 When Numeroff began her career she served as her own illustrator; her first 9 books were both written and illustrated by Numeroff herself.Since her editor chose Felicia Bond to illustrate Numeroff's "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book, she has not illustrated another book.When asked about her earlier endeavors into illustrations during an interview, she mentioned that though she loves drawing, she decided her "strength was in writing and not in illustration" and said "I don't think I would illustrate a whole book anymore at this point".