By Brenda Winter Hansen
When my babies were toddlers, I spent a LOT of time in the picture book section of every library and bookstore I came across. While consuming between 5 and 500 picture books a day, I realized the world is filled with super cool creative artists who are probably having a lot of fun making kids happy. Of course, there are oodles of illustrators who we adore, but a few of our household favorites are brilliant stand-outs that I have to share, just in case you don’t know them already. Make sure you take a peek at their websites, which are gorgeous works of art in themselves.
Julie Paschkis has a bold style and a taste for contrasts. Her images catch you and draw you in for a closer look. She has a knack for drawing on historical and cultural context when creating illustrations that always deepen the experience of the story itself. Yellow Elephant: a Bright Beastiary, is a great example of how lush her work is. Every time we pour over the lovely poetry of the book, we see new details in her images. http://www.juliepaschkis.com/
The first time I read The Incredible Book Eating Boy aloud to my daughter, she insisted I read it again immediately. Handwritten text, collage, and cheeky humor are standards of Oliver Jeffers’s singular style which is as refreshing as it is endearing for kids and adults alike. His images are simple in presentation and rich in subtext, captivating the reader with the promise of a mystery to be solved. http://www.oliverjeffers.com 
With close to a hundred children’s books to her credit, Melissa Sweet is a living national treasury and her work is not to be missed. Her colors are pungent and magically luminous from within. In her hands, objects and creatures come alive on the page. She conveys a sense of wonder that children embody, but we older folk may lose on occasion. You can’t go wrong with any of her books, but I highly recommend the Life on Earth matching game (memory) illustrated by Melissa. I love playing with my daughter, just so I can look at the cards! http://melissasweet.net/
Dan Santat creates impeccable illustrations that I can’t get out of my head, and I love it. Whether it’s a picture book (Oh No!) or a graphic novel (Sidekicks), his images take you on an adventurous thrill ride that you want to relive over and over again. The humor Dan brings to the page elicits guffaws from the kids, and the tidbits he stashes for the adults are brilliant (Bawk & Roll). Young artists in the making will love his website which is chock full of his finished art, sketches, and doodles. http://www.dantat.com