In this article, the author contends that no book is "too hard" for first graders when they read the story by "reading" the illustrations. If illustrators do their job correctly, a reader should be able to follow the story in a picture book without using the words. She has found this lesson to be particularly successful when presented early in the year, before the "non-readers" in the class have been identified. The activity should be approached in a non-competitive manner in order to build students' confidence.