Just So Stories

Walker Books Australia

March 2024

ISBN13:9781760657949

Australia RRP:$16.99

New Zealand RRP:$18.99

Big shout out to my Queensland colleagues especially for this wonderful new middle-grade historical novel set right in our own South Brisbane. In my experience, novels for this age bracket in this genre and in our own locale are rare, so this one fully deserves to be snapped up and used in classrooms or libraries as part of your HASS units, by virtue of that fact alone.

The prologue introduces us to the location where scrub is being cleared and houses built for ‘only £20 ‘ and Millie, her mum and her dog are about to embark on their goal of owning their own house and shop. Forty years later Dorothy and her family have left their struggling farm on the Darling Downs to take up residence and running of Millie’s Store, due to Great Aunt Mildred’s ill-health.

Dorothy is one of six girls, and pretty much in the middle of them. She’s the sort of child who seems to always be in a pickle of one kind or another, though she is completely well-intentioned. She’s hugely excited about going to ‘real school’ for the first time but the dread Miss Armstrong is not about to endear herself with her continual chastising of the girl for tardiness, messiness and ill-attention.

Dorothy has no intention of fitting herself up to be an excellent wife and housekeeper, but she knows she will have to earn her living. And she believes her writing will be her salvation in that regard, particularly when she chums up with George, a Chinese boy whose father is caring for the garden next door, in the owners’ absence.

Dorothy’s enthusiastic idea for writing and presenting a play, starring herself of course – preparation for her debut on the world stage and independent income – soon involves all the children in the street.

 In the background of all this activity, Dorothy’s mum and her Aunt Esme, supported by her dad, are part of the growing Queensland suffragette movement, which is slow to get off the ground compared to other states. 

There’s also the simmering resentment shared by some people of the Chinese, many of whom have been in the country for generations now. 1900 was a time of turmoil and changes, not least of which was Federation (finally!). With this though, came a general consideration of what was best for the new nation as a whole.

Dorothy questions not only the necessity for women’s votes, but also gets votes for all, that is, the Chinese and First Nations people in her sights. Who knows where the next book will take readers?

All in all it’s a fun and light read while also touching on important issues and outlining a little history. I will say I was a little puzzled by the fact that only forty years after she sees the site of her new house as a child, Great Aunt Mildred is already too’ forgetful’ to run the store (by my reckoning she was likely 50) but I do concede that aging was different in other periods.

And I would have liked a little more detail on historical facts but all in all, a jolly good read for kiddos from around Year 3 upwards. It would certainly be a good read-around-your-topic for history topics focused on this period for those undertaking them.