Illustrator and writer Sarah McIntyre is easy to spot in her pointy glasses, hats and brightly-patterned dresses. Early in her career, she made comics and illustrated books for authors such as Giles Andreae, Alan MacDonald, Gillian Rogerson, Anne Cottringer and Claire Freedman. She then began writing and illustrating picture books herself, including the Grumpycorn books, There’s a Shark in the Bath, and Dinosaur Firefighters. She met author Philip Reeve at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2010 and they published their first book together, Oliver and the Seawigs, and Sarah wore a six-foot-tall wig for the launch on the Golden Hinde ship:
Seawigs launch photos by Dannie Price for Blast Photo
They so enjoyed working together that they created a second book, Cakes in Space, and surprised many festivals and schools with their shiny space suits:
Cakes in Space – photo by Sarah Reeve
Their next book launch was Pugs of the Frozen North, which they celebrated with a big London Pug Walk:
Photo by Dannie Price
They so enjoyed working together that they went on to create six more books, including four about Kevin the Roly-Poly Flying Pony. During Covid Lockdown, Sarah amused herself by painting pictures of her model ship collection, adding little mice as sailors. The original art and cards sold so well, and Sarah had so much fun with the little mice characters that she asked Philip if he’d help her turn them into a series of books, which have become ADVENTUREMICE. These books have their own website – Adventuremice.com – so explore it for lots of free resources, activities, drawing videos and Teacher Packs.
For all their Reeve & McIntyre books, Philip and Sarah work as co-authors: they both brainstorm the story ideas together, then Philip does most of the writing, but comes back to Sarah for more ideas. Then Philip helps Sarah with the rough-draft pencil versions of the illustrations before Sarah creates the final ink and watercolour artwork.
Sarah and her husband Stuart used to live in London, but now they live in Bovey Tracey, not far from where Philip and Sarah Reeve live in Devon. Often on their Dartmoor hikes, the co-authors will work out some of the details of their next Adventuremice story.
They’re thrilled to have a new bookshop in town (located inside Grace & Favour Home), First Draft Books, if you’d like to buy books through them and support her local independent.)
Sarah and Stuart run an online shop for original artwork, cards, prints (and occasionally other things), if you’d like to check it out! But they don’t usually sell books or signed books directly, preferring to support booksellers, particularly independent bookshops. (If you come along to their events, they’d be happy to sign books you might bring along.)
You can follow Sarah on Twitter/X, on YouTube, Facebook and on Instagram . and on her blog. (There’s also a joint Reeve & McIntyre Facebook page.)
Find out more in the FAQs section of the website.
Here are some extra links, if you’d like to keep scrolling!
Learn how to draw a Sea Monkey with Sarah in this four-video Booktrust series on how to lead a Comics Jam session in the classroom. And read further on how to use it in the classroom here on her blog.
Here’s her TEDx talk, How to grow by embracing our mistakes:
If you’re a fan of illustration, find out about the #PicturesMeanBusiness campaign Sarah launched in 2015, showing how everyone benefits when illustrators are properly credited for their work: picturesmeanbusiness.com The website was heroically designed and funded by Exeter-based illustrator Soni Speight!
Link to Guardian article by Alison Flood, another by Kat Brown in the Telegraph
Download free library posters to print in various sizes and formats, created originally for #SaveLibraries marches:
Sarah’s an Ambassador for a charity called Read for Good, which helps schools to run fundraising Readathons. Most of the money the kids raise goes into buying clean, new books and book trolleys for children in hospital, and 20% of if it goes back into buying books for their school libraries. Find out more about it on their website.
Sarah’s books have won several awards, including:
* Alligator’s Mouth Award 2024 – Best Illustrated Early Fiction for Adventuremice: Otter Chaos
* The Independent Bookshop Week children’s award 2016 – Pugs of the Frozen North, with Philip Reeve
* UKLA Book Award 2015 – Oliver and the Seawigs, with Philip Reeve
* Lancashire Fantastic Book Award – Oliver and the Seawigs, with Philip Reeve
* Prix Enfantasie 2015 (Switzerland) – Oliver and the Seawigs, translated into French by Raphaële Eschenbrenner
* The Leeds Graphic Novel Award 2011 (now called The Young People’s Comic Award) – Vern and Lettuce
* The Bishop’s Stortford Picture Book Award 2010 – Morris the Mankiest Monster, with Giles Andreae
* The Sheffield Children’s Book Award, Overall Winner 2010 – Morris the Mankiest Monster, with Giles Andreae
Interview with Irish Children’s Book Laureate PJ Lynch (and learn how to draw a PUG):
Interview with Dan Berry on Make It Then Tell podcast:
Here’s a video of Sarah with her former studio mate, Gary Northfield, on Irish telly:
And another blast from the past! Here’s Sarah’s first visit with her husband Stuart to visit the Reeve family on Dartmoor. Many years later, she and Stuart moved to Devon!
(Also see our ‘Meet the Creators‘ video from Oliver and the Seawigs.)