I have been drawing as long as I can remember. In school I drew pictures for my book reports, on math assignments, on anything I could find. (This did not go over well with my teachers.) I am the youngest of three children, and my sister and brother were very smart. I did not do as well as they did in math or reading, but I was the best at drawing. My parents called me "the artist."
So began my young career. I created posters, yearbook covers, and anything that needed art. I studied art at the University of Colorado and worked in Hawaiian fabric design in Honolulu during the summers.
After graduation I had piles of art and no job. I had pictures of bears in sneakers, rhinos in ties, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. I was told that my work looked like it belonged in a children's book. What a fine idea!
So I went off to visit book publishers in 1978 and was offered my first book contract. Creating children's books was a perfect fit.
Now I make books full-time. The world of children's books gives me an outlet for my zany pictures, a supportive family of editors and staff to help me, and a way to reach children and excite them about reading.
I enjoy illustrating stories by other authors as well as writing my own stories and retelling old tales in a contemporary way. When I receive a manuscript, like The Gates of the Wind, by Kathryn Lasky, I get a glimpse into the author's world. I then have the responsibility to add pictures to the words. I decide what the characters look like, what their houses look like, and what everything else looks like. The book is a marriage of two personalities, the author's and mine.
When I am both the author and illustrator, I create my own vision. I run wild with ideas and have total freedom with the words and the pictures. My editor is much like your teacher; she helps and guides me through the process.
In the end what you see is my view of the tale. When I draw characters, I like to exaggerate their personalities - notice the very sleepy bear and the very energetic hare in Tops & Bottoms. I include the things I love to draw: wing tip shoes, funny clothes, and the furniture in my own house.
My books have changed since the birth of my two children. Lindsay and Blake are good critics and help me make decisions about my books. It is important for me to remember that these books are for children. My own kids help me keep that in perspective.
Each book is an opportunity and a challenge. A new book offers me a chance to expand and try something new. The process is both difficult and exciting - sometimes a struggle, sometimes fun. Most important is to create books that children want to read. This is the real joy of bookmaking.

Janet Stevens was born in Texas and grew up in such exciting places as Italy and Hawaii. She received her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Colorado and began her career designing fabric for Hawaiian shirts. She is the author and illustrator of Tops & Bottoms (Harcourt Brace, 1995), which was named a Caldecott Honor Book and an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. It also received the National Parenting Publications Gold Award and a Parents' Choice Honor Award and was named a Booklist Editors' Choice. Tops & Bottoms received the 1996 Colorado Book Award presented by the Colorado Center for the Book for the best books written by Colorado authors. Tops & Bottoms has been translated into four languages. The most recent book Janet Stevens illustrated, The Gates of the Wind by Kathryn Lasky (Harcourt Brace, 1995), was also named an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. Ms. Stevens's How the Manx Cat Lost Its Tail (Harcourt Brace 1990) was named an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Harcourt Brace, 1987) was an NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies and received a Parents' Choice Award. Her books have won many state awards voted on by young readers. Janet Stevens lives with her husband and two children in Boulder, Colorado.
 copyright Harcourt Brace & Company, photo credit Ted Habermann

Click Here for the complete Janet Stevens Book List.