Margot Apple is best known for her collaboration with Nancy Shaw on the Sheep in a Jeep series (Houghton Mifflin). But her favorite books are the one’s that she both wrote and illustrated such as Blanket (Houghton Mifflin) and Brave Martha (Houghton Mifflin). She is always thinking of ideas for more stories to illustrate. There are ideas involving horses (of which she has three), cats (she has seven), people, and magic… no sheep!

Margot grew up in inner city Detroit, Michigan, where she dreamed of having horses. She and her best friend spent hours riding their stick horses playing that they were on the range or in the forest in the vacant lots in their neighborhood. As a child, Margot was often sad about living in Detroit… she wanted to live on a farm and have dogs and horses. All grown up, Margot now has her animals and incorporates them into her illustrations. She has illustrated over 50 books for young readers.

Margot doesn’t remember when she first started drawing. “It was just something I always did. I have no brothers or sisters, so I think my drawing kept me company.” Her parents encouraged her artistic talents by sending her to art classes for children and then to Cass Technical High School, where she studied commercial art. Following high school, Margot went on to get her art degree at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

After graduating, Margot freelanced in graphic arts and illustration. She has illustrated a little of everything—from text books to children’s magazines like Cricket and Ladybug.

With the success of the Sheep series, Margot has enjoyed illustrating many more popular books for children, including Just Like My Dad (Boyds Mills Press), Appaloosa Zebra (Greenwillow), and The Name Quilt (Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux).

Margot lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband hand her menagerie.

Download a photo of Margot Apple.

Books by Margot Apple