— CLIENT

University of Canterbury

— PUBLISHER

Ministry of Education (NZ)

— RELEASE YEAR

2021-2026

Ready to Read Phonics Plus is a phonetic reading series developed by the University of Canterbury for New Zealand’s Ministry of Education. Created with the NZ educational context in mind, the series utilizes engaging themes and vibrant illustrations to support primary teachers in delivering structured literacy instruction to young school-aged children.

I was approached to develop character designs and illustrate the stories for the Realistic Fiction titles from the project’s inception. Following the pilot roll-out, teacher surveys have highlighted high levels of student motivation, with children connecting to the characters and stories.



To date, I have illustrated over 50 published titles distributed to classrooms across the country, creating a recurring cast of characters that students across New Zealand now recognise and enjoy at the start of their literacy journeys.