Her text is actually an understated guide to the detailed exuberance of the pictures in such titles as Subway Mouse and Picture A Tree.

Barbara is a visual writer, so much so that the words seem to leave the lines and become enmeshed in the art. What stands out in her books is the brilliant integration of text and illustration. All across Canada, when children spot the familiar Plasticine technique, they enthusiastically say, ‘Look! It’s Barbara Reid!’ She is a trail-blazer in the development of manipulative art, and her sophisticated Plasticine illustrations capture the imagination of readers from four to ninety-four. Published initially in both English and French, she has now been published in over 19 countries. Her work, 28 books to date, has received critical acclaim both nationally and internationally. “Barbara Reid is recognized as one of Canada’s major literary figures. Her books have been published in Canada, The USA, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Finland, Norway, China, Germany, Brazil, Korea, and Thailand. Most recently, she received Amelia Frances Howard Gibbon Award for Perfect Snow. Christie’s Book award, and the Elizabeth Cleaver Award. The Party, which she wrote and illustrated, won the Governor General’s Award for Illustration Fox Walked Alone was named to the IBBY International Honour List and was a Blue Spruce Award selection. More than twenty books later, other awards include the UNICEF Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, the Mr. After working for a variety of clients, she illustrated her first picture book in Plasticine. The New Baby Calf, by Edith Newlin Chase, was shortlisted for the Canada Council Prize for Illustration.

She graduated from OCAD in 1980 and began work as a freelance illustrator.

At the Ontario College of Art and Design she focused on illustration, and it was for a class assignment that she first experimented with Plasticine to make a dimensional picture. Barbara Reid was born in 1957 in Toronto, Ontario, and has lived there ever since.

The Subway Mouse by Barbara Reid