Just So Stories

Walker Books Australia

October 2023

ISBN13:9781529512854

Australia RRP:$24.99

New Zealand RRP:$27.99

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcmbfVjrIQ

Kate DiCamillo never disappoints and this is no exception. I’d been keenly anticipating it since I first got wind of this new series a while back and so was thrilled to receive the ARC which, of course, I promptly devoured in one gulp.

Kate has crafted an original fairytale that is wholly unique, yet harks back to traditional tales of the past. It breathes fresh air into the sort of stories that have always entranced children, and it has ‘classic’ stamped all over it.

Once there was an old man who had spent all his life at sea. He had no family of any kind. He lived a lonely life above a tailor’s shop. On days when his legs weren’t too painful he went walking, and on one of these days he comes across a group of puppets in a toyshop. Really it is only the girl puppet who catches his eye, reminding him of a lost love, but the toymaker demands he must buy them all. The story the puppets are destined to enact is set in motion, and it unravels in the most beguiling way.

Readers will feel a real connection to each of these inanimate characters, and the situations in which they find themselves. It is not a long tale, about 150 pages but it is packed with emotions. High drama, humour, love, fear, longing, jealousy, anxiety, self-belief and loyalty jostle this little narrative along, completely capturing the reader at each turn. The ending is the most perfect segue into the next instalment, without being either cliffhanger or glaringly obvious. The black&white illustrations are equally enchanting and evocative, and are completely in harmony with the whole feel of the story.

Kate’s skill as a storyteller needs no recommendation from me, but this particular gift of creating new and winsome fairy stories is one I’ve yet to see from other contemporary writers.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little book! I will be keeping this one to share with kiddos as I get the opportunity, and I highly recommend it to you for readers from around Year 2 (as a read-aloud) upwards through to Year 6, where it would make a marvellous springboard to encourage similar creative writing from students.