Jessie Hartland author page

Jessie Hartland biography

Jessie Hartland writes and illustrates nonfiction books for young readers. Her books include Our Flag Was Still There: The True Story of Mary Pickersgill and the Star-Spangled Banner, a 48-page picture book published by A Paula Wiseman Book/Beach Lane Books on 21 May 2019. She was both the author and illustrator of that book, which tells the story of Mary Pickersgill and the flag that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Hartland wrote and illustrated Steve Jobs: Insanely Great, a graphic biography of the Apple innovator. The book was published in ebook form on 21 July 2015 and in a 240-page paperback edition on 11 October 2016. It was published by Schwartz & Wade in its 2015 edition and by Anne Schwartz Books in its 2016 paperback edition.

Hartland also created Bon Appétit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child, a children’s biography of Julia Child released on 8 May 2012 by Schwartz & Wade/Random. Her illustration work includes Harlem Grown, written by Tony Hillery, and The High-Flying, Deep-Diving Adventures of Kathy Sullivan: Astronaut and Oceanographer, written by Diane Stanley.

Her wider illustration career has included murals for a Japanese amusement park, Christmas window designs for Bloomingdale’s, drawings for magazines and newspapers, and designs used on ceramics and watches. Our Flag Was Still There was named a Bank Street Best Book of the Year.