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Don’t Call Me an Insect! by Charlotte Guillain ill. Sally Agar

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ACHUKA Book ion the Day 20 Apr 2026

Publisher: Quarto Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781836008439

This is an excellent book for any young child curious about creepy-crawlies. The author creates an inviting rhyming hook to the introduction of each creature that is NOT an insect and the illustrator has managed to mix appealing visuals with anatomical accuracy.

Buy it for all budding zoologists.

Join young explorers Charlie and Bumble on a bug hunt, But all the creatures they find insist that they are NOT insects!  
 
You’ll be introduced to spiders, centipedes, woodlice and more until FINALLY they find some insects. They also find a surprising creature that doesn’t look like an insect – but is it . . .? 
 
Part of the ‘Don’t Call Me a . . .’ picture book series which turns science on its head with exciting adventure stories that bust common myths, fact-checked by experts. Each book follows a curious child and their toy as they journey through space, the ocean, the forest and even prehistoric times – only to discover that things aren’t always what they seem! 
 
Each book wraps up with a fun fact file, making it a great way for kids to explore science, nature and the animal kingdom – all in an engaging, giftable format.  
 
With vibrant illustrations and plenty of fascinating facts, this series is a perfect introduction to early STEM concepts – a must-have for curious young minds!  
 
Also available in the series: Don’t Call Me a Dinosaur!, Don’t Call Me a Star!, Don’t Call Me a Fish!

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The Last Day of October by Phil Hickes ill. Oriol Vidal

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 31 Oct 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

See also:
The Vanishing Of Aveline Jones [ACHUKA Book of the Day 26 Oct 2022]
The Bewitching Of Aveline Jones [ACHUKA Book of the Day 15 Sep 2021]
The Haunting Of Aveline Jones [ACHUKA Book of the Day 16 Sep 2020]

“Hickes is at his ghostly, gothic best in this Halloween horror story in which the past bleeds into the present with terrifying results and is brought to vibrant, visceral life by the atmospheric and haunting illustrations of Oriol Vidal. Packed with eerie, electrifying small town America vibes, this is a spectacular spine-chiller from a master of the macabre.” Lancashire Post
“Halloween chills and thrills throng through this gripping haunted house horror story … what unfolds is an entirely unexpected tale that rises to a gripping, gasp-inducing climax … A treat of haunted Halloween trickery … brilliantly inclusive, and sure to satisfy swathes of spooky-story fans as the nights draw in.” LoveReading4Kids
“Only the genuinely brave youngster should be dipping their toes in this scare-fest.” LetterpressProject

 

If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a nasty surprise …

Seeking creepy thrills instead of candy, Cody and his friends set out on Halloween to search for the ruins of the haunted McBride House in the woods near his home in Oregon.

The house has taken on a sinister legendary status after it burned down a hundred years ago with tragic consequences, and it’s said that the ghosts of the family who lived there return each year on the last day of October.

But when they find the house, the truth of what is happening on this eerie autumn night is more terrifying than the three teenagers could ever have imagined …

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Fear Files: Hide and Seek by Christopher Edge

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 20 Oct 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

See also:
Black Hole Cinema Club [ACHUKA Book of the Day 18 Apr 2024]

“At just 160 pages, this claustrophobic creep-fest is highly accessible and all scares are age-appropriate although the feeling of being watched and chased may last longer than the reading experience!” BookTrust
“Ideal for those more mature upper middle grade readers who are longing for something fresh and unique. They’ll never look at their childhood games the same way again!” ScopeForImagination
“With an ‘X-Files’ format of files from a mysterious archive, the story is dotted with clever little notes and factoids, and the story has Edge’s usual fast-paced style. It’s a great formula, and I suspect we’ll see many more trips to the mysterious ‘Darkive’ in the future!” Alastair Chisholm

The first title in a brand new middle-grade horror series by the bestselling author Christopher Edge.
Strapline: Goosebumps for a new generation of readers.

Coming to find you, ready or not!

Nobody knows who started the Darkive. It’s a database filled with first-hand accounts of strange, unexplained experiences. Ghosts; paranormal entities; weird anomalies. Each one is stored with a bank of evidence to prove the story. Are you ready to dive in?

Adam didn’t think his camping trip with his best friend, Sol, could get any worse. Stumbling upon an abandoned ghost town, they find themselves playing a strange game of hide and seek. But who or what is trying to find them? And can Adam stay one step ahead?

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Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

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Waterstones
Amazon
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“Tension and terror mount as the intelligently crafted, viscerally plotted story lines converge. Atmospherically tense prose and vividly sketched, true-to-life characters add depth, resulting in a tale both spellbinding and bingeworthy.” Publishers Weekly
“Albert’s tale of mothers and daughters examines fraught choices and forgiveness against a cleverly insidious backdrop that will leave readers unable to see rabbits the same way again. While a romance is present, love in all its forms—platonic, parental, and romantic—is thoughtfully explored with gravitas and nuance… Riveting, creepy, and utterly bewitching; do not miss this one.” KIRKUS

Ivy’s summer kicks off with a series of disturbing events. As unnatural offerings appear on her doorstep, she’s haunted by fragmented memories from her childhood, suggesting there’s more to her mother, Dana, than meets the eye.

Dana’s tale starts the year she turns sixteen, when she embarks on a major fling with the supernatural. Too late she realizes that the powers she’s playing with are also playing with her.

Years after it began, Ivy and Dana’s shared story will come down to a reckoning between a mother, a daughter and the dark forces they never should have messed with.

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Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick

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Amazon
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“An absolute stunner of a scary story; so exhilarating and gripping that I couldn’t put it down…” ReadingZone
“Joyously generic” BfK 5-star review

When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school for a detention on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.

What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute…? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge.

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