Sweet began her career in book illustration with James Howe’s Pinky and Rex series.[10] She has since illustrated nearly 100 books;[1][11] several of these she authored and for many more she collaborated with other writers. She illustrated three books for author Jen Bryant including, A River of Words, A Splash of Red, and The Right Word.[12]
Sweet conducts extensive research on the subjects of her biographies for children, which she illustrates with watercolor, mixed media, and collage.[13] In her books she said in an interview that she "likes to use every color on the color wheel..." and also that she's "...very big on complementary colors.". In the same interview she says that she took a color theory class, and she did not know how to mix colors, and as a result, used colors "...straight from the tube..." and in response, she said her teacher "...threw out 90 percent of my art supplies. He gave me this limited palette and showed me how to mix colors". Later in this same interview she revealed that watercolor is her favorite medium to illustrate with. She also said in this same interview that she was inspired to start writing and illustrating children's book by Maurice Sendak's Little Bear series, which she said gave her the confidence to believe that she could illustrate children's books.[14]
In Balloons over Broadway, Sweet describes her work process as "To create the art for the book, I began by making toys and puppets. I played with all sorts of materials, not knowing exactly what the outcomes would be.In addition to the watercolor illustrations, my collages are, in part, a mix of paper from old books to make paper-mache puppets, found objects, and fabrics, all painted or altered to illustrate what it may have felt like to be in Sarg's world. Some of the toys in my illustrations are based on ones from Tony's vast collection, but the actual toys in this book are the ones I made. On a few of the pages I even used Tony's illustrations from The Tony Sarg Marionette Book. I tried to keep in mind that in everything Sarg did,he conveyed the sense that he was having fun His legacy reminds me that “play” may be the most important element in making art!" [15]
Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White is a 176-page long biographical picture book that Sweet wrote and illustrated using watercolor and collage art. It includes excerpts from White's personal life, early drafts of his novels, family pictures, and other previously unpublished information on the writer. She received permission to use White's words from his granddaughter, the chief executor of his will, Martha White. Martha White not only gave Sweet her permission, she offered to help by allowing her to have access to the family's personal records, memorabilia, and photo albums of E. B. White.[16]
Fourteen books Sweet has illustrated are Junior Library Guild selections: Pinky and Rex and the School Play (1998),[35]Pinky and Rex and the Perfect Pumpkin (1998),[36]Leaving Vietnam (1999),[37]The Boy Who Drew Birds (2004),[38]A River of Words (2008),[39]Rubia and the Three Osos (2011),[40]Mrs. Harkness and the Panda (2012),[41]Spike, the Mixed-up Monster (2013),[42]Brave Girl (2013),[43]Firefly July (2014),[44]The Right Word (2014),[45]Baabwaa and Wooliam (2017),[46]Alphamaniacs (2020),[47] and Unbound (2021)[48]
In 2009, The Horn Book Magazine named The Sleepy Little Alphabet one of the best picture books of the year.[22]
The same year, The New York Times included A River of Words one of the top ten illustrated books of the year.[39]School Library Journal included in on their list of the year's best nonfiction books.[39]
In 2013, School Library Journal named Brave Girl one of the best nonfiction children's books of the year.[43]
The same year, Little Red Writing was named one of the best books of the year by School Library Journal andKirkus Reviews.
The same year, The Horn Book Magazine[22] and School Library Journal[45] named The Right Word one of the best nonfiction children's books of the year. Kirkus Reviews,[51]The New York Times,[45] and Publishers Weekly[50] named it one of the best picture books of the year.
In 2017, Publishers Weekly named Baabwaa and Wooliam one of the best picture books of the year.[52]
In 2019, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Included How to Read a Book in their list of the best children's poetry books of the year.[53]
In 2020, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books included Alphamaniacs in their list of the best children's poetry books of the year.[49]
^Hillenbrand, Will. "Playing with Pieces." Artist's Magazine 31, no. 1, 56. Accessed March 29, 2018.
^Melissa Sweet, Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade (New York, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 2011), p. 34
^Corbett, Sue. "Illuminating the life of E.B. White: using watercolors, collages, letters, and photos, Melissa Sweet portrays a titan of children's literature." Publishers Weekly, July 18, 2016, 28+. Biography in Context (accessed March 20, 2018).
