Exclusive: Sesame Street illustrated tribute book Sunny Day to publish this fall

In time for Sesame Street’s 50th anniversary, Random House Children’s Books will publish Sunny Day, an illustrated book paying tribute to the series’ iconic song of the same name, EW can announce exclusively.

Inspired by the lines of the song written by Joe Raposo with Bruce Hart and Jon Stone, Sunny Day features the artwork of award-winning picture-book illustrators. Each spread features a different artist’s interpretation of the lyrics, resulting in a unique tribute to Sesame Street and the generations of children who have loved the show. Contributors include Ziyue Chen, Joe Mathieu, Tom Lichtenheld, Sean Qualls, Selina Alko, Emily Winfield Martin, Joey Chou, Kenard Pak, Rafael López, Pat Cummings, Brigette Barrager, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Leo Espinosa, Mike Curato, Greg Pizzoli, and Dan Santat. Christian Robinson, the Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of Last Stop on Market Street, is behind the jacket art, which you can see exclusively at the top of this post.

“As Sesame Street’s original and oldest publishing partner, it feels fitting to celebrate this remarkable milestone with the publication of Sunny Day, a book that encapsulates the spirit of hope and joy that fans have come to associate with Sesame Street, Mallory Loehr, senior vice president and publishing director of Random House Books for Young Readers Group, said in a statement. “Readers young and old who open this book will hear the iconic theme play in their heads as they enjoy the striking art created by an incredible group of illustrators.”

EW can exclusively debut a few gorgeous spreads from below. Check them out. Sunny Day publishes Oct. 22 and is available for pre-order.

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