For nearly a quartercentury, Jan Brett has been taking children away to colorful, faraway lands full of mythical creatures, cuddly animals and resourceful youngsters.

Youths have been getting lost in the intricate, intoxicating art by the Massachusetts author-illustrator, and that’s only appropriate, since she escapes in her drawings as well.

“It takes me away to another place,” said Brett, who will be visiting Reading Corner in Rockland from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. “I enjoy a great sense of discovery in the things I’ve drawn. I’ve been drawing since I was so little, and it gives me this peace I can’t get anywhere else.”

Brett’s latest book is “Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve?” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99). Set in Norway, it tells the story of a boy from that country’s far northern province of Finnmark, who is journeying with his pet ice bear to Oslo. He seeks and receives shelter in the home of a young girl who’s preparing the traditional Christmas Eve dinner. As has happened in the past, the house is invaded by hungry trolls. The littlest of these makes the mistake of waking the sleeping bear, which then chases them away.

Brett learned all the myths about trolls on a trip to Norway.

“Everyone talks about them like they really exist,” she explained by phone. “If the sun hits them, they burst. The number of knots in their tails tells how important each is. A troll mother will tie her children’s tails to her, then go about her business. That’s why they’re so dim, because they’ve been hitting their heads their entire life.”

Trolls are a favorite of hers. “Who’s That Knocking” marks the third time she has used the characters in her books.

“Trolls just pop off the page, and I can draw them,” she said. “It always starts with the illustration, then goes back to the writing.”

For much of her career, Brett, 52, has illustrated her own work or retold old stories. She prefers to work that way, as opposed to collaborating with a writer.

“It takes me about a year from research to the finished product,” she said. “So it’s my income for the year. Also, that would be another voice I don’t need to put in there. It’s much simpler to do it all myself. It gives me a sense of freedom and greater range.”

Still, Brett is an artist first, and writing doesn’t come easily to her.

“It’s very hard,” she said. “I want to stay really fresh, but I know what excites me, so I keep going back to the same topics. I guess that’s what we have editors for.”

Brett’s detailed, authentic illustrations begin with meticulous research, done on trips to the locations of her books, often accompanying her husband, Joseph Hearne, a bassist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

She tucks ideas for future stories in a mental notebook.

“There’s a lot of projects that are half-baked, and some that just need a few elements to complete,” she said. “I might think about an idea that fascinates me right before I go to sleep, or when I’m listening to music, or while I’m running.”

Children, quite naturally, are the protagonists of many of her stories.

“I love stories that have children figure things out on their own, rather than have an adult rescuer,” Brett said.

Brett’s dream of becoming an artist began when her grand uncle, illustrator Harold Brett, painted portraits of she and her sister Sophie. She went on to become an alumnus of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

As a tribute to Sophie and other teachers, Brett offers more than 2,000 pages of downloadable activities and projects on her Web site, janbrett.com, which has had more than 11.5 million visitors over the past six years.

“It’s a way of paying back,” Brett said. “Teachers are so wonderful that I want to help them. They’ll come to book signings and spend their own money on books for their students. I’ll tell them how I do it, so they can pass things on to children. The best thing [about the Web site] is that people can pick and choose. It’s a good meeting place.”

Brett urges students to keep their own secret book of ideas.

“I encourage children to get lost in their project, because it’s something apart from day-to-day things,” she said.

Her book signings, which often attract hundreds, are a good opportunity for the author-illustrator to keep in touch with children.

“Our own children are grown, and my grandkids live in New Mexico,” she said. “It’s a reality check. Children also have their finger out, pointing out something in the book. There are times when a book isn’t working that I get down. But when I see how they respond, I say, ‘Yeah, it’s really worth doing it.’ It’s really encouraging.”