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Absolutely Fine by Emma Chichester Clark

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 26 Mar 2026

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008492014

See also:
Polly Pecorino [ACHUKA Book of the Day 1 Sep 2021]
and her Blue Kangaroo books have been favourites in the ACHUKA household for, well, generations!

Emma Chichester Clark is one of our best and most distinctive children’s illustrators. Her work will last and last.

There are good days and there are bad days. Everybody has them. And when Maudie has a bad day, she heads to her house in the woods to be alone.

But when her friends keep coming over to see if she’s alright, she realises that sometimes it’s fine not to be absolutely fine.

This beautiful and moving new picture book will reassure children that good friends can help you through bad days.

You can follow Emma Chichester Clark on

The Strange House by Raymond Briggs (introduction by Chris Riddell)

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 8 Sep 20205

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A brand-new edition from Manderley Press (this description of the book is taken from their website) of two short stories for children by Raymond Briggs, set in and inspired by Wimbledon, where the author grew up.

See also from Manderley Press:
Tales of London Town [ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Dec 2024]

Manderley Press are thrilled to have re-published two of Raymond Briggs’ books for children – The Strange House and Midnight Adventure – in one beautiful new edition.

These stories were both written and illustrated by Raymond Briggs, and set in Wimbledon, South London, where he grew up. Briggs, who died in August 2022, was born in 1934, and is perhaps best known for his books Father Christmas and The Snowman (which was adapted into the hugely successful film of the same name).

However, his very first books, were created in the early 1960s: The Strange House and Midnight Adventure were published in 1961, and are charming, nostalgic and beautifully illustrated children’s books featuring, and inspired by, the landscape of Briggs’ youth.

Wimbledon itself is hardly mentioned, but both stories feature identifiable streets and landmarks throughout. In The Strange House, two young boys trespassing on a golf course discover a hidden brick tunnel leading to a mysterious large house. The golf course still exists and both the tunnel and the house are identifiable as historical features of Wimbledon Park…

The new edition reproduces Brigg’s original illustrations to perfection, and is wonderfully introduced by Chris Riddell, OBE, who was a former student of the author.

You can follow Manderley Press on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The House on the Canal: The Story of the House that Hid Anne Frank by Thomas Harding ill. Britta Teckentrup

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Jan 2025

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“Not naming the people and places in the narrative itself (though an opening note and detailed backmatter offer more information), Harding employs highly descriptive sensory language, heightening the emotions. Readers will emerge simultaneously awed by the passage of time and personally affected by the stories told. Teckentrup overlays her bright, exquisitely detailed sepia-toned depictions of the house and its environs with a misty haze; the results are hauntingly beautiful. Deeply moving, powerful, and breathtaking.” KIRKUS
“The work’s large horizontal format showcases mixed-media images that combine the feel of engravings and old photos with layers of translucent color and texture, creating a sense of incidents being summoned, connected, and pondered via collective memory.” Publishers Weekly

See also:
The House By The Lake [ACHUKA Book of the Day 22 Sep 2020]

Charting 400 years of history, this is the astonishing true story of the Anne Frank House, beautifully illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.

In the middle of Amsterdam, stands a tall, narrow house on a canal. Over four hundred years, it has quietly witnessed love, desperation, and historic change. Sometimes the narrow house was splendidly decorated, humming with life and love; other times, it stood empty, in near ruins. Sometimes the green door was open and inviting; other times, it was closed against cold and plague or to conceal the victims of wartime persecution.

The house’s last occupant, a young girl with a sweet smile, would famously document her time there. In her diary, Anne Frank wrote of “the old house on the canal,” and today people come from far and wide to visit what stands as a universal symbol of hope and resilience. Thomas Harding’s lyrical text and concise back matter reveal history through the changing face and fortunes of a remarkable structure.

Impeccably researched, Britta Teckentrup’s dreamy mixed-media collages, including a map and archival imagery, perfectly echo the layered narrative and capture the ethereal nature of time and circumstance.

You can follow Thomas Harding on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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and Britta Teckentrup too:

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Wolfgang and the Magic of Music by Didier Lévy ill. Lorenzo Sangio tr. Jill Phythian

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Dec 2024

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“Spare text translated from French and funny, carefully composed illustrations reminiscent of William Steig’s work combine for a charming tale… Funny, hopeful, and encouraging.” KIRKUS

This tale of an unlikely friendship, and the power of singing to bring everyone together is a strikingly illustrated ode to the power of music 

Wolfgang the Wolf dreams of starting a band. Without a second thought he places an advert, and to his great surprise Rex the Rabbit appears, a rocker with a fabulous voice. The Big Bads group was born. They are an immediate hit, and their fans come to listen from all over the forest. But Wolfgang’s wolfish taste for rabbits is never far away…

Lorenzo Sangiò is a graduate of the Brescia Academy of Fine Arts. He has illustrated numerous books, and has won several prizes for his work, including Illustrator of the Year, an award promoted by Città del Sole. You can follow him on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Cake for Everyone by Thé Tjong-Khing

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ACHUKA Picture Book of the Year 2024
ACHUKA Book of the Day 15 Jul 2024

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“Twists and turns abound, and sharp-eyed readers will delight in poring over all the possibilities and filling in the blanks. Even without words, the approach will appeal especially to more narrative-minded fans. A delicious tale that will reward attentive readers.” KIRKUS
“Pleasingly fragmented and comically cohesive, spreads rendered in fine lines follow the antics, making for a set of brain-teasing mini-quests that invite readers to consider who arrived first, what belonged to whom, and how they’ll all arrive at the titular conceit.” Publishers Weekly

A group of animals chase their stolen picnic in this wordless look-and-find adventure picture book full of intricate detail and comical storytelling.

Time for cake! But the eagle swipes up the blanket and flies away. The animals chase after to find all their stolen picnic things.

Thé Tjong-Khing’s visual storytelling slows us down and invites us to look more closely. Can you remember everything on the blanket? Hat, ball, doll, feather, cake? Who is hiding in the bush? What has the dog seen on the cliff? How will pig get back her sun umbrella? Why is the rabbit crying? And how can there be cake for everyone when the very hungry rat family has eaten it already?

Collect all the missing objects, find out who they belong to, and come back home for more cake in this cheerful, wordless look-and-find story that culminates in the delightful reward of sharing.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Thé Tjong-Khing is a prolific Dutch illustrator now in his nineties. He has illustrated over 300 children’s books and also been active in the comics industry (see the second video). He has won the Golden Pencil Award (a major Dutch children’s book award) three times and, in 2005, the Woutertje Pieterse Prize for Best Dutch Children’s Book for his book Waar is de taart? 

If you want to learn more about him and his work, I recommend this page. 

Here are two short videos about him and his work,

The Way to Sattin Shore by Philippa Pearce

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 20 Nov 2023

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Philippa Pearce was an exceptionally gifted writer. The Way To Sattin Shore deserves to be enjoyed by a new generation of readers and to be repositioned in the canon as one of her very best books.

Read why I think this novel deserves a more prominent place in Philippa Pearce’s canon…
[this link will take you to free-to-read article on Medium]

Kate never knew her dad, but that doesn’t stop her missing him. She often secretly visits the gravestone with his name on it. But when the gravestone disappears Kate has a mystery on her hands. She has to find out what has happened and as she delves deeper into her family’s past, she realizes that there are many secrets to uncover and that all the clues point to one place.

As Kate races to Sattin Shore her mind is a whirl of emotions: what she finds there will change the shape of her life for ever.

Adventuremice: Otter Chaos by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

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Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week 9 Apr 2023

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First title in a new series from the creative duo, Reeve&McIntyre.

Visit the online shop:

Meet Pedro. He’s tiny, but while looking for a BIG adventure he is rescued by the ADVENTUREMICE – a brave, determined team who keep all the Mouse Islands safe from harm.

Pedro’s dream is to show he’s heroic enough to join their ranks. And he soon gets the chance to prove himself, when a big scary otter starts causing trouble in the waters nearby.

Officer Clawsome: Lobster Cop – Officer Clawsome 1 by Brian “Smitty” Smith ill. Chris Giarrusso

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“Along with being as easy to read as the pithy dialogue, the bright, cleanly drawn scenes are stocked with hard-boiled marine characters of diverse color and species sporting theatrical grimaces, googly eyes, and human dress. Benthic buddies have a blast, and readers will too.” KIRKUS

A fast-paced and funny middle grade graphic novel series about the crimefighting duo Clawsome, a lobster, and his partner Stariana, a starfish, as they fight such denizens of the deep as the Catfishburglar, Chowderhead, and the Brain Sturgeon.

Crime doesn’t pay in Caper Cove with Officer Clawsome and his partner, Stariana, on the case. Just ask the notorious Catburglarfish-she’ll confirm. But when the beloved bakery Kelpy’s Kelpcakes goes missing and rumors begin swirling about shark sightings for the first time in a hundred years, the duo is about to find themselves claw-deep in a mystery for the ages.

Will this dynamic duo save the day yet again, or have the citizens of Caper Cove eaten their last Kelpcake…for good?

A Tricky Kind of Magic by Nigel Baines

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An action-packed graphic novel about finding magic when you need it the most.

Cooper is brilliant at magic tricks. Card tricks, clever illusions – he can do them all. His dad, also known as the Great Eduardo, taught him the tricks of the magical trade before he passed away. But the one thing Cooper can’t do is see his dad again.

So when a talking rabbit appears from his dad’s top hat, and reveals there is a place where Cooper might find him, he jumps at the chance. Magic is about believing the impossible, after all. And Cooper desperately wants to believe that he can see his dad once more.

But what – and who – is waiting for them in the land where magic goes wrong?

Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Retold by Elli Woollard, Illustrated by Marta Altes by Elli Woollard ill. Marta Altes

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A beautiful gift edition of Grimms’ Fairy Tales featuring five classic stories, charmingly retold in rhyming verse with stunning illustrations.

Bringing together the incredible talents of award-winning illustrator and Booktrust Time to Read favourite, Marta Altes and author and poet, Elli Woollard, this unique collection of Grimms’ Fairy Tales is a fresh and funny take on the iconic original tales by the brothers Grimm.

A perfect companion title to Aesop’s Fables and Just So Stories, retold by Elli Woollard, created by the same winning team.

Follow the illustrator on Instagram:

 

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