Author & Illustrator Profile
Peter Sís
11 Books
Peter Sís is a Czech-born writer, illustrator, and filmmaker who creates highly detailed picture books. His published works include the Madlenka series, Komodo!, and Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued. He blends history, travel, imagination, and intricate visual art throughout his storytelling. His books invite readers to look closely at layered illustrations while exploring global and historical themes.
Bath time becomes prehistoric when a young boy’s imagination fills the tub with dinosaurs. One moment there is water and soap; the next, giant creatures seem to splash, stomp, and crowd into his ordinary bathroom.
Dinosaur! is a simple, playful picture book for children who love big creatures and make-believe adventures. Peter Sís takes a familiar daily routine and lets it expand into a dinosaur-filled fantasy, giving young readers the pleasure of seeing the impossible arrive in a place they know well.
With its clear premise and lively imagination, this book works especially well for early elementary readers who enjoy dinosaurs, pretend play, and stories where everyday moments turn unexpectedly wild.
6-8 Years
28 Pages
One scarf becomes a costume. One color becomes a spotlight. One little dancer turns an ordinary room into a stage.
In Ballerina!, a young girl dresses in different colors and imagines herself dancing before an audience. Each costume changes the mood of her play, inviting readers to notice movement, color, and the joyful confidence of pretending.
Peter Sís keeps the story simple and bright, making space for young readers to follow the girl’s imagination from one graceful moment to the next. This picture book is especially appealing for children who love dance, dress-up, performance, and the quiet magic of making a world from what is close at hand.
6-8 Years
Madlenka has news too exciting to keep inside: her tooth is loose. So she hurries around her New York City block to tell everyone she knows.
That one small walk becomes something much bigger. As Madlenka visits neighbors from different cultures, her familiar street opens into memories, foods, places, languages, and stories from around the world. A baker, shopkeepers, friends, and neighbors all help show that one city block can hold a whole world of experience.
Madlenka is a warm, beautifully illustrated picture book about community, growing up, and noticing the richness of the people around you. For young readers, it turns a loose tooth into a joyful journey through friendship, culture, and home.
6-8 Years
52 Pages
A boy plans to be a pirate, but one costume choice changes everything. When he dresses as Robinson Crusoe instead, teasing from his friends sends him into a dreamlike journey far from home.
In Robinson, Peter Sís blends a childhood memory with the spirit of a classic island adventure. The boy’s imagination carries him across the ocean to a lonely, beautiful wilderness, where fear, wonder, and independence all seem to grow at once. Reality and fantasy drift together in glowing illustrations that feel both grand and personal.
This picture book speaks to readers who love adventure stories but also know how deeply a friend’s words can sting. It is a thoughtful story about imagination, loneliness, courage, and finding your way back toward friendship.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
48 Pages
Jan Welzl leaves central Europe and heads toward the Far Far North, where snow, distance, danger, and possibility seem to stretch forever. His journey is part survival story, part legend, and part tribute to the people who help him learn how to live in the Arctic.
Peter Sís retells the story of this Czech folk hero with maps, panels, panoramas, and playful visual detail. The book mixes fact and tall tale, so readers meet Welzl not as a tidy textbook figure, but as an explorer whose life became larger through storytelling.
A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North is a richly illustrated adventure for readers who enjoy real places, wild journeys, and stories that sit somewhere between history and legend.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
48 Pages
Little Wolfgang does not just play the piano. He plays backward, blindfolded, and with the kind of energy that makes people stop and listen.
Play, Mozart, Play! introduces young readers to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a child musician whose talent filled his world with sound, attention, and performance. Peter Sís keeps the text simple and rhythmic, making the book feel light enough for younger readers while still offering a first glimpse of a real composer’s life.
This picture book is a gentle biography for children who love music, performance, or stories about remarkable kids. It celebrates listening, looking, imagining, and the joy of practice without turning Mozart’s childhood into a heavy history lesson.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
44 Pages
Some dragons do not breathe fire. Some live on an island, flick their tongues, and are very, very real.
In Komodo!, a boy who loves dragons travels with his parents to the Indonesian island of Komodo, hoping to see a Komodo dragon for himself. The story balances excitement and wonder with simple facts about these powerful reptiles, letting young readers feel the thrill of searching for an animal that seems almost mythical.
Peter Sís turns a real-world trip into a picture book adventure filled with curiosity, travel, and imagination. It is a strong fit for readers who love animals, reptiles, faraway places, and the idea that nature can be just as amazing as fantasy.
6-8 Years
32 Pages
Matt loves fire trucks so much that one morning he wakes up as one. Suddenly he has a driver, ladders, hoses, boots, and all the busy parts a fire truck needs.
Fire Truck turns a child’s favorite vehicle into a playful counting adventure. As Matt explores his surprising new form, young readers can follow the numbers from one through ten while enjoying the bold silliness of the idea.
Peter Sís keeps the story simple, energetic, and easy to follow, with just enough imagination to make counting feel like part of the fun. This picture book is a cheerful choice for children who love fire engines, rescue vehicles, numbers, and pretend play.
6-8 Years
28 Pages
Madlenka wants a dog more than anything. Her parents say no, but Madlenka has a leash, a city block full of friends, and an imagination that refuses to sit still.
As she walks her invisible dog around the neighborhood, each neighbor joins the game in a different way, remembering dogs from their own childhoods. The result is a playful trip around the block where pretend becomes wonderfully shared.
Madlenka’s Dog is a warm picture book about wishing, imagining, and making a community part of your play. With lift-up flaps and peek-through details, Peter Sís invites young readers to look closely and decide how real Madlenka’s dog might be.
6-8 Years
40 Pages
Summer is going well, and one boy wants his grandpa to know he is definitely keeping up with school. He is reading, practicing math, and studying history. Conveniently, nearly everything seems to involve ice cream.
Ice Cream Summer is a funny, sweet picture book told through a child’s enthusiastic summer report. Peter Sís turns the favorite frozen treat into a playful doorway to books, numbers, maps, and world history, all while keeping the tone light and deliciously silly.
Young readers will enjoy the joke that learning can appear in unexpected places, especially when ice cream is involved. It is a cheerful pick for summer reading, food-themed storytimes, and children who like clever picture books with a wink.
6-8 Years
40 Pages
The shadows are growing long, and it is time to look up. Perched high above the city, a gargoyle sits on the roof, watching the world below and sharing secrets you never imagined. This spooky yet delightfully funny poetry collection invites you to spend time with a wide variety of misunderstood monsters. Have you ever wondered what a vampire thinks about when it gets dark, or what gremlins do for fun? How about the bogeyman hiding quietly in the corner? Through clever rhymes and wonderfully eerie artwork, these famous creatures come to life in ways that will make you giggle rather than shiver. It is the perfect blend of chills and chuckles. Step into the darkness and discover the hilarious, hidden lives of the monsters who usually prefer to stay out of sight.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
40 Pages
