The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate is an enduring story by Joy Cowley that was first published as a school reader in 1984. Gecko Press published a picture book edition illustrated by Sarah Davis in 2010. In 2024, Japanese publisher Tokuma Shoten commissioned Miho Satake to create illustrations to go alongside their Japanese text.
And now the book has a third life in English with Miho Satake’s new drawings meeting Joy Cowley’s English text for the first time.
Miho Satake is a highly regarded artist and illustrator known for illustrating the Japanese editions of classic children’s books including Diana Wynne Jones and anniversary editions of the Harry Potter series.
We asked about her approach to illustrating this book and her process.
Creative process—an ocean on every spread
For this book, I needed to paint the ocean on almost every spread. I used a combination of watercolour and coloured ink for the blue. I made sure to apply an even wash when painting a calm sea and kept in mind the vast distance between the shore and the horizon. The water is shallow under the jetty, but dauntingly deep far out at sea.
For the stormy oceans, on the other hand, I used techniques such as blurring, layering, and adding ink lines.
For the underwater scenes, I paid particular attention to illustrating the water’s surface and the white crests on the waves seen from below—a view I remember from childhood when I almost drowned in the ocean.
Another experience I drew on was riding on a boat without a stabilizer in the open sea. My memory of that rough water helped me paint the huge waves.
Did you look at the earlier illustrations for this story before creating your own?
No, I created my illustrations without looking at the original book.
What was your inspiration for the characters?
I got my inspiration from the illustrations of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson when designing the pirate.
I drew the character of the little woman on the jetty by imagining the type of person that can hold her own against the pirate.
What visual clues do you include to show the change in the fierce little woman?
When living alone, the woman fiercely knits tons of blue and green socks. When she begins knitting for her family, I gradually added warmer colours to the balls of wool.
I also paid attention to the scene where the pirate approaches the house on the jetty. Instead of knocking on the door, he goes around to the window and starts “tap-tap-tapping,” a sound that coveys his character very well, as does the way he stays quiet for a whole hour after being rejected. I made the expressions on their faces more relaxed and gentle once they became a family to convey the comfort of having someone by their side.
I was also careful to make their eyes meet at their first encounter and in the scene where the pirate proposes in order to capture the spark of attraction they feel for each other.
Can we peek inside your studio?
Roughs and sketches for The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate
The text and numbers handwritten on this illustration show the ink and markers used. In this case, COPIC and MEPXY (brush) markers and coloured inks Dr. ph. Martin and ECOLINE (liquid watercolour).
These roughs show character sketches and work in progress.
The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate by Joy Cowley and Miho Satake is an enduring tale of independence and family. It’s an unconventional love story with a strong female lead and a pirate with a sensitive side.
It is also available in te reo Māori, translated by Karena Kelly.
