (3) or a tangram. - Art
~ Draw pictures of the characters or illustrate one of the stories written in language arts.
~ Study carefully the art of Mrs. Brett! Discuss her use of colors, designs, shapes, etcetera, and their significance to the story.
~ Study the borders of the pages of the book. Jan always uses her border to tell so much more about the story that is in actual words. What else can you learn about what is going on by her use of pictures?
Snow Bears Teacher Materials
- The Three Snow Bears Lapbook Unit Study
- Another great unit study which includes lapbook components from Homeschool Share about this lovely story and Canada.
- Three Snow Bears Lapbook Pictures
- Check out these great pictures from Walking by the Way!
- The Three Snow Bears Coloring Mural
- From Jan Brett's site, these piece could be printed out on tagboard, colored and be used for so many things ~ murals, bulletin boards, shape books (she gives a paragraph of info for each animal and item), puppet shows, or ?
- The Three Bears
- The "Virtual Vine" has provided some wonderful lesson ideas, printables, and resources for teaching a unit about several versions of The 3 Bears.
- Bear Theme
- A to Z Teacher Stuff has a list of multiple lesson plans and units about bears in general that may be helpful to you.
- Bear Unit
- Fun online and offline activities, printables, mini books, fact files, photos, crafts, and other kid friendly materials for grades pre-K through 4 are found at KidZone! Those of you who like lapbooks (like me!) will find plenty of materials to add to your books here!
- Goldilocks & The Three Bears
- First School has a complete unit with printable materials, lessons, and links for easy usage.
- Bear Masks of Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear
- Yeah! Time for role - playing!
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THE THREE SNOW BEARS by Jan Brett
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The Three Snow Bears, written by Jan BrettIs a refreshing remake of Goldilocks And The Three Bears. I don't know how anyone could possibly improve on this famous children's bed time story, but the truth is that Jan has done exactly that. This childre...
Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
"Knock knock. Who's there? In this Arctic story, a shy Finnmark girl fends off lurking trolls with help from a traveling boy and his pet polar bear. An icy landscape shimmers under the northern lights while bright Scandinavian frocks and household items give the scenery a kicky dash of color." from Publishers Weekly
Who's That Knocking? Lesson Suggestions
- Social Studies
~ Study Norway: geography, people, culture, and more.
~ Helping others in need. Being a friend.
~ Cook and taste some Norweigan foods. - Science
~ Another chance to study animals! - Language Arts
~ Study types of writing such as fiction and non-fiction.
~ Discuss folklore, legends, and fables.
~ Read other legends and fables from Norway or other places.
~ Creative Writing: write your own fable or a version of an existing one.
~ Make a vocabulary and spelling list of new words from the book. - Art
~ Study all the art elements from Jan's creative artwork. Look for details in line, shape, color, form, expression, and so on.
~ Create an original border for the story and use it as a picture frame!
~ Make a drawing in the style of Jan's art.
Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
- All About "Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?"
- Read Jan's newsnotes on creating this colorful storybook!
- Bookmarks
- Print these out for your young readers!
- Borders
- These pictured borders would make a great bulletin board, mini book cover (for summary or other), lapbook cover, etc.
- Border Corner
- Use for bulletin boards or other creative ideas.
Jan Brett & Children's Literature Resources
Help all who visit here by sharing your favorite links for studying these materials. I would love to see your websites and blog entries about Jan Brett lessons! :)
Jan Brett World Tour Lapbook Unit Studies
Homeschool Share Units for Ukraine- The Mitten, Ca more...0 points
Jan Brett's Other Christmas Literature
Jan Brett's Snowy Treasury
"Jan Brett's fans count her "snowy" books set in irresistible winter landscapes among their favorites. Now they can own a beautiful edition containing four of her bestselling titles: Gingerbread Baby, The Mitten, The Hat and The Three Snow Bears, set in Switzerland, the Ukraine, Denmark and the Arctic, respectively."
Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury
A treasury full of Jan Brett favorites! Included are: The Mitten, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Trouble with Trolls, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Hat, Christmas Trolls, and The Night Before Christmas.
The Hat
"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." Amazon
Christmas Trolls
"Christmas is Treva's favorite time of the year. But this year, decorations and presents are mysteriously disappearing. When Treva follows a small creature making off with the Christmas pudding, she discovers two irresistible trolls who want to have Christmas, but don't understand it. Jan Brett's trademark luminous paintings give readers a magical Christmas full of surprises."
Trouble with Trolls
"Treva's trouble begins when she and her dog, Tuffi, go up Mount Baldy. She meets five white-haired trolls, all intent on taking Tuffi; they want a dog and have filled their underground burrow with the things such a pet would need. Quick-thinking Treva, using tactics worthy of Br'er Rabbit, convinces the trolls that her mittens, hat, sweater, etc., are much more important to her than a dog, but wins all her belongings back before she and Tuffi escape down the mountain. Obviously influenced by Scandinavian folklore, the story is appealing. With the fine details that have become her trademark, Brett tells two stories at the same time: the child's encounters with the trolls appear on the top three-fourths of each spread, and a cross-section of their abode occupies the bottom. A humorous subplot involves a curious hedgehog. Set against a wintery, snow-capped background, the saturated colors seem to jump off the page."
I love these books!
Please vote for your choice!
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Joyous Chistmas wishes to everyone!
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Reply
- theraggededge theraggededge Nov 8, 2009 @ 1:51 pm
- This is delightful... and gives me that lovely cosy Christmas feeling!
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Reply
- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Nov 8, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
- Another wonderful unit study. Thank you for adding it to the Lesson Plans Group.
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Reply
- Jimmie Jimmie Nov 3, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
- I do love Jan Brett! I spent many many hours reading The Mitten to my daughter. Good memories.
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Reply
- BevsPaper BevsPaper Oct 31, 2009 @ 5:30 pm
- Very nice lens about Jan Brett and her illustrations.
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Reply
- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Oct 31, 2009 @ 11:52 am
- So much to take in here. Jan Brett seems to have all kinds of goodies for me to check out. Nice lens!
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