She is recognised as "a staunch advocate of promoting Australian animals and surrounds in an era when the majority of children's books were imported from England".

[1] Her picture books appealed for their lively, bright illustrations and "irresistible",[2] "infectious",[3] stories (several in rhyme), which used line and words economically and effectively.

[4][9][10] She married artist John Roy Eldershaw in about 1950;[9] they had one daughter, and lived at Narrabeen, in Sydney's Northern Beaches area.

[13] When her marriage ended, MacIntyre took other jobs,[4] including working in the display section of department store David Jones.

But we would not have it otherwise for Ambrose in his blue trousers and wearing a suggestion of a yellow hat between his enormous ears bids fair to captivate a very young audience.

One featured George, "a studious little boy who wanted to learn all about Australia",[9] published in Melbourne; Annabelle, published in the Australian Women's Weekly, a "gay, irresponsible, exasperating, far-from-perfect secretary ... [who] you can't help liking";[25] and Mother, a weekly cartoon in another women's magazine,[26] whose "hardships and experiences are mainly autobiographical", according to MacIntyre.

[15] MacIntyre visited a sheep station near Coolac, New South Wales to make sketches for Willie's Woollies, in which she also showed processing in woollen mills and garment manufacturing.

[32] The illustrations and text had previously appeared in strip form in The Age newspaper's children's section; colour was added to the drawings for the book.

[33] Reviewers thought it excellent,[34] "[i]nstructive as well as amusing ... [with] most expressive drawings";[35] "done gaily and simply with colored pictures and a minimum of words.

[37] Jane Likes Pictures was inspired by MacIntyre's daughter's interest in art, and her friends who firstly found her odd, and then joined her in drawing.

"[42] Another wrote, "The jingles are so musical you almost want to sing them",[43] and another suggested that the "delightful picture book in rhyme ... lends itself best to reading aloud.

Elisabeth MacIntyre supports a thinnish story about Mr. Koala Bear with infectious rhyming couplets and her usual sparkling drawings".

[3] MacIntyre illustrated two children's books written by other authors, Three Cheers for Piggy Grunter by Noreen Shelley (1959), and The Story House by Ruth Fenner (1960), both published in Australia by Angus & Robertson.

"[31] Both Hugh's Zoo (1964) and The Affable, Amiable Bulldozer Man (1965) had messages about the conservation of Australian native flora and fauna.

[49][50] A Times Literary Supplement reviewer considered it "up to [MacIntyre's] usual high standard in being entertaining, factually based and thoroughly sensible".

[53] In The Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times, reviewers approved of the award, saying that it was "well deserved .... intelligent and highly entertaining",[50] and noting that the "[v]ocabulary is not of the sieved-apple-and custard variety, but grown-up here and there; children of all ages lick their lips over new words.

[54] Kathleen Commins in The Sydney Morning Herald thought it was "sensitively told ... [with] some appreciative and gentle ridicule of the kind of places that would replace the forest.

"[54] A US reviewer, however, while recognising that destruction of forest and habitat occurred in the US as in Australia, found "the rhymes .. facile, the pictures amusing but ordinary.

[58] One reviewer thought that, "[a]lthough .. a sympathetic interpretation of a small boy's problems and aspirations, at times the theme seems contrived for a didactic purpose.

School Library Journal wrote "This treatment of hearing impairment shows that, given enough clichés, any problem can be solved", and suggested other novels which offered "believable characters, credible plots, and honest representations of the implications of this handicap.

[67] MacIntyre also wrote radio serials[14][31] and contributed articles[4] about her travels, craft ideas, etc., to publications such as The Bulletin[68] and the Australian Women's Weekly.