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Petr Horácek

Petr Horácek was born on 30th June 1967 in Czechoslovakia. He grew up on the outskirts of Prague.

From the age of 15-19 Petr studied at the High School of Art in Prague. The school specialised mainly in design.

From age 19 Peter worked in a state design studio for two years.

He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Art in Prague from 1988. Petr graduated as a Master of Fine Art in 1994.
As a student Petr met his English wife Claire and in1995 they moved to England.

Petr started to write and illustrate books soon after his first child was born. The first books ‘Strawberries are Red’ and ‘What is Black and White?’ were published in 2001 and he received the Books For Children Newcomer Award in the same year.

Since then Petr has written and illustrated many books for children. In the UK he is mainly published by Walker Books and his books are translated into many languages. Petr has won awards for his books in Britain, USA and Holland.

He lives in Worcester, England.

Awards

The Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 - Shortlisted: Shortlisted for The Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 for ‘A First Book of Animals’, published by Walker Books.

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The Kate Greenaway Medal 2002 - Shortlisted: Shortlisted for The Kate Greenaway Medal 2002 for ‘Puffin Peter’ published by Walker Books.
The Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2005 - Shortlisted: Shortlisted for The Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2015 for ‘The Mouse Who Ate the Moon’, published by Walker Books.
The Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2006 - Shortlisted: Shortlisted for The Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2006 for ‘The Mouse Who Reached the Sky’, published by Walker Books.
Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2017 - Shortlisted: Shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2017 for ‘A First Book of Animals’, published by Walker Books.
Washington Post Book World Best Children’s Books of the Year 2006 (USA): Winner of the Washington Post Book World Best Children’s Books of the Year 2006 for Silly Suzy Goose, published by Candelwick.
Child Magazine's Best Children's Book Award (USA): Winner of Child Magazine’s Best Children’s Book Award for three titles: ‘Silly Suzy Goose’, ‘Bird, Fly High’ and ‘Run Mouse Run’ all published by Candlewick.
"Parent's" Best Book of the Year 2013: Winner of the best “Parent’s” Book of the Year Award 2013 for ‘Animal Opposites’, published by Candlewick.
Sheffield Children's Book Award 2017 - Toddlers Category: Winner of the Sheffield Children’s Book Award 2017 - best toddler book for ‘The Greedy Goat’, published by Walker Books.
Dutch Picture Book of the Year 2020: Dutch Picture Book of the Year 2020 awarded to ‘Grumpy Duck’, written by Joyce Dunbar, published by Walker Books.

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Reviews

"Horácek’s style is bold, funny and bright" - Book Trust: “A delightful collection of action-filled pages; the illustrations fit the text perfectly and will greatly entertain young readers, while introducing new vocabulary for actions and sounds. Horácek’s style is bold, funny and bright and the design uses fonts in a highly original and appropriate way. A splendid book for babies.” Book Trust for ‘Silly Suzy Goose’

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