posted on 18 Aug 2022

The Perfect Present by Petr Horácek

This impressive picture books was enjoyed by my seven year old granddaughter who read it with me recently and reflected that it was ‘a very important story about imaginative friends with fantastic, colourful illustrations’. I must say that I agree wholeheartedly with her pithy assessment, but let me expand a little.

When I first saw the cheerful cover of the book by this internationally acclaimed illustrator, I immediately smiled. Who could not be encouraged by the two happy looking cats holding paws as they stand in the tall green grass with bright flowers set against a deep blue sky? There is a beautiful feather floating above the title which we wondered about and were fascinated to see appearing on the gorgeous end papers. So before even beginning the story itself, we were pulled into finding out about its significance.

The cats, Tom and Mot are best friends who share a birthday and want to celebrate by giving each other meaningful presents. We learn that the feather is one of these but that Tom would ideally love to give Mot the whole ‘most spectacular, colourful bird in the world’. Mot gives Tom a gorgeous multi-coloured marble which ‘could be the smallest planet in the universe.’

These leaps of imagination which follow each gift are what make the book so special. Each time, the reader is encouraged to think beyond the gift itself which gives it a lot of scope when using with children. What would be the best present you could give to your friend if you could?

I loved the way in which the illustrations dominate each double page spread with just a few lines of text. We spent a long time looking at the detail and thinking about how the illustrator managed to use such vivid colours. I think that he probably uses ink but we talked about how using coloured pencils, crayons or paints might have created a different effect - lots of opportunities for experimentation using different media with children.

The two friends talk about all the many possibilities of present giving to one another that includes an elephant, a tiger, a sea monster, forests, hills, rivers and the sun. Then they go out into the rain with a big rainbow umbrella to explore floating through the universe, riding a dinosaur, soaring through the air like birds and sailing the seven seas. The wonderful birthday continues with a big bubbly bath and a delicious looking cake. The final pages show them side by side in their stripey beds:

“Today was the best day ever,” 

                  Said Mot.

“Today was the best present

     In the world,” said Tom.

          “The perfect present”

 

I look forward to sharing this feel-good picture book with other young children.

Karen Argent

 

August 2022