GOLDILOCKS WANDERS WAY, WAY, UP NORTH FOR ARTIC 'BEARS'.

Byline: SANDRA BARRERA

>LA.COM 

Fifteen years ago, Jan Brett, a beloved children's book author and illustrator with more than 30 million books in print, published a version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

She had originally wanted to set the classic tale in the Arctic among polar bears, sled dogs and the Inuit. But Brett, 57, says she was stymied by the fact that igloos were so small.

Or so she thought.

"It wasn't until after seeing this wonderful film called 'The Fast Runner' that I realized there were a lot of possibilities that I hadn't known about," says Brett, whose new book, "The Three Snow Bears," tells the story of a young Inuit girl named Aloo-ki who lets herself into the empty igloo home of three polar bears and, well, you know the rest.

Why do you think Goldilocks resonates so much with you?

So much a part of literature is this idea of a conduit into another world. And that's just what Goldilocks is doing when she's exploring. She's curious, and that's what drives her. It also resonated because new experiences drive us as a human race, whether it's space or the ocean depth or the Arctic. We just want to see what it's like.

You did extensive research for this book, including traveling up north to the Arctic.

My husband, Joe, and I went to Bathen Island. It's so far, it's 4 1/2 hours flying by jet from Ottawa. The nearest tree is 1,000 miles from the place we went, which was 80 percent Inuit.

Why Bathen Island and not Alaska?

There was this Canadian government-sponsored art center there. It's a place where Inuit people can go if they have artistic talent and make art to make money in order to stay on the land where they've always been. They drive snowmobiles ... have little houses and their children go to school. They have satellite hookups so the kids watch television. But their traditions are still very strong and intact. The thing that they like to do most is go out on the land and hunt.

Did you sketch while you were up there?

We could hardly take pictures, it was so cold. The camera kept freezing. I used a lot of books, mostly on clothing, and I relied on my memory.

Was the Goldilocks character Aloo-ki modeled after somebody up there?

I know this sounds strange, but we went to a fashion show put on by this lady from Greenland. She makes things out of seal -- they're not squeamish about using fur up there at all. One of the models was an absolutely gorgeous Inuit girl, and I used her as my model, only I made her younger. But she had this really beautiful, expressive face.

So many of your books are in school libraries, as well as in children's libraries at home. How do you manage to keep them interested?

I guess that part of my life is very vivid to me. I don't really relate to teenagers very well, (but) I relate to kids. ... I think kids are the same as they were always. I'm just writing for my 6-year-old self.

Jan Brett will be in at Vroman's Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, at 5 p.m. Friday, discussing and signing copies of her new book, "The Three Snow Bears." For more information about the event, call [phone] or visit www.vromansbookstore.com.

Sandra Barrera [phone]

[e-mail]

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Author Jan Brett, inset left, is hitting the road to promote her new book, "The Three Snow Bears." She will be in Pasadena on Friday.