Sarah Wade author page

Sarah Wade biography

Sarah Wade is a British freelance designer and children’s book illustrator whose work includes picture books, activity books, colouring books and novelty titles. She began her career designing gift wrap and stationery for International Greetings and UK Greetings, producing work for retailers including WHSmith, John Lewis and Boots. Following a four-month artist’s residency in northern Italy in 2007, where she painted ceramics and Venetian masks, she became a freelance illustrator.

Wade has illustrated more than 50 children’s titles, with publishers including Macmillan, Usborne, Reader’s Digest and Buster Books, an imprint of Michael O’Mara Books. Her commercial design work has also included textiles, wallpaper, ceramics and jewellery.

Her children’s colouring books include I Heart Gold Colouring (2016), created with Lizzie Preston and Chellie Carroll, and I Heart Colouring Christmas (2016), alongside Lizzie Preston and Emily Twomey. She also contributed to I Heart Koalas and I Heart Rainbows, both produced with Lizzie Preston.

Wade illustrated Mindful Colouring for Kids (2021), written by Josephine Southon and published by Buster Books. Part of the Buster Wellbeing series, the book contains more than 30 illustrations, including animals and natural landscapes, accompanied by short mindfulness activities. Her other publications include I Love Caticorns and Other Magical Mashups Colouring Book and I Love Pugicorns and Other Amazing Mashups.

She also created Mindful Colouring by Numbers for Kids, which combines numbered colouring activities with short exercises encouraging children to focus on their surroundings and senses. The 64-page book contains more than 40 illustrations and was published by Buster Books on 1 September 2022.