Groovy Baby "I Spy a Fly" Book Recall: Choking Risk

On 15 September 2026, Make Believe Ideas (MBI) recalled its Groovy Baby "I Spy a Fly" book after finding that the fly wings on the last page can detach when pulled. A detached wing is small enough to be a choking hazard for babies and young children, and the book doesn't meet the requirements of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011. If this book is in your house, stop giving it to your baby and follow the steps below.

What the recall notice says

According to the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) recall notice (reference 2609-0049), the fault is specific to the last page of the book: a textured fly illustration with wings designed to be touched and felt, which can pull away from the page with normal use. Because babies and toddlers mouth board books as a matter of course, a detached wing presents a choking risk.

The book was sold under the Groovy Baby imprint by Make Believe Ideas between September 2024 and August 2026. The affected ISBNs are:

• 9781836422600
• 9781836422594
• 9788384253960
• 9781836427131

OPSS classifies this as a product recall from end users — meaning Make Believe Ideas is asking anyone who already owns the book to act, not just retailers to pull remaining stock.

What to do if you have this book

• Check the ISBN, printed on the back cover near the barcode, against the four numbers above.
• Stop giving the book to your baby straight away if it matches, even if the wings look intact — the fault is intermittent and may not show up until the page has been handled a few times.
• Contact Make Believe Ideas for disposal instructions and a refund via their recall page, or by emailing ispy@makebelieveideas.com.
• Don't pass it on to a hand-me-down bag, charity shop, or nursery book swap — recalled books circulate longest through exactly these routes.

Why board books end up on the recall list

Touch-and-feel board books are designed to survive being chewed, pulled and thrown, which is a harder engineering brief than it sounds — any textured or raised element has to stay attached under repeated force from small hands and teeth, not just normal page-turning. Our guide to toy safety standards covers what the CE/UKCA marking and age labelling on a book or toy actually tell you, and it's worth a quick check on textured or interactive books even when nothing's been recalled — a firm tug on any raised part before you hand it to your baby is a reasonable habit either way.

Buying books secondhand or accepting hand-me-downs

This recall covers books bought new between September 2024 and August 2026, which means plenty of them are already sitting in book boxes, charity shops, and secondhand bundles rather than on a shop shelf where the recall notice would reach them. If you're buying board books secondhand, at a car boot sale, or taking a bag of books from a friend, it's worth a quick ISBN check against the current OPSS product safety alerts list before it goes near your baby — especially for anything textured, foiled, or with parts designed to lift, pull or flap.

Checking age labelling and small parts on any book or toy

RoSPA recommends that any toy or book given to a child under three has no part that fits inside a standard small-parts test cylinder (roughly 3.17cm wide) — this is the same benchmark UK and EU toy safety testing uses to judge whether a detachable piece is a choking hazard. A board book aimed at babies is expected to survive this test with every page and feature intact; the Groovy Baby recall exists precisely because, in some copies, the fly's wings didn't. When you're buying touch-and-feel or interactive books, it's worth giving any raised, textured, or flap-style feature a firm tug before handing it over, checking for a CE or UKCA mark and a stated age range on the back cover, and treating a feature that invites handling as a reason for more scrutiny, not less.

Keeping track of recalls without checking every week

Most parents don't have time to browse the OPSS alerts page regularly, and recalls like this one don't always make the news. A more realistic habit is to check the specific product — by name or ISBN — whenever you're about to hand a book or toy down to a younger sibling, pass it to another family, or buy something secondhand where you can't be sure how recently it was checked. Registering a book or toy with the manufacturer at the time of purchase, where that option exists, also means a recall notice can reach you directly by email rather than relying on you to spot it.

If your baby does choke

According to the NHS, a baby who is choking and can't cry, cough or breathe needs back blows first: lay them face-down along your forearm or thigh with their head lower than their chest, supporting the head and shoulders, and give up to five firm blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If that doesn't clear it, turn the baby face-up and give up to five chest thrusts with two fingers in the centre of the chest, just below the nipple line. Call 999 if the object still hasn't cleared. The NHS advises against sweeping a finger inside a baby's mouth unless you can actually see the object, since this can push it further in. It's worth keeping this in mind alongside a properly stocked baby first aid kit.

Recalls happen more often than you'd think

This is the latest in a steady run of UK baby product recalls this year — we've also covered the Vicloon and Lorelli teether recalls and the Unicorn Pink Busy Board safety alert. The most reliable way to stay on top of these is to check the OPSS product safety alerts page directly whenever you buy secondhand gear, or before you pass books and toys on to someone else. It takes a couple of minutes, and it's the difference between catching a recalled item before it reaches a baby's mouth, and finding out after something's already gone wrong.