Honk, Honk! Baa, Baa! by Petr Horacek

Love this simple, straightforward lift-the-flap book. With the introduction of smaller and smaller barnyard animals, each page reduces in size (the flaps), until unexpectedly, the final spread utilizes all the previous cutaways to portray a cow. A fun surprise!

Of course Petr's art is fresh with a great, free pencil line, resist work, textured backgrounds, and splotches of bright color. All age totz will respond to this timeless board book.

HEE-HAW,
HEE-HAW,
says
the donkey.

Have fun sounding out each of the animals!

Honk, Honk! Baa, Baa!
by Petr Horacek
Candlewick Press, 2014

Animal Opposites: Petr Horacek

As a longtime fan of Petr Horacek, I'm happy to share his new Animal Opposites, a pop-up book.  The large format holds a collection of animals that is a surprising delight by comparison, all with the fresh looseness of Horacek's illustration.

A fat pig is paired with a thin meerkat. A still sloth hangs opposite a bouncy kangaroo. The flaps and pop-ups of various sizes are just extra bonuses in this beautiful collection. I think this work could actually stand alone as a board book. Maybe a consideration, Candlewick Press, for the smallest hands?

It is a book like this that makes me again wish for an award to recognize brilliance in the board book/novelty format. Joan and I made the call out in 2009, here. And we both decided The Kunhardt Award would be aptly named for Dorothy Kunhardt's Pat the Bunny. Animal Opposites would be a contender for certain!

Animal Opposites, a pop-up book
by Petr Horacek
Candlewick Press, 2013

One Spotted Giraffe: Petr Horacek

It's a season of pop-ups, it seems! One that stands out from the crowd is One Spotted Giraffe, A Counting Pop-up Book. Petr Horacek's illustrations of animals against simple backgrounds pop, engineering aside! Additionally, however, on each spread the illustrated animal is used to form a pop-up number under a flap. You'll love the panda making the number 8.

I particularly enjoy Petr's rough, free lines running throughout the illustrations. There's a palpable energy in the collages. Because he hasn't disguised his technique, your totz will be mesmerized by rich line, color, and shape as they count to 10 with a group of fun animals. It all starts with one spotted giraffe...

One Spotted Giraffe
by Petr Horacek
concept and paper engineering by Claire Vincent
Candlewick Press, 2012

Silly Suzy Goose: Petr Horacek

Suzy Goose may look like your average white goose with an orange bill and feet, but she has a big imagination. She can see the merits of being all sorts of other animals:

If I were a giraffe, I could S T R E T C H up high.

But she can see the merits of just being herself as well.

With cut-paper and collage illustrations which are pleasingly reminiscent of Eric Carle, this sturdy board book is filled with examples of animals and common action words and sounds associated with them. It's longer than average at 17 pages (32 spreads) and is suggested for ages 1 to 3.

Also see Lorie Ann's review of this book in her June 15th post. We reviewed the same book without realizing each other had chosen it. I think this speaks well for this book.

Silly Suzy Goose
Petr Horacek, author-illustrator
board book
Candlewick Press, 2006

~ reviewed by Joan Holub, author

Petr Horacek: Silly Suzy Goose

Suzy Goose doesn't like to be just like everybody else. Who does? Wouldn't it be great to flap like a bat, squawk like a toucan, or slide like a penguin? Suzy compares herself to animals throughout the world and finds she comes up short, repeatedly. Until she compares herself to a lion and discovers it might be helpful to appear just like every other goose!

Petr Horacek's text and illustrations for Silly Suzy Goose are fresh and delightful. The theme of wanting to stand apart is handled in a new way that will engage your totz through the various large type verbs and mixed media illustrations. From watercolor to collage, Suzy's story is brilliant in color. The plot is well-paced and varied compositions contribute to the fun beat.

I really enjoyed how Suzy incorporated her discoveries and experiences into her life and grew. All of this in a board book with wonderful humor! Enjoy Silly Suzy Goose!

Silly Suzy Goose
by Petr Horacek
Candlewick Press, 2009