Sarah grew up in London. During her teenage years she was asked by a family friend to draw their house as a memento as they were moving away. By word of mouth she was soon receiving similar commissions and ended up drawing many of the fine houses in North London. She studied at Chelsea school of Art and Brighton University where she graduated with a degree in Illustration. On leaving art school she started working for many of the architectural, beauty, home and financial magazines based in London. As a result of this exposure she went on to work with top design and advertising groups and has enjoyed a great variety of commissions from prestigious clients and opportunities to travel around the world. A notable job came from London Underground to create a permanent installation of eighteen full height panels lining the platforms at Shadwell Station on The East London Line. Her reportage illustrations portray the richness of The East End, from pubs, market stalls and tenement blocks to majestic tall ships, and Hawksmoor Churches. In recent years Sarah has also been working on Children’s Books. Walker Books in London, have published two books, both written and illustrated by Sarah as well as the ‘Bonnie’ series of reading books which she has illustrated, written by Bel Mooney. Knopf at Random House in New York have published three of Sarah’s picture books written by respected American authors. She gives talks and workshops to schools and libraries about her work and has book signings at children’s bookshops. Sarah lives in London with her family. She is represented by The Artworks Illustration Agency in London and Heflin Reps in New York.

Candlewick Press arrived on the scene with some of the highest-quality picture books anywhere. And in the years since then, our offerings have grown to encompass all ages, from board books to e-books, high-end novelty to cutting-edge fiction. What hasn't changed is our goal of excellence, our model of independence, and our commitment to the authors and illustrators who create our books and the readers who love them. Two decades and more than 2,000 awards and accolades later, we are as committed as ever to independent thinking and primed for a future that looks brighter than ever.

The 1943 born Northern Ireland native started writing children's books when he was a teacher in his thirties, with the aim of helping out students who had trouble reading. But he continued writing for a more-personal reason: "the act of imagining simply makes me feel good," he says. The fifty-seventh book of Sam McBratney's career, and his first book with Candlewick Press, was the much-loved GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, which has sold an astonishing 15 million copies worldwide, and is available in 37 languages. "This is not the sort of thing you expect when most of your books have been remaindered," the author admits. "But, as the frog trapped in the milk discovered, if you keep going, sometimes you find yourself walking on cream cheese." Where does Sam McBratney get his inspiration? "I told my children stories when they were young," he says, "so when I write I try to think of what they would have liked." But there may be another source guiding his writing as well. The author's father—who worked as a type compositor with the BELFAST TELEGRAPH, and whose favorite books were westerns—is the person Sam McBratney credits for giving him his love of the English language. "Most of my picture books—GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, JUST ONE!, and JUST YOU AND ME—explore the relationship between a big one and a wee one," the author notes. "The big one is not called the father in the stories, but that's what he is. Although my dad died before I became a writer, the father in my stories has a voice and a presence that he would have recognized and understood." In addition to authoring many books for children, Sam McBratney wrote radio plays for adults and a prize-winning collection of short stories. He received a degree in history and political science from Trinity College, Dublin, and worked for many years as a teacher.