Sarah Jacoby: Wondering Aloud

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, I’m Sarah Jacoby. 

I’m a picture-book maker. I live in Philadelphia with my family. I have one son and he is five years old. I’ve made a bunch of books, both written and illustrated. The most recent book I made was Doris, the story of a horse who is in the process of breaking free from a few things. I’m excited to tell you about Everything Is Fine, a book that will be out in the fall. It was written by Michelle Sumovich and it’s so funny. It’s a fairytale about a tired mom who mistakes her daughter for a plate of spaghetti. Relatable, no?

What did you use to do during recess?

I’ve always liked having a few tight friends or being by myself. Same was true growing up. I have memories of recess time at a large school in first, second, and third grade. Losing myself in imaginative worlds was (and still is) my favorite thing. I recall having a best friend (Hi Catherine). We would make worlds together underneath a tree that was on the edge of the grounds. I don’t recall exactly what we imagined or what we made, though it was generally about magic and sorcery. I remember the feeling of being deeply absorbed into whatever we were thinking of.  When we inevitably played house with other kids I recall preferring to be the dog. 

I also remember that there was a recess guard-not a teacher, just a fellow who would watch over us. Mr. M. He had false teeth and would take them out and freak out all the kids so much. I remember thinking he was friendly and funny, but also possibly a true monster.

Tell us about a day in your life, how do you fit in creative moments?

I live in Philadelphia with my husband, my son, and our dog. Here is our most typical weekday: Wake up. Wake up the kid, start making coffee, wake up kid again, breakfast. Put on clothes. Take off clothes. Put on clothes. Shoes? Where are the shoes? Take off socks. Put a sock on the dog. Put leash on the dog, put clothes on the kid. Am I wearing clothes that are not 100% pajamas? Ok, walk a few blocks to school. Dash home, finish coffee while shuffling papers around at my desk deciding whether to follow my to do list or not. Then I find something to listen to and try to do my most creative thing first: painting, drawing, imagining a story. I try to do that for as long as I can, then I take a break to run and have a snack. The afternoon is reserved for admin/teaching stuff until I have to go pick up the kid. 

The afternoon and evening are 100% kid/dinner oriented. 

I work at night sometimes, depending if there is a deadline looming or if I’m particularly inspired to do something. I try not to do this so much because it steals energy from my next day.

I don’t need to shoehorn in creative moments, usually, because I work “full time” as a picture-book maker. I used scare quotes there because I am also the primary caretaker and “full time” can feel relative a lot. 

I think, I hope, I live holistically creatively. I try to be playful and light hearted with my relationships. It’s not always possible, but it’s more possible than I believe it can be sometimes, since I only have one kid, a supportive partner and a pretty well behaved dog.

There’s some energetic leeway. That’s not always the case with folks.

What mothers inspire you?

I like mothers who like things and ideas. Folks who are open to growth in some way. I always like folks who make things because I can ask them dorky questions like “How did you apply that slip glaze to that particularly shaped bowl you’re working on in ceramics class?” I appreciate anyone who’s curious about stuff and is willing to wonder aloud about things. I’m not a huge fan of fussiness or arbitrary societal expectations. Though I can appreciate standards.

How does art enrich your life? How does being a mother enrich your art?

I was hesitant to become a mother for a long time. I was anxious about being consumed by young motherhood. I didn’t anticipate the extreme feelings of open heartedness that accompanies being a mother. People tell you about it of course, but experiencing it has been life altering. It has made me more sensitive (if that’s possible), empathetic, and patient (sometimes) with people. It has also made me quite conscious about the preciousness of my time and energy which has been a good thing for me. I work well within limitations. 

Creatively enriches my life totally. I exist from one piece of craft to the next. I dream about my own art, I listen to lots of music and stories, I watch endless amounts of television and film, I listen to comedians talk about their craft, I play imagination games with the kid. I do not know who I would be without this stuff. A pile of bones? An engineer.

What do you hope your kids will learn about creativity from you?

I hope my kid will be able to harness creativity in a way that will empower them towards a full sense of self while being in true communication with the world around them. Trickier said than done. 

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Sarah Jacoby is the award-winning author and illustrator of such picture books as Doris, So Much Snow, Can I Sit with You?, Rabbit and Motorbike, The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, and Forever or a Day. Her work is mostly book-oriented these days, though she has worked with folks like The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Sarah’s work is evocative and delightfully unexpected, playful and effortlessly profound. Her work is characterized by a deeply felt empathy, a keenly observant eye, and an intuitive ability to capture and convey what it means to think, feel, and be in this world as a human. 

She lives and works in a little row home in Philadelphia. Yes, she has a dog that looks like a muppet; his name is Walt. He’s a grump but enjoys poetry so that tells you he’s not unkind.

If you want to see this kind of thing from the comfort of your living room please find her on Instagram @sjacobee. You can also find her on Substack at:

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