Brett Helquist

Biography

I'm originally from a small town in Arizona that's surrounded by red dirt where there's not a whole lot to do. At a young age, I became a big fan of newspaper comic strips — "Alley Oop" was my favorite. I had to learn to use my imagination to keep myself occupied and I dreamed that I would one day create my own comic strips.

I was also interested in science. My family moved to Utah when I was 11 years old and that's where I discovered camping, fishing, and hiking. I wanted to become a scientist and figure out the world around me. I began college as an engineering major, but before long I realized that wasn't the right choice for me.

In order to figure things out, I took some time off and headed to Taiwan. While there, I stumbled into a job as a textbook illustrator and suddenly it was clear. I knew what I wanted to do. I returned to school a year later as an illustration major. As an artist I am always observing, trying to find the beautiful and amazing things around me.

Now I live in New York City with my wife. My illustrations have appeared in novels including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, picture books, magazines, and newspapers. I've also written books including Roger, the Jolly Pirate, which is about a lousy pirate who manages to save his ship from attack while baking a cake.

How I Draw, with Brett Helquist

Q&A with Brett Helquist

Teacher Store

The Teacher Store

Chasing Vermeer

by Blue Balliett and Brett Helquist

The world of art meets mystery and some rather artful detective work - all of which come together in these suspenseful and fast-paced stories - as a few friends attempt to crack puzzles and codes in time to save timeless creations from destruction.

Petra and Calder find themselves in the middle of an international art scandal. Can they use their intuition and knowledge of Vermeer to solve a case that has left the FBI baffled? "A wealth of quirky characters enrich the exciting, fast-paced

$7.99
Paperback Book | Grades 6-9

Chasing Vermeer

Grades 6-9 $7.99

Teacher Store

The Teacher Store

Chasing Vermeer: The Wright 3

by Blue Balliett and Brett Helquist

The world of art meets mystery and some rather artful detective work - all of which come together in these suspenseful and fast-paced stories - as a few friends attempt to crack puzzles and codes in time to save timeless creations from destruction.

When Calder and Petra's class attempts to save a Hyde Park landmark, eerie events are reported: voices float out from within, shadows shift behind the art-glass windows, even the roof moves! Suddenly, an art restoration project turns into a fr

$7.99
Paperback Book | Grades 6-9

Chasing Vermeer: The Wright 3

Grades 6-9 $7.99

ARTICLE	Milly and the Macy's Parade PDF Guide Use these 11 printables to support sharing the charming holiday picture book, Milly and the Macy's Parade in your classroom.

LESSON PLAN	The Princess and the Pizza Lesson Plan I use The Princess and the Pizza as part of a unit on "fractured fairy tales." Students enjoy hearing about the other related tales as they crop...

ONLINE ACTIVITY	Milly and the Macy's Parade Illustrated Book Report Students can use the book report maker to create and print their illustrated book reports.