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Seven Babies by Forest Xiao

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 19 Sep 2026
Winner Klaus Flugge Award 2026

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781529532807

“A sweet, rambunctious celebration of babyhood that begs for repeated readings.” KIRKUS
“Delightfully silly, Xiao’s picture book brings out the bliss and exhaustion that come with caring for little bundles of joy. A picture book within the story featuring seven peas is a humorous parallel to the babies as they stand together like a pod of their own, dressed in saturated yellow onesies adorned with playful patterns—from zigzag Z’s to cheerful polka dots—subtly hinting at each child’s distinct personality. The minimal text and soft, natural-toned backgrounds, painted in light washes of gouache and pencil, highlight the couple’s easygoing, carefree lifestyle, and their interactions with the babies are marked by a deep sense of patience and attentiveness, whether they are on the playground or doing the laundry together. A double-page spread with the couple alongside friends of all ages conveys their collective appreciation for the wonder and tenderness that infants bring into their lives. ” MUSE
“The babies’ expressive round faces recall Helen Oxenbury ’s drawings, but Xiao’s art has a zingier colour palette and a wildness of its own. It’s one of the cutest, and perhaps best, picture book portrayals of new parenthood that I’ve ever read” The Observer
“Xiao’s delightful debut, exploring the everyday chaos that comes with having a baby in your life, has a similar look (and as much warmth) as Helen Oxenbury’s A First Book for Babies series.” The Bookseller

Forest Xiao says:

“My sketchbooks from that time are full of babies – playgroups, children’s centres, playgrounds, parks, and all sorts of kids’ activities. They became a visual database for me. 90% of what the babies do in the book is inspired by real baby life.

For me, becoming a new parent has been the most unpredictable journey I have ever been on. It is a season of vulnerability, growth, and shifting identity—an ongoing lesson that is teaching me to be present, to embrace the beautiful chaos, and to accept my own limitations. It often feels impossible to balance it all: a constant see-saw between family life and my creative ambitions. And out of that came Seven Babies.

It is a celebration of the discoveries, the busyness, and the exhaustion of new parenthood —and a celebration of these all-powerful, magical little humans who change our lives forever.”

In this joyful and heartwarming debut picture book, Forest Xiao captures all the chaos, comedy and love that come with having a new baby in the family and then …multiplies it by SEVEN! Follow seven busy babies as they crawl, dribble, cry, chew, explore, play and turn everyday life upside down in the most delightful ways.

Perfect for sharing with babies, toddlers, this charming story celebrates family life, sibling relationships and the wonder of early childhood through Forest Xiao’s bold, graphic illustrations and irresistible visual humour. Packed with funny details and expressive characters, it’s a book families will enjoy reading time again and again.

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See all the books that reached the prize shortlist this year:
https://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/2026-klaus-flugge-prize-the-shortlist/

A Home Is A Nest by Emma Carlisle

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Mar 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

See also:
Time Runs Like A River [ ACHUKA Book of the Day 17 Jul 2024]
What Do You See When You Look At A Tree? [ ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Jan 2023]

A beautiful gift book, exploring the concept of ‘homes’ and ‘family’ in nature, from the cosiness of winter dens, to the arrival of spring and bird’s first flight. Drawing parallels between the way animals care for their babies to how humans look after their own, the book is made for snuggling and sharing, with a gentle narrative that’s perfect to read aloud at bedtime.

A perfect gift for those entering the precious early days of parenthood.

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Amazing Baby by Alison Brown

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 27 Jan 2025

Waterstones
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Huggy babies,
buggy babies,
ones who love to play…

What a delight in every way — in its rhyming and in its entertaining illustrations — this picture book is!
It is everything the publisher claims for it.

A pitch-perfect rhyming celebration of babies, and all the magic, mischief and heartwarming moments a newborn brings.

Amazing babies are EVERYWHERE!

Babies can be sleepy, noisy, adventurous, cuddly and so much more – and though they can be hard work, there’s nothing better than seeing them grow.

The perfect gift to share with new parents.

You can follow Alison Brown on

Baby Faces: Little Lamb, Where Are You? (Board book) by Ekaterina Trukhan

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ACHUKA Boy of the Day 11 Jan 2024

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Let your baby find their face in this new lift-the-flap board book with a mirror on every page.

Babies love mirrors and this new series of board books aims to enhance early mirror play. Featuring large card flaps which are easy for even the smallest hands to grab.

There are currently seven books in the series, all by Ekaterina Trukhan.

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The Midnight Babies by Isabel Greenberg

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An ACHUKA Book of the Year 2023
ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Jul 2023

Waterstones
Amazon
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These are the can't-sleep babies,
the won't-sleep babies, the itchy-feet babies,
the just-one-more-story-please-babies.

ACHUKA *L*O*V*E*S* this book!

“Greenberg’s affectedly faux naïve presentation gives the children’s perceptions of reality an enchanting quality, with a carefully selected colour palette emphasising the nocturnal magic of the lands they journey through. Finishing with a beautifully cyclical twist The Midnight Babies is the kind of book that parents will undoubtedly love reading to kids, especially given the melodious rhythm of Greenberg’s accompanying words.” Andy Oliver, Broken Frontier

On Instagram, the picture book creator describes her own book thus: “Follow a gang of naughty babies as they escape their cots and head out on an adventure to defy the evil forces of sleep! Nothing will stop them, not lullabies, not stories and certainly not cuddles. Sleeping is cheating! Good night? Dream on!”

Isabel Greenberg turns bedtime on its head with a hilarious, delightful odyssey.

The babies have come from far and wide, crawling and walking and toddling and tumbling. These are the can’t-sleep babies, the won’t-sleep babies, the itchy-feet babies, the just-one-more-story-please babies.”Sleep! Sleep! Anywhere but Sleep!!!” sing the babies. And the quest of the Midnight Babies begins.

In an epic quest to stay awake, the Midnight Babies must overcome sleepy temptation: battling the forces of Slumberland, venturing through the Forest of Nightlights and the Sea of Stories, voyaging through the Garden of Lullabies to the Rockabye River, and even through the dreaded Land of Nodoff. But can they resist their greatest challenge: the Cuddle?

The illustrations were made with Palomino Blacking pencils then digitally coloured.

Isabel Greenberg is a London based illustrator and writer and the author of three graphic novels — The Encylopedia Of Early Earth (2015), The One Hundred Nights Of Hero (2017) and Glass Town (2020).

She studied illustration at the University of Brighton and has an MA in animation from the Royal College of Art. Follow her on :

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Bluey: Baby Race – Bluey

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 21 Mar 2023

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ACHUKA is a huge fan of the Australian hit children’s TV series, Bluey.

Here, in picture book format, Mum tells Bluey a lovely baby story – about how Bluey first learned to walk!

Baby Bluey could roll, shuffle and even crawl backwards… but Mum was worried that she was never going to learn how to walk.

A story about how we all grow up in different ways.

Babies, Babies Everywhere! by Mary Hoffman ill. Ros Asquith

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 19 Jul 2021

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“Little ones, perhaps new big brothers and sisters, will cuddle with a loving grown-up and find comfort and reassurance here.” KIRKUS

A really joyful book from a top author-illustrator team tracing the milestones of babies’ first twelve months – sleeping, crying, laughing, looking, gurgling, eating crawling… and at last toddling.

The book has delightful endpapers and is expertly designed throughout – a real treasure.
The creators note, underneath their dedications: “This book talks about the first year in babies’ lives, but not all babies do the same things at the same age. Mary (who never did master balancing) and Ros (who didn’t’t walk  till she was eighteen months old).”

Follow five families and their babies from birth to around 12 months, with all the excitements, challenges and joys of that first year with a new baby in the world. With lots to look at and point to, this diverse and inclusive celebration of babies will be loved by babies, older siblings and grown-ups too!

 

Give babies iPads: they’ll learn faster than with books

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from The Bookseller’s report about this:

Annette Karmiloff-Smith, who is professorial research fellow at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck University, told the Sunday Times that parents should give their children tablets as soon as they are born. “They learn so fast on tablets… It is shocking how fast they learn, even faster than adults to do things like scroll up and down text,” she said.

“Books are static,” Karmiloff-Smith continued. “When you observe babies with books, all they are interested in is the sound of the pages turning. Their visual system at that age is attracted by movement. That is why tablets, which have moving pictures and sounds, are very good.”

The Birkbeck team carried out an initial study of 36 babies – half aged six months and the rest 10 months – and found they recognised the number three more quickly when it was presented with sounds and lights on an iPad.

They are now undertaking a larger project with hundreds of babies and toddlers and Karmiloff-Smith believes babies who use iPads will go on to have better motor control and visual attention. “Everything we know about child development tells us this will be the case. You see an adult trying to learn on a tablet and it’s hopeless. You see a 12-month-old learning on a tablet and it is so quick.”

She criticised Baroness Greenfield, who has said that over-exposure to screens damages children’s brain development.

“You cannot ignore the digital world we are living in,” she said. “Scientists tend to be very emotional about this issue but we should follow the science, not the emotion.”

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article1568508.ece

Nosy Crow & Unicef – Free Board Book For Scottish Babies

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babyiloveyou

Nosy Crow has worked alongside UNICEF to create Baby, I Love You, a book to be given to every Scottish newborn. Mothers of all Scottish babies born in Scotland between the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, Australia, are set to receive a free baby book, published by UNICEF and created by Nosy Crow with illustrations by Helen Stephens.

The book forms part of the games legacy ambitions to improve the wellbeing of children in Scotland and actor Ewan McGregor has recorded an audio version of the book.

Mothers and babies at a drop in centre in Glasgow were joined by Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner Tam Baillie and Dr Kate McKay, Senior Medical Officer for the Scottish Government, for the launch where all were given a sneak preview of the book.

unicef

With the message “You can’t spoil your baby with love”, the simple board book, with words written to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, has the support of NHS Health Scotland, and will be given out to every new mother by her health visitor at the first home visit.

Kate Wilson, MD of Nosy Crow, said “It has been a privilege to work with UNICEF on this project. We find it inspiring to be working on anything that introduces children and their parents to the importance and intimacy of sharing books from the earliest age, and, as a Scot myself, it was a joy to be working on something with a focus on Scottish babies. Helen Stephens has created pictures with such a timeless and wide appeal and the text, which can be read aloud, or sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star is one that we hope all parents, and their babies, will respond to.”

You can download a recording of Ewan McGregor reading Baby I Love You here www.unicef.org.uk/BabyILoveYou