“A truly engaging format for historical adventurers of all ages….This is ideal as a gift.” — School Library Journal

Sarah Sax grew up in St. Louis on Uncle Scrooge and Sailor Moon comics. She studied storytelling and sequential imagery at Hampshire College and worked in education and gaming in the Bay Area before starting her publishing journey. She is the illustrator of the first three books (Escape This Book: Titanic; Escape this Book: Tombs of Egypt; and Escape This Book: Race to the Moon) in the inventive, interactive Escape This Book series, which has been translated into eight languages. Picture Day, her first of four graphic novels in the Brinkley Yearbook series, was published in June 2023. Tryouts, the next graphic novel in the series came out in May of 2024. School Dance will be released in August of 2025. Sarah lives and works in Portland, Maine with her husband and a small menagerie of pets.

Sarah's Featured Titles

School Dance: (A Graphic Novel) (The Brinkley Yearbooks)

Knopf Books for Young Readers |
Graphic Novel

Get ready to brave the most intimidating event of all time—the middle school dance—easier said than done for Milo, who is convinced he can’t dance because he’s cursed. Another yearbook-worthy graphic novel from the creator of the Brinkley Yearbook series and bestselling Picture Day!

Milo wants to get excited for the school dance, but he can’t—because he’s cursed. Every time he tries to dance, something goes horribly wrong. Like at his cousin’s wedding, when he tripped into the cake… Or on Halloween, when he nearly got a concussion after an ill-timed wipeout…

His best friends, Al and Viv, are determined to help Milo break the curse—and find the confidence to enjoy the dance. And they’re not alone, because Milo’s abuela, a legendary dancer, is moving in. Abuela knows Milo has what it takes to follow in her—literal—footsteps.

But with several new mishaps in his way, does Milo have any chance of putting his best foot forward?

Readers won’t want to miss this next installment in the Brinkley Yearbooks series that’s all about finding your footing, your confience, and yourself!

Look for the whole Brinkley Yearbooks series:
PICTURE DAY • TRYOUTS • SCHOOL DANCE

Tryouts: (A Graphic Novel) (The Brinkley Yearbooks)

Knopf Books for Young Readers |
Graphic Novel

It’s warm up time in this newest installment in the Brinkley Yearbook series. Will Alexandra make the cut and help the historically boys baseball team defend their 9-year championship title?

Alexandra, also known as Al, has been playing baseball with her older brothers for as long as she can remember. But when she ages out of Little League, it seems like it’s the end of the road for Al and the sport she loves. Until, that is, her friend Sammy suggests that Al try out for the middle school team—a team that has always been boys-only.

Al is prepared to fight for her right to try out, but to her surprise, the coach is delighted by her interest. When Al makes the team, it seems like everything is going to work out. But with a tenth consecutive championship on the line for Brinkley Middle School and a team that can’t seem to get along, will their season ground out faster than Al can say “home run”?

Picture Day (The Brinkley Yearbooks)

Knopf Books for Young Readers |
Middle Grade

Everyone knows the most stressful day of middle school is picture day! And that’s exactly where this yearbook-worthy graphic novel series opener begins: with reinventing yourself, drama, popularity, and the friends who see you through.

Seventh-grader Viv never looks forward to picture day. It’s just another day where she wears a boring braid and no one notices her. (Her two best friends, Milo and Al, don’t count, of course.)

But enough is enough. This year, she’s taking matters into her own hands. Literally. Viv grabs a pair of scissors, her phone for live-streaming, and, well, bye-bye braid.

Suddenly Viv is an over-night influencer at Brinkley Middle School. Everyone wants her help planning their next big moment—from haircuts, to dance proposals, activist rallies and mathlete championships. She hardly even has time for her friends anymore. It’s exactly how she dreamed of reinventing herself…right?

In the tradition of modern classics like Vera Brosgol’s Be Prepared, Svetlana Chmakova’s Awkward, and Kayla Miller’s ClickPicture Day brings answers to perennial questions of what it means to be true to yourself—and a true friend.

Escape This Book! Race To The Moon

Random House Books for Young Readers |
Middle Reader Book

Part activity book, part adventure novel, The Escape This Book series makes YOU the star of history! Doodle, decide, and demolish your way through the Apollo 11 Moon landing–the perfect book for fun and educational reading!

Reader beware! This book is filled with adventure that is out of this world! You will have three chances to join the space program and help the Apollo missions reach the moon!

Flight Director: You’re the boss at Mission Control! Can you make split second decisions to keep the astronauts safe on their trip to the moon?

Flight Commander: You’re the astronaut in charge on the spacecraft. You’ll face problems as big as an explosion on the ship and as small as what to eat in space!

Moon Buggy Driver: You get to explore the moon’s surface…if you can safely land on its surface first!

In the Escape This Book series, YOU are the star of history! In this third book, you’ll complete challenges similar to what the astronauts faced on Apollo 11 and 13 and get to meet famous NASA employees like Neil Armstrong and Katherine Johnson! Don’t be afraid to rip or fold a page. Your mission might depend on it!

Escape This Book! Tombs Of Egypt

Random House Books for Young Readers |
Middle Reader Book

Activity book meets adventure in this series that is Choose Your Own Adventure meets I Survived meets doodle book! Doodle, decide, and demolish your way out of history’s greatest events!

Reader, beware! Once you open this book, there is NO turning back. You will have THREE chances to escape this ancient Egyptian tomb. You must choose a path first:

Pharaoh: Want to be the top ruler of ancient Egypt? Choose this path and become one of history’s greatest pharaohs.

Pyramid worker: You’ve built some of the world’s most amazing monuments. Will that help you escape before being turned into a mummy?

Archaeologist: You make incredible discoveries, and you’re about to enter an ancient, hidden tomb . . . but can you discover a way out?

In the Escape This Book! series, YOU are the star of history! Doodle your way through adventures as you decide the best path for survival. Don’t be afraid to rip or fold a page . . . your escape may depend on it! Looking for another escape? Don’t miss Escape This Book! Titanic.

Escape This Book! Titanic

Random House Books for Young Readers |
Middle Reader Book

Activity book meets adventure in this series that is Choose Your Own Adventure meets I Survived meets doodle book! Doodle, decide, and demolish your way out of history’s greatest events!

Reader, beware! Once you open this book, there is no turning back. You will have three chances to survive the Titanic‘s fateful voyage. Decide which path to take first.

Passenger: Exploring the ship is fun! Just don’t get caught on the wrong deck when there’s an iceberg ahead!

Crew Member: You work for a family in first class. Can you persuade them to save you along with their beloved dog?

Stowaway: You snuck onto this ship. Can you draw your way onto a lifeboat?

In the Escape This Book! series, YOU are the star of history! Doodle your way through adventures as you decide the best path for survival. Don’t be afraid to rip or fold a page. . . . Your escape may depend on it!

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Creating Takes Courage - How I Make Writing Less Scary and More Fun!

This talk covers Sarah’s journey from a kid who loved to draw and read comics into an adult who still loved comics but wasn’t sure she could tell her own stories. Sarah will share how she developed the creative confidence to tackle her inner critic and start writing. Focusing on her work in the Brinkley Yearbooks series (PICTURE DAY and TRYOUTS) Sarah will share the improvisational technique she uses to develop her graphic novels via an interactive drawing demonstration. Time will be reserved for an audience Q&A.

Audience Size: Any from small group to large assembly
Ages: Grades 4th-6th

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Facing the Fear of the Blank Page

Based on her own creative practices, Sarah will lead a class through a series of interactive creative exercises designed to give you a starting place when you just don’t have any “good” ideas. We will then discuss how those concepts can be applied beyond making art or telling stories.

Audience Size: Classroom-sized groups
Ages: Grades 4th-6th

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Making Comics Beyond the Panels

Sarah will share her comics making process and the tools she uses to build a sustainable comics and art-making career. The talk will cover the practical elements used to make comics (digital/physical tools, process and workflow, workspace building) to the more abstract skills that are important to a long-term career in the arts (project planning, timeline estimation, receiving feedback, communication skills). Great for art classrooms and/or classrooms studying graphic novels.

Audience Size: Classroom-sized groups
Ages: Grades 5th and up

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Imagining History in Escape This Book!

In this presentation, Sarah walks through the process of creating the illustrations for the Escape This Book! series using visual examples from Titanic, Tombs of Egypt and Race to the Moon. This presentation covers the illustration process from initial sketch to creating the final art with an emphasis on drawing inspiration from historical sources and creating engaging art that encourages creativity and invites readers to play along.

Audience Size: Any from small group to large assembly
Ages: Grades 3rd-5th

Sarah’s Portfolio

Honors, Awards & Recognition

2025 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List
2024 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List
Junior Library Guild Selection 2024
Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review from The Horn Book

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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