Spoiler alert! What you’re about to see are my favorite illustrations from some of the talented illustrators of the new Learn to Read. If you want to wait and see these illustrations in the book, I implore you to STOP READING NOW!

Okay, so you want to see some pretty pictures, do you? I don’t have enough words to describe the wonderful work that illustrators do, especially the illustrators that we worked with on Learn to Read. They took texts that were funny or touching or action-packed and added a rich visual world to create some books that I’m excited about.

Ethan Long, who you might know from such hilarious books as Tickle the Duck, illustrated the 1st Grade book, Chick-Chick the Ping-Pong Champ. That’s right we took this masterfully funny duck illustrator and asked him draw a chicken. It appears to be a smooth transition, wouldn’t you say?

For The Case of the Missing Sandwich, we wanted an illustrator who could portray a kid’s world with just the right amount of menace warranted by this curious mystery. I laugh every time I look at Mary Sullivan‘s illustrations, like this one where the main character is sure his dentist stole his sandwich.

The first of the Learn to Read books to be illustrated was Slim Sam, the woeful tale of a slim, slim slug who tries so hard to be seen. Everyone was very excited at the first glimpses of Lee Calderon‘s vibrant illustrations, the most memorable one being the moment when Sam gets mistaken for a piece of licorice.

The giant bunny in My Giant Bunny had to be loveable a huge, furry best friend. Illustrator Guy Francis gave us some serious cute overload.

Stay tuned for more illustrator love. In the meantime, please click on the artists’ names to look at the incredible work on their websites.