The Umbrella [Hardcover]

Jan Brett (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A walk through the Costa Rican cloud forest provides a wonderfully lush setting for Jan Brett's beloved animal illustrations. When Carlos drops his umbrella to climb a tree for a better view of the animals, they all cram into the banana-leaf umbrella as it floats by--from the little tree frog to the baby tapir to the big jaguar and more. It gets so crowded in the umbrella that there isn't even enough room for a little hummingbird! So over the umbrella tumbles, everyone falls out, and poor Carlos comes back wondering why he didn't see any animals all day.
In the spirit of Jan Brett's The Mitten and The Hat, this cheerful tale of escalation will have readers poring over every illustration for the world of details Jan packs in. With its classic story, exotic jungle setting, and brilliantly colorful menagerie, The Umbrella is sure to take its place among Jan's many family favorites.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jan Brett, well-loved for her ornate, Scandinavian-themed picture books takes her talents deep into the Monteverde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica. A tropical twist on The Mitten, this story chronicles the antics of myriad animals that make themselves right at home in the handcrafted leaf umbrella that Carlos has left at the foot of a giant fig tree. As the tree frog, toucan, kinkajou, tapir, quetzal, monkey, and more pile into the umbrella, Carlos, who is visiting the cloud forest expressly to see these animals, doesn't see a single one. Things heat up when the impulsive monkey hurls the umbrella into the river: "'¿Qué pasa? What is happening?' Froggy asks as water starts to pour into the umbrella." Jaguar jumps in, adding to the confusion, but it's the addition of the tiniest of hummingbirds that causes the big "KER-SPLASH!" Brett's gorgeous, detailed watercolor and gouache illustrations steal the show here, from the exquisite endpapers to the vine-encased leafy side panels that reveal the tree-climbing boy on the left side and a sneak preview of the next umbrella-dwelling animal on the right side. Not Brett's best-crafted story, but her fans will want this lush offering anyway. (Ages 5 to 8) --Karin Snelson

Did You Know?
Fun Facts about Jan Brett

Each book begins with the art first. Jan likes to listen to audiobooks while drawing--usually thrillers! Each book takes about a year to complete. The pages of each book are not created in sequence (she saves the front materials and endpapers for last). Each book is carefully researched--she created The Umbrella after a trip with her husband to Costa Rica. Jan prefers to use her memories of a place to create her art, rather than relying on pictures.

For Young Writers and Artists
Tips from Jan Brett

Want a reality check on your artwork? View your work in a mirror. Be honest with yourself, and get comfortable with personal and private writing. Write in a notebook that no one sees but you. Remember the things that happen to you now. It's okay to feel things strongly as a kid. You can use your emotions as part of the recipe for something later.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4–Young Carlos hopes to spot certain animals in the nearby rain forest but is disappointed when no living things appear. Dropping his umbrella made from leaves, he climbs a tree for a better view. Meanwhile, one by one all of the creatures the boy hoped to see settle into his umbrella, arguing over available space until the weight of a hummingbird tips the whole thing over. The story line, which mimics Brett's The Mitten (1989) and Pamela Allen's amusing Who Sank the Boat? (1983, both Putnam), is a trifle overambitious and seems to sink, like the umbrella, under the weight of its components. The animals lapse into Spanish often enough to perplex readers, since the words and phrases aren't always clearly translated. The text fails to improve on earlier versions of this tale. However, the watercolor-and-gouache illustrations are stunning. Lush vine-framed paintings show a leafy world where countless shades of green are illuminated by tropical flowers and exotic animals. Each spread provides an enticing glimpse of the creature that will appear next and thus an entertaining visual puzzle for children. Despite the narrative's weaknesses, this book can be used as an introduction to the rain forest, and the illustrations alone make it worth owning.–Susan Weitz, Spencer-Van Etten Schools, Spencer, NY
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (September 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399242155
• ISBN-13: 978-0399242151
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 10.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature

More About the Author

Jan Brett is the author of the New York Times bestselling Gingerbread Friends, The Three Snow Bears, and The Mitten, as well as many other classics. She lives in Norwell, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and fun., December 2, 2004

By 

Tina Heller "mytwocubs" (Warren, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Umbrella (Hardcover)

Both my 4 year old daughter and I love this book! The pictures are gorgeous, the unusual animals are beautiful and interesting and the simple story is alot of fun! I enjoy how the story builds up and then brings itself back around to a similar place from which it had begun. I love the frog's spanish text. I didn't think it was confusing at all as one editorial reviewer mentioned above. I am buying another copy as a Christmas present for my 8 year old niece. If your child is interested in animals and forests, as mine is, I'm sure he/she will enjoy this book.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imagination in a rain forest, August 6, 2008

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Umbrella (Hardcover)

(NOTE: This is my third in a series of reviews about rain forests by children's authors. My point is to show visually how divergent talent can be concerning the same topic--in this case, the rain forest, which needs to be protected and preserved. The other two books are Rain Forest (Kingfisher Voyages) and The Living Rain Forest. These three together would make a great teaching unit.)

Jan Brett is one of my favorite children's author/illustrators. Her work is so imaginative and vivid. "The Umbrella" is certainly no exception. Open to the first two full color pages and look for all the hidden and semi-hidden rain forest animals. You will meet them in the story.

Little Carlos tells his father on the first page he plans to go into the rain forest (cloud forest, he calls it) to spy a jaguar, a monkey, a toucan, a kinkajou, and a tapir. His umbrella is really one he made of broad leaves. His papa's farm is filled with domestic animals: cat, cows, goat, chickens. In a Jan Brett book, one must look at everything, because there is so much to see. The illustrations are lush and green--this is a rain forest!

Now, this is how a Jan Brett book is arranged: A scenario is to the left of the two-page spread and it introduces part of the story. In this case it is a close-up of the umbrella tossed to the ground. To the right is another advance of the story. The big picture shows Carlos about to climb a vine into the trees. The right picture contains a tree frog who jumps into the collecting water in the boat of the upturned umbrella. Here comes a toucan into the umbrella.

Remember the side stories? Carlos is climbing, here comes a kinkajou, who falls into the opened umbrella to join the frog and the toucan. Then a tapir, a butterfly, a quetzal, and, oh no, the monkey, who is always into mischief. Then the jaguar jumps in. The umbrella falls into the stream. All is a balancing act until the tiny hummingbird alights on the handle. That does it! The umbrella overturns and they all all out.

All the animals scatter as Carlos descends, closes the umbrella and returns home. He sets down the umbrella on his porch, froggy, who rode the distance, jumps in, and water drips from the roof into the umbrella. Froggy has his swim after all!

See? Jan Brett creates a story out of the lushness of a rain forest. The story is simple and fun, but full of the colors and animals of their natural habitat. It might be a story but then again, it might be a book of knowledge. Or magic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Umbrella, February 16, 2006

By 

Diana Bates "Teacha" (Rye, NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Umbrella (Hardcover)

Jan Brett captures the reader with a lovely story and her delightful artwork. She never disappoints her readers young and old. I teach second grade and used the book with a rainforest unit and the students loved it