Petr Horacek
Petr Horacek grew up in Prague in the Czech Republic. He always wanted to be an illustrator, but preferred to look at the pictures inside the books rather than to read them.
He studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Prague where he painted and drew for six years. Every autumn the teachers drove the students to the countryside where they left them for a few weeks (once even a few months!) to paint and draw the landscape. Since then he has adored the autumn. One day an English girl called Claire came into his studio and before he knew it, he was living in England. They are married now and he loves England.
His two daughters Tereza and Cecilia are the biggest inspiration for his work. He started to work on children’s books when Tereza was born. For his first books, Strawberries are Red and What is Black and White?, he received the Books for Children Newcomer Award 2001.
He likes doing novelty books best. He thinks it’s very exciting looking through the holes in the pages and seeing what will happen if I turn one more page!
