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The House with the Little Red Door by Grace Easton

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 7 Sep 2026

Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
ISBN: 9780500660553

“Easton’s stunning picture book about friendship and home has all the cosy feels. Her warm, detailed artwork is full of delightful details and beautiful papercraft flaps, meaning that young readers can spend ages looking inside fridges and food cupboards at all the tiny beautiful bits and bobs.” BookTrust
“This lift-the-flap story includes plenty of beautiful details: the various rooms in Mouse’s treehouse, the insides of would-be new homes for Mouse, and even the reveal of Mouse’s silhouette at the door in the snowy night. Pale-skinned, brown-haired Olivia makes a sweet friend for the adorable, big-eared, beady-eyed rodent. The illustrations evoke a strong sense of place and season, thanks to the carefully chosen details and well-captured outdoor elements. Readers will love poring over these richly depicted scenes and slipping into Olivia and Mouse’s inviting world. A touching tale with a relatable message: Home is where our loved ones are.” KIRKUS

There are so-so lift-the-flap-books and then there are high-class lift-the-flap books. This is one of the classy ones. And Grace Easton has let us know via Instagram (see below) that there’s to be a return to the Red Door in 2027. 
This first Red Door title is now out in paperback.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Grace Easton (@higraceeaston)

What makes a house a home? This sweet story, with jaw-dropping illustrations, is the perfect cosy tale for bedtime. 

Olivia lives in a house with a little red door. Mouse lives in an oak tree behind the house. When a storm blows the oak tree down, Olivia tries her best to find a new house for her neighbour, but are any of the houses the right home?

When Mouse loses his old oak tree home in a snowstorm, his neighbour Olivia offers many different options for a new house, but none are quite right. It is only when she offers a place in her own house with the little red door that it becomes a home for both of them.

Illustrator Grace Easton brings her expressive character illustration and beautiful hand-painted scenery to a story of two lonely neighbours finding friendship in the face of a disaster. 22 die-cut flaps reveal details around the cosy setting, bringing dimension to a story sure to bring warmth to a cold winter’s bedtime.

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Wolf in the City by Rachel Tilda Wolf

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Dec 2025

Waterstones
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“Wolf is a real character. Following her trail gives us a real sense of old Italian cities, the warm browns, greens and pinks of Rachel Tilda Wolf’s illustrations placing us right in the sunshine. There’s a lesson to learn about valuing what you know and have over what you think is on the other side of fence too. This is Rachel Tilda Wolf’s debut and she’s an illustrator to watch.” BfK
“Sweetly satisfying reminder that there truly is no place like home.” KIRKUS

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A notable picture book debut published back in the Spring that slipped past ACHUKA’s attention at the time.

Wolf lived on a plinth in a tired old square on the edge of a vast and magnificent city. Taken for granted and pooped on by Pigeon, she longs to be admired and to find her place amongst the famous statues in the City Centre. One day she sets off on the bus to do just that, but she discovers that the city statues are mean and selfish. Wolf soon realises that she misses home, and heads back to her old square only to find that her friends there have missed her just as much. 

With warmth and humour, this delight of a debut picture book by author and illustrator Rachel Tilda Wolf explores the need to be appreciated and the importance of finding ‘home’.

You can follow Rachel on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Gozzle by Julia Donaldson ill. Sara Ogilvie

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 31 Mar 2025

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“Part of the immense charm of [Donaldson’s] books is that the messages tend to be timeless – seen here in the story’s quiet celebration of compassion and humour, and the lesson that our differences, however apparent at first glance, are seldom as insurmountable as we think.” Telegraph
“Ogilvie’s scratchy, textured illustrations bring to life Donaldson’s playful prose, ensuring the book’s characters truly bounce off each other.” Guardian

It’s springtime. Bear has woken up hungry and finds a lost egg outside his cave. Breakfast? No! Out hatches Gozzle, a very sweet little gosling who is convinced that Bear must be her daddy – and that she should be able to climb, dig and eat honey just like him.

Follow Bear on his journey from reluctant carer to parent in this heartwarming and joyous picture book about what home and family truly mean.

A Home Is A Nest by Emma Carlisle

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Mar 2025

Waterstones
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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.

You can follow Emma Carlisle on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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We Are Like Birds by Laila Ekboir

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Feb 2025

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A gorgeous debut picture book from Argentinian illustrator Laila Ekboir about moving home, making new friends and embracing change.

Recommended background:
Visiting the Mayan Ruins of Palenque: a humbling and revealing experience

Flor is only seven years old and has moved home three times. Now her family is moving again and she has to start all over again in a new country and a new school.

A beautiful, lyrical picture book about moving home, finding new friends and a sense of belonging in a new culture. The perfect, uplifting story for any child who feels like they don’t fit in or who is worried about the prospect of moving country, home or school and having to start over.

Laila Ekboir worked as a freelance illustrator for many years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before moving to the UK in 2021 to complete an MA in children’s book illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. She works by hand, exploring a multiplicity of materials, but her favourite medium is printmaking. 

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I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Jul 2024

Waterstones
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“An emotionally rich picaresque tale for children of ten plus, I Am Rebel leads the reader into danger and then safely home again, as all good children’s books should.” Literary Review

A heart-warming adventure about the unbreakable bond between a dog and his human.

‘I’m Tom’s dog, and he’s my human. We belong to each other.’

Rebel is a good dog, and he loves his simple, perfect life on the farm with his owner Tom – until one day the war comes too close… Now Tom is determined to join the rebellion to defeat the king’s men. But Rebel knows war is dangerous, and he will stop at nothing to save the human he loves. Rebel must bring Tom home before it’s too late.

Around the World with Friends by Philip Waechter tr. Melody Shaw

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 1 Jul 2024

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A picture book with a really satisfactory story arc and illustrations that invite close inspection.

Raccoon finishes his book and is ready for his own adventure–he wants thrills, excitement and to conquer the sea!

He borrows everything he needs from his friends: a boat from Badger, who insists on coming along because you should never go on an expedition alone. Fox packs them eggs for the omelette–then must join to be the cook. Bear insists on coming to scare away the jellyfish, and Crow says he should be lookout.

The friends sail through rapids, collect sweet blackberries, chase away bees, and play soccer, until a little rain and thoughts of home bring their excursion to an end. That, thinks Raccoon, was the most thrilling magnificent adventure with friends I’ve ever had. Let’s go again soon–and next time we’ll bring the chickens.

Philip Waechter is a graphic artist and illustrator living in Frankfurt, Germany.
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The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 May 2024

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“Reflecting the current reality for a lot of kids, this book has hard-hitting issues at its heart. Tom Percival’s family didn’t have much money when he was growing up, and his story and accompanying beautiful art is heartfelt. Will is an artist, like Tom, finding refuge in Art classes, and the book’s black and white illustrations are gritty and atmospheric at once… Moving and gritty, it is a fantastic read.” BookTrust

Illustrated by the author (known for his picture books), this visceral novel about child poverty, published yesterday, is already being much talked about.

Will has the wrong shoes – he’s always known it but doesn’t know how to change it. Navigating the difficulties of home and school when you feel you stick out is tough, but finding confidence with the help and empathy of friends can be all you need to see the way.  

You can follow Tom Percival on :

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Little House by Katya Balen ill. Richard Johnson

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Mar 2024

Waterstones
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See also:
Foxlight [ACHUKA Book of the Day 29 Sep 2023]
The Light In Everything [ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Apr 2022]
October, October [ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Sep 2020]

The importance and meaning of home is explored in this thought-provoking new novella from Carnegie Medal winning author Katya Balen.

Juno’s furious about being sent to stay with her grandfather for the summer. She’ll miss all the fun she and her friends had planned for the holidays. She’ll also miss her mum, but it’s her mum’s fault for leaving anyway.

Then Juno discovers a long-forgotten little family in her grandfather’s attic. As she works to carefully craft a new home for them, can she learn to forgive her mum and understand her reasons for going away?

You can follow Richard Johnson, the illustrator, on :

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The Big Dreaming by Michael Rosen ill. Daniel Egnéus

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Nov 2023

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Amazon
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“Will console, comfort and give hope to any young bear from 3 years upwards.” Just Imagine
“In palette, tone, and layout, Egnéus’ illustrations resemble the artwork from older Golden Books, with highlights of turquoise, orange, deep red, and greens.” KIRKUS [pulbished in US as Bear’s Big Dreaming]

The Cold is coming, and it’s time for Big Bear and Little Bear to get ready for the Big Sleep, for bears sleep all winter long and wake up in the spring.

Little Bear is worried. What if they run out of dreams during the Big Sleep? So Little Bear sets out bravely to find enough dreams to see them through the long winter. On his journey, he discovers dreams of happiness, dreams of homecoming, and dreams of hope. But with the Cold approaching fast, will Little Bear make it back home in time for the Big Dreaming?

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