The Star Whale

Colours explode off the pages, animals, birds, butterflies, prehistoric reptiles, vibrant, compelling, fill the eye through Petr Horácek’s art. Each spread draws the viewer in to swim through the galaxies with the star whale, enjoy a mandrill looking at itself, strut through the snow with a turkey – and more. What a gallery of images bold, immersive, gorgeous. But they do not stand alone. Bringing them to life are the poems by Nicola Davies. Crossing the natural world from pangolins to dinosaurs, butterflies to an ostrich, a galactic creature to a kingfisher, the poet’s words are as much a part of each spread as the image. Ranging from the lyrical to the humorous, from the sensuous to the rhythm of the popular song, angry, reflective – here are poems to attract a wide range of tastes and capture imaginations. The production values are impressive creating an object that is satisfying to hold, paper that is a pleasure to feel and pages to turn. The font is clear and bold, and even on few occasions stands out against a saturated colour background. This is a volume to explore, to excite, to open anywhere and start a journey through that spread – a journey beyond the physical pages, meeting the world through words and image; an inspiration of a book