Just So Stories

Five Mile

March 2023

9781922857422

$24.99

Some of us could dance quite beautifully when we were children, and could still do a fair boogie as an adult, and even belly dance for quite a few years- until older age started creeping up and scuppered any more dance moves forever.

So I, for one, can totally relate to Platypus’ complete dismay at her inability to shake her booty like her friends. No matter what moves her mates demonstrate to help, she just can’t make it work.

Her hips won’t wiggle because her tail gets in the way, she can’t bob her head because her bill’s too long,and she can’t bounce up and down as her legs are too short. So when the disco starts and her friends start their shimmies and pirouettes, she does try to be brave and take a step but ooops! falls into the billabong where, of course, she realises she has her own special groove and puts on a dazzling show for her friends with backflips, gliding and twirling.

Sometimes being different is also being wonderful, and what a fantastic conversation to have with your Littles. This has a really fun rhyming text and Tyrown’s comic-style illustrations are really well suited to the story.

Lovely, positive book for your young readers, from around Prep upwards. Big recommendation from me and now, I feel like dancing! (sadly, my knees don’t 💔☹)