Catherine Reishus McLaughlin

Catherine Reishus McLaughlin (born December 31, 1960) is an American illustrator of children's books. Her work has won several honors, including the 1991 Golden Kite Award for Sleep Sound in Jesus: Gentle Lullabies for Little Ones and Inspirational Devotions for Parents.


McLaughlin was born in California in 1960. She attended from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned a BFA in painting, and the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned an MAT in art education. She has illustrating children's books since 1985. In 1985 she began her professional journey as an illustrator for Black Enterprise, Parents Magazine, and many periodicals Beyond her early magazine work, she became a prolific illustrator for children's books and devotional materials. For instance, she is credited as the illustrator for Family Time Story Devotions (1992).

Her illustrations for Sleep Sound in Jesus: Gentle Lullabies for Little Ones and Inspirational Devotions for Parents won her the 1991 Golden Kite Award for picture book illustration. She is married, has two daughters and lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

. Sleep Sound in Jesus: Gentle Lullabies for Little Ones and Inspirational Devotions for Parents, written by the Caldecott Honoree Michael Card (Harvest House, 1990)

. The Gift of Dove, written by Betty Hager (Zondervan, 1991)

. Family Time Story Devotions, written by Eldon Weisheit (Augsburg, 1992)

. Tell me about Heaven-- I Think I'm Forgetting, written by Janet Clowes-Johnson (Ideals, 1998)

. The Shepherd (self-illustrated) (B&H Publishing Group, 2002)

. The Fog, written by T.J. Canova (Harcourt, 2005)

. Slaegten Reishus: A Collection of Stories and Information about the Descendants of Sondre and Ragnild, written by Ida Bell, Catherine Reishus-McLaughlin, Ted Odlaug, Lyn Drathring, and Jim McFarlane (Unpublished, 2021)

. The Northbound Train: A Story of the Great Migration, written by Leslie Johnson Piotrowski (Abrams, 2027)