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The Sun Thief by Alice Hemming ill. Nicola Slater

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 26 Jun 2025

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See also:
Where’s The Leaf Thief? board book [ACHUKA Book of the Day 20 Mar 2025]

Squirrel is back, and he’s enjoying the long, sunny summer days. But wait! Why is Bird going to bed when the sun is still up? What a silly idea! Squirrel could never fall asleep while it’s still light…

And when the sun starts to disappear earlier and earlier each night, Squirrel is convinced there MUST be a sun thief about!

Join Squirrel on a mission to find the culprit, and meet some new nocturnal friends along the way. Luckily, the sun always comes out in the end … even if it doesn’t stay for long!

Another personality-packed story , celebrating the changing seasons. With a handy information spread at the back  that explains why days become longer in the summer and get shorter through the winter.

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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.

When Spring Comes by Ekaterina Trukhan

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 19 Feb 2025

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See also:
Little Lamb, Where Are You? [ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Jan 2024]

First in a series of four sweet and simple stories for Early Years about a young child’s joyful discovery of nature through the seasons. Published in association with the National Trust.

When spring comes, the bees are buzzing in the blossom, flowers are blooming in the soft, green grass and the sleepy hedgehog is waking up from his winter sleep. Lambs and ducklings, raindrops and rainbows, planting seeds with Mum and spring cleaning with Dad – there is so much to see and do as nature bursts into life. And one little girl is loving every magical moment.

Ekaterina Trukhan graduated from Camberwell College of Arts in London and now  lives the digital nomad life, travelling with her husband and their dog. Follow her on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Annabelle and Flower by Em Lynas ill. Anuska Allepuz

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 14 Feb 2025

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A typographically lively and well designed picture book about the circle of life for pre-schoolers.

When a lonely cow called Annabelle finds a tiny flower one spring day, it brings a dance to her step and a smile to her moo. Over time, the flower grows, blooms and changes colour, until one day autumn comes and blows all the petals away. Poor Annabelle is alone again, until spring returns and she finds a new flower . . . and another . . . and another!

  • Explores the four seasons and the circle of life
  • With bright, stylish artwork and cleverly designed typography
  • Features hopeful messages about friendship and the passing of time
  • Published in collaboration with the National Trust

Anuska Allepuz, the books’ illustrator, grew up in Spain where she studied Fine Arts at the University of Salamanca. She graduated with Distinction in 2016 from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at The Cambridge School of Art.
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The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms by Fiona Cook ill. Jessica Roux

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Jan 2024

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“Cook’s obvious wealth of knowledge and care in explaining both the light and dark of the world around us is complemented perfectly by Roux’s charming, delicate illustrations of natural objects, critters both cute and crawly, and racially diverse young people. This book is, in a word, immaculate. A graceful invitation that children will happily accept.” KIRKUS

Created with an American audience in mind, but an exquisitely illustrated and produced book with general appeal.

A beautifully illustrated, interactive guide to ancient, nature-based holidays and customs. Through themed meditations, crafts, and rituals, young readers can learn about old and new ways of honouring the seasons.

Each “spoke” in The Wheel of the Year marks an important turning point: the winter and summer solstices, the spring and fall equinoxes, and the festivals of seeding, growing, and harvesting that arrive in between. Within each section, enjoy:

  • An overview of the holiday and its significance in cultures around the world
  • A sensory scavenger hunt for sights, sounds, and smells the season
  • Ideas for a seasonal altar using objects from nature
  • Themed crafts, rituals, games, and recipes

Blending nature’s connection with art, poetry, and myth, The Wheel of the Year conveys the magic and beauty of ancient traditions and encourages young readers to notice, care for, and celebrate the natural world around them.

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The Swing by Britta Teckentrup

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Dec 2023

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See also:
When I See Red
The Are Fish Everywhere
The House By The Lake
Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

“This not a picture book for the Kinderbox; this is a picture book to be offered to a wider age range, both young people and adults. It is a thoughtful book that could provide the basis for discussion. It is also a book to enjoy for its production, but most of all for Teckentrup’s paintings so full of heart, each and every one asking the viewer to stop, look, think and engage.” BfK 5-star review
“A beautifully illustrated book about the passing of time, with the swing at the centre on every page, as a place that is special, meaning many things to all the different people and generations that have used it.” JustImagine

Inexplicably overlooked earlier in the year (it was published in February), this is unquestionably one of the highlights of 2023.

A swing on a hill overlooking the water is at the centre of this lovely meditation on childhood, growing older, friendship and loss.

“The swing has always been in this place—ever since I can remember,” declares the narrator. “Here we stood together, looking out to sea, waiting for something to change. . . for something new, something exciting. But every day was the same.”

But as seasons change and years pass, things do change. Friends come and go, lovers meet and kiss, spring turns to autumn, and the swing set grows creaky with age. All of these changes are gorgeously communicated by Teckentrup’s signature collage paintings that employ soft, radiant colors and simple yet powerful compositions.

With its equally compelling text, readers of every age will experience time as a gentle but inescapable force, bringing about new experiences.

Born in Hamburg, Britta Teckentrup studied art and illustration at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London. She is an author and illustrator of numerous books and has received many awards. She lives in Berlin with her Scottish husband and her son Vincent. 

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Grandpa and the Kingfisher by Anna Wilson ill. Sarah Massini

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 7 Apr 2023

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Over the course of a year, a young child and their dog watch kingfishers by the river with Grandpa. As spring turns to summer and autumn to winter, the kingfishers raise a family, while Grandpa teaches his grandchild about the power of nature and the circle of life.

Written in memory of her father, whose favourite bird was the kingfisher, Anna Wilson takes readers on a lyrical journey though a year in the life of a kingfisher family. Stunning illustrations by Sarah Massini bring the riverbank to life in all its glory, while the powerful intergenerational bond between grandparent and grandchild shows that just as spring always follows winter, hope will always return if you know where to look for it.

Also illustrated by Sarah Massini:
The Little Prince by Louise Gregg – ACHUKA Book of the Day 13 Dec 2021
The Girl And The Dinosaur by Holly Hughes

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What Are You Doing Today, Mother Nature?: Travel the world with 48 nature stories, for every month of the year – Nature’s Storybook by Lucy Brownridge ill. Margaux Samson Abadie

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This  illustrated treasury of narrative non fiction stories about the natural world, organised season by season and around the world, shows children the infinite beauty and variety of nature in every part of the planet. Arranged around the full cycle of a calendar year, each month features four stories  from  different parts of the world showing that, while somewhere it is hot summer, somewhere else is in the middle of winter, some places are dry and others are rainy.

48 story spreads tell fascinating single stories of animals and nature from each month of the year, showing how the changing of the seasons takes place around the world, promoting an international sense of the weather, seasons and cycles of nature from very big, to ever-so-small.

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Mouse’s Wood by Alice Melvin

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Written in a gentle rhyme that reflects the slow pace of Mouse’s rambling journey, and illustrated in the inimitable style of Alice Melvin, this is a heart-warming celebration of slow living in nature.

The story follows Mouse, who first ventures out in wintry January to visit his friend Squirrel. Mouse moves on to wake up Hedgehog for the arrival of spring and as he continues along the path in the wood, Mouse’s journey from friend to friend maps out the changes in seasons from January through to December, from picnicking among the bluebells with Mole in May and picking berries with Dormouse in June, to taking refuge in Fox’s cozy caravan as winter draws in.

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