As a boy growing up in Worcester, MA, Jarrett drew constantly. He was never without papers and pencils as he created characters and worlds for them to live in. In 9th grade, Jarrett saw his work in print for the first time when he won a contest with the local newspaper. Seeing his work published gave Jarrett a charge and furthered his passion to create. Jarrett later attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, where he obtained a BFA in illustration. Jarrett's professional career began just before leaving school in 1999, when he illustrated educational books for McGraw Hill. After graduation, Jarrett spent another of many wonderful summers working at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and in September moved to Boston, MA. He immediately began to send his work out to book publishers and in December landed his first two contracts for books he had written. On June 12, 2001 Jarrett saw his childhood dreams materialize when he walked into a bookstore and discreetly purchased a copy of his first published children's book, Good Night, Monkey Boy.
Currently, Jarrett is working on a number of book projects and teaches Illustration and Children's Book Illustration courses at the Montserrat College of Art. His books have landed on recommendation lists by Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, and The PBS Teachersource. In the March/April 2003 issue of Print magazine, Jarrett is featured as one of their 20 most promising new visual artists.
