Barbara Reid (born November 16, 1957) is a Canadian illustrator and author of children's books. She has been called "one of Canada's major literary figures". She was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Ontario College of Art. She began her career creating illustrations for textbooks. She creates her illustrations by starting with a pencil drawing. She then builds up the image using coloured modelling clay to give it a three-dimensional effect. The result is then photographed and used as an illustration.